POSTERN

Benin

Ordinary resident card on independent support. A US citizen seeking ordinary residence must show means of subsistence or a third-party support guarantee, good character, a travel document valid more than one year from application, foreigner personal identification certificate, origin or last-residence criminal record for the first application, and the fee receipt. The 2026 decree gives the ordinary card a three-year renewable term.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Ordinary resident card on independent support

Three-year renewable ordinary residence based on independent support. Financial support alone does not authorize employment.

Who qualifies

  • A US citizen seeking ordinary residence must show means of subsistence or a third-party support guarantee, good character, a travel document valid more than one year from application, foreigner personal identification certificate, origin or last-residence criminal record for the first application, and the fee receipt. The 2026 decree gives the ordinary card a three-year renewable term.
    Benin Presidency, decree 2026-049, arts. 17 and 19-22

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

It could fit.

A US citizen seeking ordinary residence must show means of subsistence or a third-party support guarantee, good character, a travel document valid more than one year from application, foreigner personal identification certificate, origin or last-residence criminal record for the first application, and the fee receipt. The 2026 decree gives the ordinary card a three-year renewable term.

Every option that fits your family

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Time
Processing runs from submission of the complete file to the issuing authority’s decision.
Cost
Budget for the application documents, certification, police or medical records and travel in addition to any charge collected at filing.
The hard part
Obtaining the foreigner identification certificate and credible proof of long-term support.
3

Citizens by 2031.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    3 years, renewable for 3 years at a time.

  2. 2030
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  3. 2031
    Citizenship
Language
Sufficient knowledge of French or a Beninese language as part of assimilation.
Civics
Knowledge of Beninese culture and society and the rights, duties and essential values of the Republic.
Time away
Habitual lawful residence in Benin for the three years before applying, with assimilation and good character; the Council of Ministers decides by decree.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • The 2026 decree gives the ordinary card a three-year renewable term, matching the Nationality Code’s ordinary residence threshold if the applicant truly lives in Benin.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax
Where you become tax resident follows the days you spend there and where your home is. We map it for your family before you move.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Gather proof of independent means and identity records, then begin the published residence application.Open sgg.gouv.bj ↗
  2. Gather these documents.
    • Proof of how you will support yourselves
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
6

Postern can’t run this for you yet.

The official application forms, submission and recovery specification are not complete. Postern cannot run this application yet.

Options open to you today →
7
ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

Cover