This working paper explores the reasons for the phenomenon of independent child migration from the North to the South in Ghana, looking particularly at how the decision for the child to migrate is made, and who is involved in the process. Most of the findings of the research focus on what children themselves think and say about the decision-making processes and their experiences. Whilst migration is neither a new phenomenon, nor specific to any group of people, the trends and dynamics of population movements vary greatly over space and time. Migration in its various forms has resulted in the redistribution of people over space, with migratory flows generally prompted by imbalances in development between origin and destination areas. These imbalances, be they in resource endowment, income levels or access to facilities and services, cause the movement of people at both internal and international levels. However, an understanding of the role of these structural factors should not deter us from looking at migrants’ own agency in deciding to migrate. The literature on migration in Ghana has largely focused on the internal migration of its adult population. Recently, however, the independent migration of children, particularly from northern to southern Ghana, has become a subject of increasing concern for Ghana’s national development. This phenomenon has important implications for the development prospects of both origin and destination areas, as well as for the socio-economic advancement of the child migrants themselves.