Working in Ghana as a French National: Work Permit, Minimum Wage, Income Tax, Contributions and the Economy

A French national enters Ghana with a visa (see living in Ghana), but entry does not give the right to work: a job requires the work and residence permit of the Ghana Immigration Service. The foreigner legally admitted to the territory, or their employer, sends a letter of application to the Comptroller-General of Immigration.

For the “companies” permit, the immigration service lists in particular:

• the company’s certificate of incorporation, its certificate of registration with the investment authority, its valid tax clearance certificate and its audited accounts for the previous financial year;
• a medical report issued by the immigration service’s clinic in Accra and a police certificate from the country of origin;
• the identity page of the passport, a curriculum vitae, diplomas and professional certificates, as well as the offer letter or employment contract;
• where applicable, a letter of support from a ministry, department or agency, and a copy of the non-citizen identity card.

For a non-ECOWAS national, the fee schedule that came into force on 15 May 2025 sets the “companies” permit at 1,293 US dollars, the permit for missionaries and non-governmental organisations at 388 dollars, the permit linked to the investment authority’s automatic quota at 500 dollars and that of the immigrant quota at 647 dollars. A rotation permit, for short assignments, costs 647 dollars for up to six months and 1,000 dollars for six to twelve months. Employing someone without a permit exposes the company to a penalty of 2,500 dollars and the employee to 1,000 dollars, according to the same schedule.

Companies registered with the investment authority (Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, now the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority) employ expatriates under a quota linked to the capital invested. The thresholds published on the “Labour & Expatriate Employment” page are as follows:

• from USD 50,000 to under USD 250,000: one automatic quota;
• from USD 250,000 to under USD 500,000: two quotas;
• from USD 500,000 to under USD 700,000: three quotas;
• from USD 700,000: four quotas.

An automatic quota entitles the company to a work and residence permit for one expatriate employee, as well as residence permits for their spouse and dependent children. Beyond that, the company files a reasoned application case by case; permits of less than one year up to five years at most may be granted, on proof of a shortage of the skill sought in Ghana.

The legal framework is changing: on 15 July 2026 the president signed into law the Investment Promotion Authority Act (Act 1173), which replaces the 2013 law. The authority’s press release announces the removal of the general minimum capital thresholds, with a reduced threshold for trading, a widening of the expatriate quota thresholds, a one-stop shop and an annual renewal of registration. The current quota thresholds should therefore be confirmed with the authority before any recruitment.

The National Tripartite Committee has set the daily minimum wage at 21.77 cedis for the period from 1^st January to 31 December 2026, against 19.97 cedis previously. The government has in parallel approved a 9% increase in the pay of public employees on the single spine, after negotiations concluded on 9 November 2025 (Fair Wages and Salaries Commission). Euro conversions can be read using the exchange rate in the economic indicators block of this page.

The pages consulted do not publish a private-sector pay scale: the salary offered should be compared with that of an equivalent position locally before signing, taking into account benefits in kind (housing, vehicle, children’s schooling) that the tax puts a value on and adds to income. The section on tax details this treatment and the contributions that come on top.

The Labour Act of 2003, published by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Labour Relations, sets the basic rules:

• Written contract: the employment of a worker for six months or more is evidenced by a written contract, which clearly sets out the rights and obligations of the parties.
• Working time: eight hours a day and forty hours a week at most, except in cases provided for by law, which also regulates overtime.
• Leave: at least fifteen working days of annual leave with full pay per calendar year of continuous service; a female employee is entitled to at least twelve weeks of maternity leave on full pay, extendable by at least two weeks in the event of an abnormal delivery or multiple births.
• Notice: for a contract of three years or more, one month’s written notice or one month’s pay in lieu; the law provides for other periods for shorter contracts and seven days’ notice for a weekly contract.

The guide to working abroad helps with reading a contract, and the page seconded or expat compares the two statuses. A local contract falls under Ghanaian law: see the glossary entry on the local contract.

