Source-backed scope
For adult Indian ordinary-passport holders resident in India, requiring a visa and arriving by air for a temporary family visit. Limited to a first visit or a travel history whose cumulative stay including this visit does not exceed ninety days. Decree 2026-049 puts this purpose in the tourist/visit category, issued online; the current portal offers thirty/ninety-day choices subject to the actual grant. Article 7 requires a printed/sticker stay visa once cumulative stay exceeds ninety days; it does not state an annual reset. Holders of a valid Benin resident card or another exemption, applicants under special legislation, employment, study, settlement and transit are outside this cohort. This temporary visit is distinct from family settlement and a resident-card application.
- Jurisdiction
- Benin
- Purpose
- Short family / friend visits
- Destination
- Benin
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Use this guide in the plannerRoute scope
For adult Indian ordinary-passport holders resident in India, requiring a visa and arriving by air for a temporary family visit. Limited to a first visit or a travel history whose cumulative stay including this visit does not exceed ninety days. Decree 2026-049 puts this purpose in the tourist/visit category, issued online; the current portal offers thirty/ninety-day choices subject to the actual grant. Article 7 requires a printed/sticker stay visa once cumulative stay exceeds ninety days; it does not state an annual reset. Holders of a valid Benin resident card or another exemption, applicants under special legislation, employment, study, settlement and transit are outside this cohort. This temporary visit is distinct from family settlement and a resident-card application.
Checked 28 October 2026 against the visually reviewed national Decree 2026-049, entry provisions of Law 2025-15, MEA ordinary-passport eVisa list, current official online procedure/FAQ and September 2026 border-health notice. The statutory supporting file and public filing instructions were reviewed; no applicant identity, emailed continuation, upload, payment or government application was submitted. Follow additional case-specific requests from the competent authority.
How to use this checklist
Start with the route facts first: citizenship, residence, application country, destination and purpose. Then review the document rows and order processing only where the row says it is required or optional.
Document requirements
| Document | Status | Scope | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online tourist/visit application and emailed continuation | required | visa application | Start at https://evisa.bj/ using your actual email address, confirmed email, passport number and expiry. Follow the emailed continuation link and complete personal, eVisa, travel and passport sections for the actual purpose. The FAQ recommends filing at least seven days before entry and does not permit filing more than ninety days ahead. Its published one-to-ninety-six-hour processing range is not guaranteed approval or travel clearance. Check every field against the passport before payment. The public procedure is verified; the identity-linked continuation and its exact upload controls were not accessed. Prepare the statutory records below and supply them in the format requested by the authority. |
| Passport copy: expiry more than six months after application | required | visa application | Article 9 requires a copy of the passport or travel document whose expiry is more than six months after the application date. This is a strict greater-than-six-month threshold measured from application, not a rule measured from visa expiry. Use the same passport for the application and travel. No universal number of copied pages or extra photograph count is established by this decree; follow actual form requests. |
| Proof of transport for leaving Benin | required | visa application | Article 9 requires the transport document for leaving the territory for tourist/visit applicants. Prepare the actual return or onward transport record. The statutory exception is for a driver travelling in their own vehicle; this air-arrival guide does not use that exception. An onward-country visa is required only where that separate destination requires it, not automatically for every visitor. |
| Hotel reservation, institutional invitation or qualifying host certificate | required | visa application | Provide one of Article 9's alternatives: a hotel reservation; an invitation from a Beninese institution or legal entity; or a host certificate from a Beninese national domiciled in Benin or a foreign resident in Benin. These are alternatives, not three cumulative requirements. The reviewed decree does not prescribe universal notarisation, apostille, host-ID copies or a municipal endorsement; follow any additional actual authority request before ordering processing. |
| Actual visa issuance fee receipt and payment reference | required | visa application | Article 9 requires the visa issuance fee receipt. Pay the current amount displayed for the selected duration and entries through the official payment route and retain the receipt/reference. The public procedure lists 3D Secure Visa/Mastercard; the current FAQ specifies 3DS.2. Verify data first: the FAQ says issued eVisas cannot be modified and payments are not refunded. Government charges are separate from Enuncia services; payment alone is not visa approval. |
| Approved eVisa and matching original passport for travel | required | border entry or exit | Use the emailed application number to track the real request. Obtain the actual approved visa before travel, check the authorised dates, entries and stay, and carry an accessible copy with the matching valid original passport. Law 2025-15 requires the valid visa unless exempt or holding a resident card. A submission acknowledgement or payment receipt does not replace visa approval or guarantee admission. |
