Immigration
ECOWAS free movement with a residence permit regime for others
ECOWAS nationals enter without a visa and may stay 90 days under the 1979 Protocol. Others need a visa, obtainable as an e-visa, and a carte de séjour for stays beyond three months. Benin abolished visas for all African nationals in 2020.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Direction de l'Émigration et de l'Immigration issues permits; refusals are challenged before the administrative chamber.
- Deadline — Carte de séjour: applied for within 30 days of arrival for stays over 90 days
- Deadline — ECOWAS nationals: 90 days without formality, then a residence card
Governing law
- Loi n° 86-012 portant régime des étrangers en République du Bénin
- ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons 1979
- Décret n° 2020-395 supprimant les visas pour les ressortissants africains
In practice
Benin's 2020 decision to admit all African nationals visa-free went further than its ECOWAS obligations, which cover only community citizens. The right of residence and establishment under the ECOWAS Protocol is, however, still subject to national permits in practice, so a Nigerien trader in Cotonou has a right of entry but not an automatic right to trade without registration.