The Ghana Revenue Authority publishes the annual income tax scale for residents, applied since 1^st September 2026; its page cites the 2026 amendment act (Act 1178) among the reference texts. For the portion of annual taxable income, in cedis:

• the first 7,056: 0%;
• the next 960: 5%;
• the next 1,200: 10%;
• the next 34,800: 17.5%;
• the next 192,000: 25%;
• the next 363,984: 30%;
• above 600,000: 35%.

By way of illustration, a taxable income of 120,000 cedis a year would give about 25,254 cedis of tax (48 + 120 + 6,090 + 18,996), or 21%: an indicative calculation based on the scale, before deduction of the SSNIT contribution and reliefs. The employer withholds tax at source (PAYE) and files its return before the 15th of the following month. Annual bonuses are taxed at 5% up to 15% of annual basic pay; the excess is added to income. Benefits in kind (housing, vehicle, loan) are valued and added to salary.

• Tax residence: a person present in Ghana for at least 183 days in total in any twelve-month period that begins or ends during the year is in particular resident, the definition also using other criteria, for example for state officials posted abroad. A resident is taxed according to the scale; the taxable income of a non-resident is generally taxed at 25%, and their bonuses or overtime at 20%.
• SSNIT: the employer deducts 5.5% of monthly pay and adds 13% of basic pay, that is 18.5%. Of this total, 13.5% is paid to the body within 14 days of the following month and 5% feeds the second pillar. The employer registers all its employees, Ghanaian and expatriate alike, and the 5.5% contributions are deductible for the PAYE calculation.

The link between SSNIT contributions and national health insurance appears on the page on the healthcare system in Ghana.

The treaty of 5 April 1993, signed in Accra, approved by the law of 26 October 1994 and in force since 1^st April 1997, covers taxes on income and on capital gains, and was published by the decree of 6 May 1997.

• Residence (article 4): in case of dual residence, the permanent home, then the centre of vital interests, habitual abode and nationality are the tie-breakers.
• Salaries (article 16): salary is taxable only in the state of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other state; in that case it is taxable there, with an exception for a stay of 183 days at most over twelve months, an employer not resident in the state of employment and a cost not borne by a permanent establishment.
• Teachers and students (articles 21 and 22): a teacher or researcher resident in one state, who comes to teach or carry out research at a recognised university in the other, is exempt from tax there for two years at most, and sums received by a student for their studies are not taxable in the state of study if they come from abroad.
• Double taxation (article 24): it is avoided by a tax credit, in France as in Ghana.

Social security: the CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) does not list Ghana among the countries that have concluded a bilateral agreement with France. A seconded employee in principle keeps the French scheme outside an agreement and an expatriate falls under the local system; see healthcare reimbursement in Ghana and the glossary entry on the bilateral social security agreement.

For a self-employed person, article 15 of the treaty reserves the taxation of income from a liberal profession to the state of residence, unless there is a habitual fixed base in the other state; in that case, income attributable to that base is taxable there. The immigration service’s fee schedule has no category dedicated to self-employment or to remote work for a foreign employer: a planned activity on the ground should be confirmed with the Ghana Immigration Service and the investment authority, with which companies recruiting expatriates under a quota register.

For a short assignment, the rotation permit (up to six months, then six to twelve months) exists in the schedule; for a lasting activity, the work and residence permit is required, and business visit visas, described on the page on living in Ghana, do not allow work. With no local employer, health protection is a personal choice between the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French social security fund for French nationals abroad) and private insurance: see the guide CFE or private insurance and digital nomad insurance.

According to France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry; country presentation, updated on 11 May 2026), Ghana is the third-largest economy in ECOWAS, behind Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. Its economy rests essentially on the exploitation of raw materials, gold, oil, gas and cocoa, as well as on the services that support these activities. The country turned to the IMF in July 2022, with a 3 billion dollar extended credit facility over three years concluded in May 2023, to restore public finances, restore debt sustainability and undertake structural reforms. The macroeconomic situation is described as stabilising, and the strengthening of local content rules could weigh on the business climate.

The currency is the cedi (GHS). The updated exchange rate, inflation, growth and unemployment appear in the economic indicators block of this page. The new investment authority law makes the authority the national focal point for the investment protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area. See also living in Ghana for daily life, schooling and safety.