Immigration law in Benin

The main rules come from Loi N°2025-15 and Décret N°2026-049. The Direction de l’Émigration et de l’Immigration (DEI), operating under the Ministry of the Interior and the Police républicaine, handles visas, border control, residence cards and migration control. The Ministry of Labour deals with work authorization and expatriate employment, the Ministry of Justice handles nationality, and the Commission nationale chargée des réfugiés et des apatrides (CNRA) handles refugee and statelessness matters. A foreign national normally needs a valid passport or equivalent identity document. A visa is required unless an exemption or valid residence card applies. ECOWAS citizens can enter Benin without a visa for a maximum of 90 days if they use an official border point, carry a valid travel document and hold an international health certificate. A stay beyond 90 days requires authorization to reside or settle under the national procedure. Benin provides several visa purposes. Transit stays last up to 8 days. Tourist or visit visas normally allow up to 90 days and may be extendable. A business visa allows up to 90 days per entry and can have a validity of two years. Professional and study visas can cover up to 12 months and may be renewed. Benin has no separate family-reunification residence title identified in the reviewed sources; family visits generally use the tourist or visit visa, while marriage can matter for privileged residence and nationality. Applicants can request an e-Visa online before arrival. Official e-Visa processing is listed at approximately 1 to 96 hours. For a regular visa, the applicant submits the required documents and can usually collect it about three working days later. Long-stay applications for six or twelve months involve a preliminary review and acceptance, followed by payment and an appointment with the DEI. Visa applications generally require a passport valid for at least six months, a photograph, accommodation evidence, and, for tourist or business travel, proof of onward travel. The purpose of travel, study evidence, employment documents and, where applicable, a Certificat d’Identification Personnelle d’Étranger (CIPE) may also be required. A stay exceeding 90 days triggers identification requirements and the CIPE process. An ordinary resident may qualify through proof of means, a third-party guarantee or another legitimate interest in residence together with good moral conduct. The ordinary residence card lasts three years and can be renewed. After two renewals, a foreign national with permanent employment or activity, property ownership, an actual marital residence in Benin, or a functioning company or industrial operation may qualify for a privileged residence card. The Minister may also grant it because of a particular Beninese interest. This card lasts ten years and can be renewed. Investors and operators in the Glo-Djigbé Special Economic Zone can use a five-year zone card. An ordinary residence application commonly requires a passport valid for more than one year, the CIPE, evidence of income, an employment contract or financial support, a criminal-record certificate from the country of origin or last residence for a first application, a Benin criminal-record certificate for renewal, and proof of payment. A privileged residence application requires additional evidence of the permanent activity, property, marriage or company relied upon, and the authorities may investigate the residential environment for a first card. Current listed fees include EUR 50 for a one-month single-entry tourist or visit e-Visa, EUR 75 for one-month multiple entry and EUR 100 for three-month multiple entry. Professional and study visas cost EUR 70 for one month, EUR 90 for three months, EUR 120 for six months and EUR 180 for one year. Ordinary residence cards cost 50,000 FCFA for ECOWAS citizens and 250,000 FCFA for non-ECOWAS citizens for three years. Privileged cards cost 100,000 FCFA for ECOWAS citizens and 800,000 FCFA for non-ECOWAS citizens for ten years; the Glo-Djigbé zone card costs 350,000 FCFA for five years. The DEI website is the operational reference for current fees. A foreign worker must hold lawful residence. An employer may employ a foreign national who is regularly resident, while a work permit can be required in strategic sectors. The employment visa or expatriate contract is handled through the Ministry of Labour. A work contract does not automatically create a right to reside. Basic labour rights apply, subject to the applicable access conditions. Loi N°2022-31 covers refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons, with the CNRA structure set out in Décret N°2024-1632. Refugee protection can apply where a person has a well-founded fear of persecution or faces a serious disturbance or attack. Exclusion can apply to crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, serious ordinary crimes or acts contrary to the purposes of the United Nations or African Union. The UNHCR provides technical support, and refugees may receive treatment comparable to Beninese citizens in education, health care and social benefits where the law grants access. A refugee travel document is issued through the DEI. Local application deadlines and fees for protection procedures were not verified in the available research. Benin has no permanent residence title confirmed in the reviewed primary sources. The ten-year privileged residence card is a functional long-term alternative, but it is not citizenship. Nationality is governed by Loi N°2022-32. Benin permits dual nationality and does not allow deprivation that would create statelessness. Nationality may arise through birth, descent, recognition, declaration, marriage or naturalisation. Marriage-based nationality requires a five-year probationary period from the marriage or its transcription. Naturalisation generally requires majority age, at least five years of principal residence before the application, good conduct, no unexpunged final prison sentence exceeding six months, physical and mental fitness, assimilation, an occupation and a tax clearance certificate. The decision follows an investigation and is made by decree. A person of African descent applying from abroad can receive a provisional nationality certificate for three years and obtain full recognition after residing in Benin within that period. Foreign nationals generally enjoy the rights and freedoms granted by law, while access to benefits and exemptions depends on the relevant conditions. They must use valid documents, comply with identification and border-control duties, record departure at an official border point and obtain official authorization when a non-emancipated minor leaves the country. Visa refusal or refusal to renew a visa is notified and has no appeal under the reviewed rule; departure must occur within three days. A refusal or non-renewal of a residence card can be challenged by recours pour excès de pouvoir within three days of notification or expiry of the response period. That appeal suspends departure or expulsion, and the applicant can request a provisional residence certificate. The court target is 45 days. Irregular residence can lead to a fine of at least twice the required residence-card fee, while repeat violations can bring one to six months of imprisonment or a fine. Re-entry after refoulement or expulsion can also lead to one to six months of imprisonment or a fine.