Moving from Ghana to France (2026): Relocation Guide
Key takeaways
- Pets are the longest lead item — arrange them first. Ghana is not on the EU’s list of approved countries, so a dog or cat entering France needs a microchip, rabies vaccination and a rabies antibody titration test: blood taken at least 30 days after vaccination at an EU-approved laboratory showing ≥ 0.5 IU/ml, then a mandatory three-month wait before EU entry, plus an EU animal health certificate. Allow four to five months.
- Ghanaian citizens are third-country nationals, so you need a French long-stay visa (visa de long séjour / VLS-TS) matched to your purpose, obtained before travel.
- Leaving Ghana: settle residency/exit admin and clear used household effects through the GRA Customs Division. Pet export goes through the Veterinary Services Directorate.
- Entering France: claim duty- and VAT-free import of your belongings under the franchise de déménagement using CERFA 10070 — you need 12 months lived outside the EU and 6 months’ prior ownership/use, with a signed inventory in two copies.
- After arrival, validate your VLS-TS online on the ANEF portal within three months — without validation the visa is only an entry permit.
- Sea freight from Tema to Le Havre or Marseille runs roughly three to four weeks; air freight suits urgent part-loads.
1. Leaving Ghana: what to close out
Run your departure like a project. Give notice on your tenancy or arrange for your property, close or transfer utility accounts (ECG, Ghana Water, internet and mobile), and make sure you are in good standing with the GRA before closing bank accounts and moving money. Collect original documents France will want: birth and marriage certificates, degrees and transcripts, professional qualifications, and your children’s school records. French administration frequently requires sworn (certified) translations into French and sometimes an apostille, so organise these in Ghana before departure — obtaining them later from abroad is slow.
Household goods clear the export side through the GRA Customs Division. Used personal and household effects you have owned and used are treated as removal articles, but note the restrictions applied by the GRA and the freight trade: used refrigerators, used air-conditioners and used deep freezers are prohibited, so do not ship them. Keep invoices for electricals, hi-fi and anything bought within six months of shipping, and prepare a detailed, valued inventory — you will reuse it (in French) for the CERFA 10070 declaration.
If a pet is travelling, start the veterinary steps months ahead (section 5). Live-animal export is controlled by Ghana’s Veterinary Services Directorate (VSD), which issues the export health certificate and permit only once France’s import conditions are satisfied.
2. How your household goods ship to France
Nearly all Ghana–France household moves travel by sea container from the Port of Tema near Accra (sometimes Takoradi). The usual options:
- Full container load (FCL) — a dedicated 20ft or 40ft container. Best value per cubic metre for a whole home and quickest to clear because it is not shared.
- Shared container / groupage (LCL) — you pay for the volume you occupy. Cheaper for a small move, but slower because the container consolidates before sailing and is split on arrival.
- Air freight — for a small, urgent or high-value part-load: days rather than weeks, at a premium per kilo.
Sea transit from Tema to Le Havre (France’s main container port on the Channel) or Marseille-Fos (Mediterranean) is typically in the region of three to four weeks, often via a transhipment hub. Add time at both ends for collection, consolidation, customs clearance and inland delivery to your French address. Insist on an itemised inventory and take out marine transit insurance — inexpensive relative to the value at risk on an intercontinental sea leg.
3. French customs & transfer-of-residence relief
When you transfer your normal residence to France from a non-EU country, you can import your used personal effects free of import duty and VAT under the franchise de déménagement (removal-goods relief). The declaration is made to French customs (Douane) on form CERFA 10070 (Déclaration d’entrée en franchise de biens personnels en provenance de pays tiers).
The core conditions: you must have had your normal residence outside the EU for at least 12 continuous months, you must be establishing your residence in France, and the goods must have been in your ownership and use for at least six months before the move. You must supply a detailed, valued, dated and signed inventory in two copies, plus documents proving you held your main residence outside the EU and are now settling in France (for example a tenancy or purchase contract, tax records, or an employer’s letter). Goods admitted under the franchise cannot be sold, lent or hired out for 12 months after import. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial goods and vehicles have separate rules.
Having CERFA 10070 and its supporting inventory ready before the container reaches Le Havre or Marseille is the single biggest factor in a clean, charge-free clearance. Your mover or customs agent can lodge the declaration on your behalf if you provide the paperwork in good time.
4. Arriving: registration, residence, driving, healthcare
Validate your visa. Most long-stay arrivals hold a VLS-TS (long-stay visa acting as a residence permit). You must validate it online on the ANEF portal within three months of arrival, providing your visa details, date of entry, French address and payment of the applicable tax. Until you validate, the visa is only an entry document, not a residence permit — so put this at the top of your arrival list.
Residence and renewal. Depending on your category (worker, “Passeport Talent”, student, visitor or family), you renew or convert your status before the VLS-TS expires, dealing with your préfecture via ANEF. Keep your visa, validation receipt, proof of address (justificatif de domicile) and income/insurance evidence organised, as these are requested repeatedly.
Healthcare. Once you are stably and lawfully resident, you can apply to join the French health system (PUMa / Assurance Maladie) and obtain a social security number and later a carte Vitale; there is generally a qualifying period, so keep private cover in the interim. Register with a médecin traitant (attending GP) to get the best reimbursement rates.
