Benin is steeped in a mysterious past as it is the birthplace of voodoo and it was a focal platform of the slave trade for nearly three centuries. Benin is as mysterious today as it was in its past, therefore a must for any adventurous travellers.
The country is one of the few places in West Africa that has a thriving wildlife population. West Africa’s largest populations of lions can be found here, and half of all the elephants in the region.
This information piece tells you everything you need to know about visa requirements for visiting Benin.
It is important that you familiarise yourself with these legal requirements of entry before your visit, in particular if you are travelling with minors.
Visa requirements are governed by Benin and are subject to change without prior notice. Rather check the country’s official website or enquire from a reputable travelling agency or tour operator like MoAfrika Tours what the latest updates or changes to the requirements for a visa application may be.
WHAT IS A VISA?
A visa is issued to international travellers visiting Benin for a short stay on a temporary basis for tourism, business, study or medical reasons.
Visas are normally issued for a maximum 30 or 90 days, depending on your country of residence. A valid visa allows you to enter the country through a port of entry and stay in the country for the period specified in your visa.
Note that you are restricted to the activity or reason stated in your application, for example, if you applied for a visa for a holiday or family visit, you are not allowed to work in the country during your stay.
VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR VISITING BENIN
You must have a visa to travel to Benin, and your passport should have six months’ validity remaining after your planned departure date. Tourists traveling to Benin may apply for a visa that is valid for three years and permits multiple entries into the country.
A visa is authorised and issued upon application by a representative of a country’s embassy, mission or consulate after it has been determined that you are eligible to enter the country for a specific purpose.
Visitors holding passports from countries that are classified as ‘exempt’ do not need to apply for a visa prior to arriving in Benin. Instead, they are issued with a short-stay visa at the point of entry for a period of time relevant to the status of the visitor’s country.
COUNTRIES EXEMPTED AND COUNTRIES THAT NEED VISAS
Visa exemption:
Nationals of the following countries do not need visas to enter the territory if they intend to stay less than three months: South Africa, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, China (except Hong Kong), Congo (Brazzaville), Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Liberia.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VISAS
Visitors to Benin can apply for one of two types of visas, depending on the purpose of their visit – an ordinary tourism visa or a business visa if they are going to conduct business activities in the country.
Tourism Visa – is needed by travellers that intend to spend time in Benin as part of their travelling itinerary or as a specific holiday destination. They will have to prove the length of their intended stay by providing an airline ticket or itinerary round trip travel agency certificate and hotel reservation confirmations.
Business Visa – needed by individuals or representatives of companies with business interests in Benin.
Apart from their original passport, which must be valid for six months from the day the request and the normal requirements for a visa, they will also have to provide a mission statement of their company, stating the reason and the exact dates of the trip to Benin as well as hotel reservation confirmation and an airline ticket for a round trip.
HOW AND WHERE TO APPLY FOR VISAS WHEN VISITING BENIN
Benin E-Visa
A Benin E-Visa is a simple easy way to get a visa for Benin. There are three different processing times for an E-Visa, for the standard it will take up to five working days. For the rush processing, it will take three working days and the super rush will take one working day.
The countries that can apply for an E-Visa are:
South Africa, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Oceania, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Caribbean Netherland, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo – Brazzaville, Congo – Kinshasa, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czechia, Côte D’ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong Sar China, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle Of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao Sar China, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, North Macedonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Territory, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Barthélemy, St. Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Pierre and Miquelon, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, U.S. Outlying Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Åland Islands.
If you are a citizen of one of the above countries, fill in an online form that is available on the E-Visa website. The site can accept any format such as PDF, JPG, PNG. The approved Benin e-Visa PDF is sent to you by email.
You can pay for your visa through Amex, Visa, JCP, Mastercard, Maestro, Alipay or Unionpay. There will be a refund of your visa fees if your travel authorisation or Visa has been denied.
How to apply for a Benin Visa at an embassy or consulate
The application process largely depends on which country’s embassy or consulate you use to submit your visa application. However, the following is a guideline:
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR APPLICATION FOR VISA
Tourism Visa
Business Visa
COST OF A BENIN VISA
The price of a Benin visa is USD 109 to USD 189 and consists of a visa fee of 50 – 100 EUR and the processing fee. This includes the eVisa, application revision, communication with government and assistance.
VACCINES NEEDED WHEN VISITING BENIN
The World Health Organisation recommends the following vaccinations for Benin: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is often required for a foreign visitor who is travelling from or transiting through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission.
A yellow fever certificate is valid 10 days after the vaccination is administered, making it important to get the vaccination in time before leaving for Benin. You may be refused entry if you leave it too late and arrive in Benin within the 10-day waiting period.
There is a dengue outbreak in Benin which is spread by mosquitoes. Travelers going to Benin should take steps to avoid mosquito bites. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease which happens in tropical and subtropical areas.
Mild dengue fever causes a high fever, rash, and muscle and joint pain. A severe form of dengue fever, also called dengue haemorrhagic fever, can cause severe bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure leading to shock and death.
Insect repellent is your best friend when it comes to avoiding mosquito bites, you can buy insect repellents from the local supermarkets and/or pharmacies and apply to any exposed areas of the skin. Those products, which include DEET, claim to be the most effective, but there are alternatives if you are allergic.
A little-known fact is that wearing light coloured clothing can prevent mosquito bites, they are more attracted to darker colours because of the contrasting that dark-coloured clothes provide against the horizon during dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
The symptoms normally begin four to seven days after you are bitten by an infected mosquito. You will experience a headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, pain behind your eyes, swollen glands and a rash.
Most recover within a week. Sometimes the symptoms worsen and can become life-threatening.
OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS WHEN VISITING BENIN
The penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs are strict, and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines. If you are travelling with prescription medicine, carry proof of your prescription.
Sexual relations with minors under 21 years of age are illegal and severely punished by law.
You are prohibited to take pictures of military zones, airports or government offices. You should ask permission before taking any picture of anyone.
The currency is the West African Financial Community franc, or CFA franc (XOF).
VISITING BENIN WITH MINORS
If you are travelling to Benin with a minor, please take note of the additional documents you will need per child:
WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE OVERSTAYS ON A VISA IN BENIN
Foreign visitors who overstay on a visa are normally declared ‘undesirable persons’ and may incur a ban from Benin for a time period, which prevents them from applying for a visa and re-entering Benin for a prescribed period of time.
You may also be charged a fine for each day that you overstay on your visa.
There may even be legal action taken against you, it is highly recommended that you extend your visa well in advance.
Individuals who have been affected by the overstay visa regulations of a country can usually lodge a visa overstay appeal.
ENJOY A SAFE HOLIDAY IN BENIN WITH A REPUTABLE TOUR OPERATOR
MoAfrika Tours is a leading tour operator in South Africa that offers an outstanding selection of tours to Benin. We have a close association with the most reputable tour operators in Benin who make safety a priority.