The

Ghana Immigration Service The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) is an agency of the government of Ghana under the Ministry of the Interior. The GIS regulates examination and authorization of application for visas, entry and residence permits in Ghana. Control of foreign nat ...

(GIS) is in charge of the removal and

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

in Ghana. The Ghanaian government has agreed to work with other Government and international agencies to prevent

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

inside and outside the country.

Terminology

Illegal immigration describes people entering a country without formal permission. There are many views on illegal immigration, depending on political standpoint: * illegal alien * illegal immigrant * clandestine workers * sans papiers / "without papers" * irregular immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * people "hiding/living/staying/working/ in the shadows" * undocumented immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * unauthorized immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * paperless immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * immigrant "without immigration/legal status" * out of status immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * unnaturalized immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident * boat people Many types of migrants are considered illegal immigrant, this includes those without any travel documents, refugee, runaway workers, workers working in different sectors than those stated in their work permit, overstay, fake travel documents, fake work permit, fake

Ghana Card The Ghana Card is a national Identity card that is issued by the Ghanaian authorities to Ghanaian citizens – both resident and non-resident, and legally and permanently resident foreign nationals. It is proof of identity, citizenship and resi ...

, fake UN Cards, stateless people as well as those born in Ghana by

illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

Demographics

In 2010, it was estimated by the Ghanaian government that there were 3.1 million

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

and that the number of

s was as high as 3.1 million in both South and North Ghana, including refugees. The nations home to the highest percentages of the illegal immigrant population were Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast, Benin, Liberia, Niger, and Cameroon. From a little over 3,000,000 as at 1952/53 Ghana population had steadily grown to nearly 6,000,000 between 1957 and 1960 mainly through immigration at the time of the "Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" with foreigners alone forming over 20% of Ghana’s population in the 1960s. By reason of reversal of frontier rules due to changes in government and deportation policies, Ghana in 2013 houses approximately 20 million inhabitants. An overwhelming majority of beggars on the streets of Ghana in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi and the major Regional and District capitals are illegal immigrants.

Source countries by types of activity

* Normal jobs (

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

, retail, mining etc.) - , , , , and *

Beggars Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...

- , , , , , , , and *

Human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

- , , and

Illegal Immigrants

Due to Ghana's

emerging economy An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...

and rapidly developing

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

; thousands of

s have

smuggled Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

into Ghana to seek greener pastures. In 2013, Ghana began the deportation of all illegal immigrants in Ghana for illegally engaging in the Ghana

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

(

galamsey Galamsey, derived from the phrase "gather them and sell", is a local Ghanaian parlance that means illegal small-scale, gold mining in Ghana. Such workers are known as galamseyers or ''orpailleurs'' in neighboring Francophone nations. Galamseyers a ...

), agriculture, and retailing industries; among other crimes.

Illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

s and

in Ghana specifically concluded; 2.6 million Nigerian nationals, 0.3 million Burkinabe nationals, Togolese, Ivorians, Nigeriens, Malians; and mostly nationals from west Africa and elsewhere in Africa 0.2 million.

Crackdown and Deportation

Ghana Aliens Compliance Order (GACO)

In 1969, under the "Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" (GACO) enacted by Ghanaian Prime Minister

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (born 11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the ...

; Nigerians and other African and non-African

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

were forced to leave Ghana as they made up 20 percent of Ghana's population at the time, and Ghana

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

over 3 million Nigerians and other African and non-African immigrants in 3 months. In April 2013, 120 foreign Chinese nationals were

from Ghana for illegally engaging in mining and possessing false work permits. More Chinese nationals have been deported since then.

References

External links

Ghana Immigration Service
{{- Society of Ghana Immigration to Ghana

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...