Driving. You may drive on a valid Ghanaian licence for a limited initial period after establishing residence, but France does not have a general exchange agreement with Ghana. In practice that means you will need to obtain a French licence, which typically requires passing the French tests within the first year of residence. Check the current rules with your préfecture / the official service-public.fr guidance and act early.
Banking and utilities. With a French address and your validated status you can open a bank account (a RIB is needed for salary, rent and direct debits), then set up electricity, water, internet and home insurance (assurance habitation, which is compulsory for tenants). A French account and payslips make renting and contracts much easier.
5. Pets
Start this first. Because Ghana is not an EU-listed third country, bringing a dog or cat into France requires the full non-listed procedure, in this order:
- Microchip (ISO-standard) fitted first — every later step is keyed to the chip number.
- Rabies vaccination, given after the microchip.
- Rabies antibody titration test — blood drawn at least 30 days after the vaccination, analysed at an EU-approved laboratory, showing a neutralising antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml.
- The three-month wait. Entry into the EU is permitted only once three months have elapsed from the date the satisfactory blood sample was taken.
- EU animal health certificate completed by an official vet before travel, with the owner’s declaration; pets enter via a designated Traveller’s Point of Entry and are checked on arrival.
On the Ghana side, the Veterinary Services Directorate issues the export health certificate and permit; its guidance already anticipates microchipping and a rabies titre for departing pets, so the regimes align when sequenced correctly. Budget four to five months from the first vet visit to travel. If the blood test is drawn too soon after vaccination, or the antibody result is below 0.5 IU/ml, the timeline resets — the most common cause of a delayed family move to France. Fix the pet schedule before you set any other dates.
6. Money, banking & tax basics
Plan your currency transfers before leaving Ghana: use regulated providers, keep evidence of the source of funds for larger amounts, and watch the cedi-to-euro rate. Keep some euros to hand for the first weeks — a French rental typically needs a deposit plus the first month and often a guarantor, so upfront costs are real — before your salary and account are running. Once you have a French address and validated status, opening a bank account is routine; some banks and neobanks offer English-language onboarding.
On tax, France taxes residents on worldwide income once your tax domicile is in France. Income tax is largely collected at source (prélèvement à la source) and you file an annual return. If you keep income or assets in Ghana, or receive a foreign pension, take advice on your first-year position and any double-taxation relief. Retain all paperwork — payslips, tenancy contract, insurance, and your CERFA 10070 and shipping documents — as French administration is document-driven and good records resolve queries quickly.
How Flyto handles your Ghana to France move
Flyto Relocation manages the Ghana-to-France corridor as one coordinated project. We handle export clearance through the GRA Customs Division and collection in Accra or Takoradi, book the right sea or air service out of Tema, and prepare your CERFA 10070 and inventory so your franchise de déménagement clears cleanly at Le Havre or Marseille. Because we run our own hubs across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, we keep visibility of your shipment end to end and arrange inland delivery to your French address. We also help you sequence the pet timeline — microchip, vaccination, the ≥ 0.5 IU/ml titre test and the three-month wait — so it never derails your dates. Get a quote and we will plan your schedule backwards from the day you want to arrive.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my pet need a rabies titration test to enter France from Ghana?
Ghana is not an EU-listed third country, so a dog or cat needs a microchip, rabies vaccination and a rabies antibody test (blood taken at least 30 days after vaccination at an EU-approved lab, result ≥ 0.5 IU/ml), then a three-month wait before EU entry. Source.
How long does the pet process take?
Around four to five months: microchip and vaccination, a minimum 30-day wait before the titre test, then the three-month wait before travel, plus the EU animal health certificate. If the timing or antibody level is wrong, the clock restarts. Source.
What is CERFA 10070 and who needs it?
It is the French customs declaration for the franchise de déménagement, letting you import used belongings free of duty and VAT if you lived outside the EU for 12 months and owned the goods for six; you must attach a signed inventory in two copies. Source.
How and when do I validate my long-stay visa?
You validate a VLS-TS online on the ANEF portal within three months of arrival, giving your visa details, entry date and French address and paying the tax; without it the visa is only an entry permit. Source.
Can I drive on my Ghanaian licence in France?
Only for a limited initial period after taking up residence. France has no general exchange agreement with Ghana, so you will normally need to obtain a French licence by passing the French tests within the first year. Source.
How long is sea freight from Tema to France?
Typically about three to four weeks in transit to Le Havre or Marseille, often via a transhipment hub, plus time for collection, clearance and inland delivery. Air freight is faster for small or urgent loads. Source.
Sources
- European Commission — Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country
- European Commission — Designated laboratories for rabies antibody titration tests
- Douane française — Déménagement en France depuis un pays tiers (franchise, CERFA 10070)
- France-Visas — Long-stay visa (VLS-TS)
- ANEF (Ministère de l’Intérieur) — Validate your long-stay visa online
- Service-Public.fr — Driving in France with a foreign licence
- Ghana Revenue Authority — Customs: passengers’ obligations and removal articles
- Veterinary Services Directorate, Ghana — Export requirements for pets