Free Ghana visa for Africans: how to apply for the ETA in 2026

Is Ghana free for Africans now? The visa is: 0 FCFA since 25 May 2026. But it is not "visa-free". Djo and Ebelle want to spend December in Accra: here's everything you need to know, plus the trap that can stop you at the airport.

What changed on 25 May 2026

• No more visa fees for African passports.
• Visa on arrival has been scrapped.
• Instead, you apply before you leave, online, for a free authorisation: the ETA.
• Who does this apply to? Africans outside ECOWAS and outside countries that have a visa exemption agreement with Ghana. With a Cameroonian passport, you must apply for the ETA. A Togolese, Beninese or Nigerian traveller, on the other hand, still enters without applying for anything.

Documents to prepare

• a passport valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages (3 according to the official portal);
• a photo;
• your return ticket;
• your hotel booking (or an accommodation address).

Detty December

Detty December is the end-of-year festive season in Ghana: concerts, festivals, beaches. "Detty" is Ghanaian for "dirty". The government prefers to call it "December in GH": from 1 December to 3 January.

The flight from Douala

No direct flight: you need a stopover, in Lomé, Abidjan or Lagos. Douala has non-stop flights to Lomé and Lagos. In December, budget at least 500,000 to 550,000 FCFA for a return ticket. December is high season: book early, for both flights and hotels.

Your budget on the ground

• 1 cedi is worth about 50 FCFA.
• A plate of jollof in a small restaurant: about 2,500 to 4,500 FCFA (50 to 90 cedis).

Weather, time and language

• December is the dry season (with the harmattan), around 31 °C in the afternoon.
• Accra is one hour behind Douala.
• The official language is English. Learn two words of Twi: Akwaaba (welcome) and Medaase (thank you).

The airport trap

Plan your trip

Everything is on Travora's Ghana page, for travellers from Cameroon. And to find out why Ghana isn't one of the countries that are visa-free for all Africans, read our article on the 4 countries that say yes to everyone.