Eligibility quiz
Do you plan to stay in Benin to work remotely for an employer or customers outside Benin?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Live in Benin
A resident card lets you settle in Benin.
An ordinary card lasts 3 years, and a privileged card lasts 10 years; both can be renewed.
Enjoy equal rights
In Benin, residents generally have the same rights and freedoms as Beninese citizens.
This does not automatically grant citizen-only rights, public services or exemptions, which have their own conditions.
Own property
You can own property in Benin, though other laws may restrict or prohibit ownership in some cases.
How to apply
From outside BeninFrom outside Benin
Find your consulate
Find the Beninese embassy or consulate that serves the place where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Beninese embassy or consulate serves your city for a professional visa application?”
Get the application form
Get the professional visa application form from the consulate.
Find the formSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I get the Benin professional visa application form from my consulate?”
Fill in the form
Fill in the professional visa application form, presenting your remote work as your professional activity. Remote work for an employer or clients abroad is not expressly listed as qualifying.
Find form instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in a Benin professional visa application form for remote work?”
Complete your identification
Follow the receiving authority's instructions to complete the foreigner identification procedure and get your identification certificate.
Find identification instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I complete foreigner identification for a Benin professional visa?”
Pay the visa fee
Pay the professional visa fee and keep the receipt for your application. Ask the consulate how to pay.
Find payment instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I pay the Benin professional visa fee at a consulate?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the consulate.
See required documentsSubmit your application
Submit your completed form and documents to the consulate. Ask the consulate how it takes applications.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Benin professional visa application to the consulate serving your city?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the visa decision and respond if the consulate asks you for more information or documents.
Find decision informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How long does a Benin professional visa application take at a consulate?”
Travel to Benin
Once your visa is granted, you can travel to Benin during the time your visa allows.
Find travel informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I enter Benin with a professional visa?”
Once in BeninOnce in Benin
Apply for a resident card
If you are establishing residence in Benin, apply for an ordinary resident card through the immigration or police authority. Pay the card fee, keep the receipt and submit it with the required documents; ask the authority how to pay and apply.
Find card instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply for an ordinary resident card through the Benin immigration authority?”
Renew your visa
If you need to renew your professional visa, apply before it expires and early enough for it to be issued; give your reason and include the renewal-fee receipt. If your stay exceeded 90 days, include your foreigner identification certificate too; ask the authority how to pay and submit the renewal.
Find renewal instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I renew a Benin professional visa before it expires?”
Documents needed
Required to applyRequired to apply
Copy of your passport
Provide a copy of your passport or equivalent travel document. It must be valid for more than six months after your visa application date, or more than one year after your resident-card application date.
Proof of accommodation
Show where you will stay in Benin with a hotel booking, an invitation letter from a Beninese organisation, or an accommodation certificate. The certificate can be from a Beninese citizen living in Benin or a foreign national resident there.
Application forms
Submit the completed application form for your professional visa and, if you are applying for a resident card, the form for that application. If you are renewing your visa, give the reason for the renewal.
Foreigner identification certificate
Obtain your foreigner personal-identification certificate by completing the identification procedure. Provide a copy with a resident-card application; for a visa renewal, provide the certificate if your stay exceeded 90 days.
Police certificate *
For your first resident-card application, get a criminal-record extract or equivalent document from your country of origin or your last country of residence. For a renewal, provide a criminal-record extract issued in Benin instead.
* Only if you apply for a resident card.
Proof of work or money *
Provide proof of employment or income-generating work, a promise of an employment contract, proof that you can support yourself, or a guarantee that someone else will support you. An employer contract, client contracts or other evidence of your work and income may help show how you support yourself.
* Only if you apply for a resident card.
Considerations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Resident card renewal
You must renew your card when it expires: after 3 years for an ordinary card or 10 years for a privileged card.
Residence can end
If renewal is refused, you must leave within 3 days unless you challenge it in court.
File within 3 days of notice or, if no decision arrives, of the decision deadline.
The challenge pauses departure or expulsion, and the court must decide within 45 days.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
Move To Benin
English Facebook group for people living in Benin interested in Beninese visas
Join on FacebookBénin expats
Facebook group for people living in Benin interested in Beninese visas (English & French)
Join on FacebookExpat au Bénin
French Facebook group for people living in Benin interested in Beninese local life
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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