Ghana

Dual Citizenship Ghana

Allowed

Ghanaian citizenship can be obtained by birth, naturalisation, registration and adoption.

A person born in or outside Ghana after the coming into force of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, shall become a citizen of Ghana at the date of his birth if either of his/her parents or grandparents is or was a citizen of Ghana. The law also presumes that a child of not more than seven years of age found in Ghana whose parents are unknown is a citizen of Ghana by birth. A foreign child of not more than 16 years of age may also acquire Ghanaian citizenship through adoption.

One may also acquire citizenship through registration upon satisfaction of legal requirements. This mode of acquisition of citizenship may apply to a non-Ghanaian spouse of a Ghanaian. A person may also acquire citizenship through naturalisation if residency conditions and other criteria are satisfied.

Dual citizenship is allowed in Ghana for any Ghanaian citizen who acquires a citizenship of another country. The dual citizen does not lose their Ghanaian citizenship by reason acquisition of a second citizenship.

The holder of a second citizenship is required to register their second citizenship in Ghana and obtain a dual citizenship card and certificate.

A Ghanaian who loses their citizenship through the acquisitions of another may re-acquire their citizenship once they renounce the citizenship of the other country. Furthermore, where the renunciation occurs as a result of marriage to a citizen of another country, on the dissolution of such marriage the person once again becomes a citizen of Ghana.

A dual citizen cannot hold or be appointed to several public offices. One may be deprived of Ghanaian citizenship which is acquired by means other than birth, where the activities of the individual is inimical to the security of the state, or prejudicial to the public good, or the citizenship was obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.