This archive report was first published on 19 September 2019.
As of August 2019, Ghana was home to citizens from 167 countries, with Nigerians being the largest group.
According to data from the Foreigner Identification Management Systems (FIMS), a private partner of the National Identification Authority, 1,617 Nigerians have been issued foreigners' identification cards.
Between January and August 2019, FIMS issued ID cards to 22,393 foreign residents in Ghana, comprising 15,679 renewals and 6,714 fresh applicants.
The mass registration exercise, which began on September 9, 2019, and ended on October 31, 2019, was conducted at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Assistant Comptroller of Immigration (ACI) Francis Palmdeti, the Head of Corporate Affairs of the NIA, revealed that foreigners are required to renew their ID cards every year, as the card is necessary for applying for a resident's permit in the country.
Palmdeti also provided a breakdown of the top 10 countries with nationals living in Ghana, with China leading the list at 6,022 citizens, followed by India with 3,434 citizens, and the United States with 1,153 citizens.
