Ghanaian job seekers heading to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will now be required to obtain and authenticate police clearance certificates before securing employment visas, introducing a new compliance requirement that could reshape recruitment processes between the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that the UAE has made Good Conduct Certificates, commonly known as Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs), mandatory for all Ghanaian nationals applying for employment visas under new immigration rules introduced this year.
“All persons applying for employment visas to the UAE will be required to obtain a Good Conduct Certificate, also known as a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC),” the ministry said, citing official notification from the UAE Embassy in Accra.
The requirement, which the UAE has implemented in phases, first applied to employment visa applicants from Ghana on March 30 before being extended on July 20 to all worker categories arriving in the Gulf state. The ministry said the police clearance certificate “constitutes an additional requirement for employment visa applications” and “must be duly authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana and the Embassy of the UAE in Accra before the UAE authorities can accept it.”
The move reflects a broader tightening of labour migration controls by the UAE, which has expanded the requirement to several nationalities as part of efforts to strengthen security screening for foreign workers.
The development comes as overseas employment plays an important role in Ghana’s labour market, offering jobs for young people while contributing to remittance inflows.
The government has, in recent years, sought to formalise labour export through bilateral arrangements and recruitment programmes. In May, the Youth Employment Agency sent another batch of Ghanaian workers to the UAE under its Labour Exchange Programme to take up hospitality jobs with international restaurant brands, underscoring the Gulf state’s growing importance as a destination for Ghanaian workers.
Recruitment agencies are expected to face additional administrative responsibilities as applicants will now need to secure police clearance certificates before visa applications can proceed. The extra documentation and authentication requirements could lengthen recruitment timelines and increase upfront costs for workers.
However, stricter screening could also improve confidence among UAE employers by providing verified criminal background checks, potentially reducing fraudulent applications and strengthening formal recruitment channels.
The requirement may also help curb irregular migration and fraudulent job placement schemes that have periodically affected Ghanaians seeking employment abroad, particularly in Gulf countries.
The ministry also announced that Ghanaians currently in the UAE on visit visas who intend to convert their status to work visas have been granted “a forty-five (45)-day grace period from the effective date of the decision to regularize their immigration status.”
Applicants will need to obtain the police clearance certificate through the Ghana Police Service before completing the authentication process with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Embassy.
The ministry advised “all Ghanaian citizens intending to seek employment in the UAE to take note of this new requirement for compliance” and encouraged applicants to seek clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana Police Service or the UAE Embassy in Accra, where necessary.
