Benin has abolished the short stay visa which has a maximum of 90 days to 31 African countries.
President Patrice Talon made the promise to exempt Africans from applying for visa into the country while visiting Rwanda last year. Talon followed suite Rwanda’s initiative of banning VISA for Africans.
“Based on the experience of Rwanda, I decided that Benin will no longer require visas for Africans. South-South cooperation can make real sense. My hope is that cooperation between Rwanda and Benin can serve as an example,” Talon had said
A document by the Consulate General of Benin in Paris, dated January 10, 2017, shows a list of nationals from 31 countries in Africa that are now exempt from visa for Benin, for a three month stay. Until the measure is applicable at all the airports concerned, the persons concerned, in addition to the nationals of the Community of West African States, who are already exempt, may however be required to withdraw a courtesy visa, Free advised the embassy.
The documents has the following countries; South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Chad, Tanzania, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
The Visa exemptions are in addition to the national of 15 countries in West Africa that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which Benin is also a member. The ECOWAS countries include: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali , Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Cape Verde.
Some of the countries in Africa’s list of 54 official countries include Somalia, Libya, Egypt,
Seychelles does not require any visa from any traveler