Ghana Citizenship Services in Italy

Dual citizenship, Ghana Card registration, and birth registration for the Ghanaian community in Italy — what the law says, what the Embassy of Ghana in Rome handles, and how the Italian side of the paperwork fits in.

Citizenship questions come up constantly in the Italian diaspora, and for a specific reason: many Ghanaians have now lived in Italy long enough to qualify for Italian naturalisation, which for non-EU nationals generally requires around ten years of legal residence. Communities that arrived in Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Lombardy in the 1990s and 2000s are well past that threshold, so "can I become Italian without losing my Ghanaian citizenship?" is the question the Rome embassy hears most. The short answer is yes — both countries permit dual nationality — but Ghana asks you to formalise it.

Dual Citizenship Under Act 91

The Dual Citizenship Regulation Act 2002 (Act 91) allows Ghanaians who acquire another nationality — including Italian citizenship by naturalisation or marriage — to retain their Ghanaian citizenship. To put your status beyond doubt, you apply for a dual citizenship certificate, either through the Embassy of Ghana in Rome or directly through the Ministry of the Interior in Accra.

A typical application file includes:

• Your Ghana passport (current or expired) and your Italian passport or naturalisation decree;
• Your Ghanaian birth certificate;
• The completed dual citizenship application form with passport photographs;
• The prescribed fee — amounts vary by mission, so confirm the current figure and payment method with the Rome embassy before submitting.

Certificates are typically processed within 3-6 months, as the decision is made in Ghana rather than at the embassy. One constitutional caveat worth knowing: dual citizens cannot hold certain public offices in Ghana — including President, Speaker of Parliament and Chief Justice — under the 1992 Constitution. For everyday purposes (owning property, doing business, voting eligibility rules aside), dual status is the practical choice for most people settled in Italy.

A Note on the Italian Side

Italy has permitted dual citizenship since 1992, so naturalising as Italian does not require you to renounce Ghanaian nationality as far as Italian law is concerned. When you assemble your Ghanaian dual citizenship application, any Italian civil documents you include — for example a naturalisation decree or an estratto from your comune — may need a sworn translation (traduzione giurata) into English and, depending on current requirements, legalisation. Our notarial services guide explains how the Prefettura and Procura della Repubblica handle legalisation in Italy; check with the embassy which format it needs for citizenship files.

Registering a Child Born in Italy

Italy applies citizenship by descent, not by birthplace: a child born in Bologna or Brescia to Ghanaian parents is not automatically Italian. That child is, however, a Ghanaian citizen from birth if at least one parent is Ghanaian — and registering the birth with the embassy is how you document it.

To register a birth, prepare:

• The child's Italian birth certificate — request an estratto dell'atto di nascita from the comune where the birth was registered; the international (multilingual) version saves translation headaches;
• Both parents' Ghana passports (or one Ghanaian parent's passport plus the other parent's identity documents);
• The parents' marriage certificate, if applicable;
• The completed consular birth registration form and photographs of the child.

The embassy issues a consular birth certificate, which then supports the child's first Ghana passport application — see the passport guide. There is no deadline for registration, but doing it early avoids scrambling before a family trip to Ghana. Worth noting for the long term: children born in Italy to foreign parents may elect Italian citizenship at age 18 if they have resided in Italy continuously since birth, at which point Act 91 lets them keep their Ghanaian citizenship too.

Ghana Card Registration in Italy

The Ghana Card, issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA), is Ghana's national identity card and is increasingly required for banking, SIM registration and government services in Ghana — and it is progressively being tied to passport issuance. Diaspora registration is available at participating missions: biometric data (fingerprints and photo) is captured at the embassy and the card is produced in Ghana.

Availability and scheduling at the Rome embassy change over time, so contact the mission (+39 06 8621 7191, info@ghanaembassy.it) to ask whether registration sessions are currently running and what slots exist. Bring your Ghana passport or birth certificate as proof of citizenship, plus proof of your Italian address. If you are already travelling to Rome for a passport appointment, ask whether both can be done in one visit — it is the single best way to spare yourself a second train journey from the north.

Citizenship by Descent and Right of Abode

Adults of Ghanaian parentage who were born abroad and never documented their citizenship can also regularise their status through the embassy — typically by evidencing a Ghanaian parent's citizenship (passport, birth certificate) alongside their own birth records. Separately, Ghana's Right of Abode under the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573) offers people of African descent — a status promoted through the Year of Return and Beyond the Return initiatives — a renewable long-term right to live and work in Ghana. Right of Abode applications go through the Ghana Immigration Service rather than the citizenship route; the embassy can point you to the correct channel.

Official Sources

• Embassy of Ghana, Rome — official website
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana
• Ghana Immigration Service
• National Identification Authority (Ghana Card)
• Ghana e-Visa Portal

Last updated: 2026-08-04. Legal position summarised from Act 91 (2002) and Act 573 (2000); fees vary by mission — confirm current amounts with the Rome embassy.