| Yellow-fever vaccination record: recommended under the current border notice | recommended | border entry or exit | The official eVisa portal's notice dated 16 September 2026 states that vaccination cards, including yellow-fever cards, are no longer checked at airports, ports or land entry points. It keeps vaccination recommended and reserves changes during an international public-health emergency. Do not label this a mandatory Benin visa upload or current universal border-card check. Recheck the official notice before travel and the separate requirements of any transit or onward country; the linked circular file itself was not obtained during review. |
Processing route
- Online tourist/visit application and emailed continuationStart at https://evisa.bj/ using your actual email address, confirmed email, passport number and expiry. Follow the emailed continuation link and complete personal, eVisa, travel and passport sections for the actual purpose. The FAQ recommends filing at least seven days before entry and does not permit filing more than ninety days ahead. Its published one-to-ninety-six-hour processing range is not guaranteed approval or travel clearance. Check every field against the passport before payment. The public procedure is verified; the identity-linked continuation and its exact upload controls were not accessed. Prepare the statutory records below and supply them in the format requested by the authority. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Online tourist/visit application and emailed continuation in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Passport copy: expiry more than six months after applicationArticle 9 requires a copy of the passport or travel document whose expiry is more than six months after the application date. This is a strict greater-than-six-month threshold measured from application, not a rule measured from visa expiry. Use the same passport for the application and travel. No universal number of copied pages or extra photograph count is established by this decree; follow actual form requests. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Passport copy: expiry more than six months after application in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Proof of transport for leaving BeninArticle 9 requires the transport document for leaving the territory for tourist/visit applicants. Prepare the actual return or onward transport record. The statutory exception is for a driver travelling in their own vehicle; this air-arrival guide does not use that exception. An onward-country visa is required only where that separate destination requires it, not automatically for every visitor. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Proof of transport for leaving Benin in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Hotel reservation, institutional invitation or qualifying host certificateProvide one of Article 9's alternatives: a hotel reservation; an invitation from a Beninese institution or legal entity; or a host certificate from a Beninese national domiciled in Benin or a foreign resident in Benin. These are alternatives, not three cumulative requirements. The reviewed decree does not prescribe universal notarisation, apostille, host-ID copies or a municipal endorsement; follow any additional actual authority request before ordering processing. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Hotel reservation, institutional invitation or qualifying host certificate in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Actual visa issuance fee receipt and payment referenceArticle 9 requires the visa issuance fee receipt. Pay the current amount displayed for the selected duration and entries through the official payment route and retain the receipt/reference. The public procedure lists 3D Secure Visa/Mastercard; the current FAQ specifies 3DS.2. Verify data first: the FAQ says issued eVisas cannot be modified and payments are not refunded. Government charges are separate from Enuncia services; payment alone is not visa approval. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Actual visa issuance fee receipt and payment reference in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Approved eVisa and matching original passport for travelUse the emailed application number to track the real request. Obtain the actual approved visa before travel, check the authorised dates, entries and stay, and carry an accessible copy with the matching valid original passport. Law 2025-15 requires the valid visa unless exempt or holding a resident card. A submission acknowledgement or payment receipt does not replace visa approval or guarantee admission. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Approved eVisa and matching original passport for travel in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
- Yellow-fever vaccination record: recommended under the current border noticeThe official eVisa portal's notice dated 16 September 2026 states that vaccination cards, including yellow-fever cards, are no longer checked at airports, ports or land entry points. It keeps vaccination recommended and reserves changes during an international public-health emergency. Do not label this a mandatory Benin visa upload or current universal border-card check. Recheck the official notice before travel and the separate requirements of any transit or onward country; the linked circular file itself was not obtained during review. Follow the authority's current language and file-format instructions. These reviewed sources do not establish blanket translation, notarisation, apostille or embassy authentication; no paid service is selected automatically. 1. Prepare Yellow-fever vaccination record: recommended under the current border notice in the format described above 2. Submit according to the linked official application instructions
Official citations
- Government of Benin: official eVisa platformOfficial online application, emailed continuation, payment and tracking procedureevisa.bjLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-current-evisa-procedure-20261028
Initiate using email, its confirmation, passport number and expiry. An emailed continuation link opens four sections: personal, eVisa, travel and passport. Check data before Confirm and Pay; the published payment route uses 3D Secure Visa/Mastercard. Payment confirmation is followed by an email containing the request number used for status tracking. No real or invented applicant was registered during review.
