Ghana Police Certificate

[a&o 4]

The Ghana Police Service has a website! And here's the info for getting a police certificate:

http://www.ghanapolice.org/cid/clearance_certificate.htm

The office is located on Ring Road (CID is the same as Police Headquarters).

I called to confirm the prices. They are actually about 30,000 cedis more than what is stated there.

The hours are M-F 9 am - 3 pm.

We're headed there tomorrow, so I'll post any other info I get then.

[a&o 4]

Follow-up: We went to the Police Headquarters this morning. We arrived at 8:15, which was good because by 9 the place was mobbed. By 8:30 they gave us the application form, and by 9:30 the cashier showed up to take the fee. Contrary to what the website and the officer I spoke with on the phone said, there is only one way and one charge: 5 working days and 100,000 cedis. You must get the 3 passport photos done in their office, too, so no need to bring the 2 photos you had done anywhere else. The photos in their office cost 30,000 cedis and they are produced right away. Then you get finger-printed. After that you submit all of the materials to a room down the hall. It's total chaos in the first room. There are no cues, no numbers to take. It's pretty much on the "pushiest person to not annoy the staff served first" system.

[a&o 4]

Another follow-up on the police certificate: When O went to pick it up on the assigned day to pick it up (five business days later) it wasn't ready. He returned the next day, and it still wasn't ready. The day after that it was ready but they had spelled his name wrong. He was told to come back the following day for a replacement. He went back and all they had done was use correction fluid (white-out) to correct the spelling of his name. This is not good, judging from the persnicketiness the consular officers seem to have. But the police certificate people said it was fine and wouldn't just do a new one.

Anyway, the Ghana police certificate is only valid for THREE MONTHS (according to the police certificate issuer). So we have to do a new one anyway, since our interview is in April.

Edited October 18, 2006 by a&o