- Benin Secretariat-General of Government: Decree 2026-049 of 4 March 20262026 national visa rules: Articles 6–9, 13–14sgg.gouv.bjLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-decree-2026-049-checked-20261028
Tourist/visit visas cover family, professional, health and tourism reasons for up to ninety days. Article 7 provides online issue for transit and tourist/visit visas, but a stay visa for a person accumulating over ninety days must be printed/sticker. Article 9 requires a passport/travel-document copy expiring more than six months after application, exit transport for tourist/visit and business applicants (own-vehicle drivers excepted), one of the accommodation alternatives and a visa-fee receipt. Articles 13–14 concern identification and renewal before expiry.
- India Ministry of External Affairs: visa facilities for Indian ordinary-passport holdersMEA Indian ordinary-passport eVisa list: Beninmea.gov.inLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-mea-ordinary-passport-evisa-20261028
The table of countries providing eVisa facilities to Indian nationals (ordinary-passport holders) includes Benin. The Ministry advises travellers to cross-check current conditions with the competent mission. This is evidence of the Indian eVisa route, not of a blanket visa waiver.
- Government of Benin: official eVisa platformCurrent eVisa FAQ: thirty/ninety days, filing window and payment securityevisa.bjLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-current-evisa-faq-20261028
Published eVisa choices are thirty or ninety days, beginning on the declared entry date. Apply at least seven days before entry; filing more than ninety days in advance is unavailable. Published processing is one to ninety-six hours, not guaranteed approval. The FAQ says issued eVisas cannot be modified, payments are not refunded and payment requires 3DS.2. Its expiry-time renewal wording must be read subject to Article 14 of the 2026 decree, which requires filing before expiry.
- Benin Secretariat-General of Government: Decree 2026-049 of 4 March 2026Law 2025-15: ordinary regime and valid visa or residence-card entrysgg.gouv.bjLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-law-2025-15-entry-20261028
Articles 1–3 distinguish the ordinary regime from special legislation and diplomatic/cooperation cases. Article 5 requires a valid passport/travel identity and a Beninese visa unless exempt or holding a resident card; Articles 6–9 address stay validity, exemptions and competent visa authorities.
- Government of Benin: official eVisa platformOfficial eVisa portal reproduction of the Health Ministry notice, 16 September 2026evisa.bjLast checked 2026-10-28; evidence version benin-september-2026-border-health-notice-20261028
The notice states that vaccination-card checks, including yellow fever, are no longer carried out at airports, ports and land entry points. Vaccination remains recommended; the measure may change during an international public-health emergency. The linked Health Ministry article is dated 16 September 2026. This evidence is the official portal's published notice; the separately linked circular file was not obtained.
Exceptions
- Requirements and accepted document formats can change. Follow the linked authority for your exact purpose and application stage.
- Use row-level processing labels: translation, notarisation, apostille, embassy attestation and MEA or HRD attestation are not interchangeable.
Relevant Enuncia services
- Document checklist review
FAQs
Are all documents for Benin short family / friend visits automatically translated?
No. Translation is shown per document row because official sources may accept some documents as issued while requiring translation for others.
Can I order document processing from this checklist?
Build your checklist using the route facts first. A processing option can be selected only where supported by the document row. Rows needing language or authentication confirmation remain under review before pricing.
Related guides
- Benin destination guide
Destination overview for all published source-backed routes.