Benin passport statistics show a mixed travel picture: Passport Index records a Mobility Score of 68, while its dashboard lists 35 visa-free destinations and 130 destinations requiring a visa. The January 2025 Henley Passport Index placed Benin 74th, with a visa-free score of 68. This guide also brings together quantified Benin passport service information, including fees, processing times, validity, and document counts.
Contents
- International mobility snapshot
- Passport rankings and reach
- Processing times, fees, and validity
- Renewal and diaspora service statistics
- Documents for adult applications
- Documents for minors and special cases
International mobility snapshot
The Passport Index Benin passport dashboard reports a Mobility Score of 68. Its destination breakdown is more useful than a single score because it separates types of access. The dashboard lists 35 destinations as visa-free, 31 destinations offering visa on arrival, and 2 destinations offering an electronic travel authorization, or eTA. It also lists 130 visa-required destinations.
Taken together, those categories describe the access labels shown by Passport Index. The dashboard reports Benin’s World reach as 34%, a percentage that summarizes the reach measure used by that source. The figures are destination classifications, not a promise that entry rules will remain unchanged for every traveler or travel date.
Two examples illustrate the range of visa-free periods recorded by the Passport Index Benin passport dashboard. Benin passport holders receive visa-free access to Algeria for 90 days. Hong Kong is listed with visa-free access for 14 days. These are different permitted stays, so “visa-free” should not be read as a uniform duration.
Passport Index also lists Benin’s population at 14,814,460. That population figure provides context for the passport data, but it is not a count of passport holders and should not be used as a substitute for passport issuance statistics.
Passport rankings and reach
The Henley Passport Index January 2025 Global Ranking placed Benin at 74th. Benin shared rank 74 with the Cape Verde Islands and Ghana in that ranking. Henley gave Benin a visa-free score of 68 for the same January 2025 ranking.
The two systems use different labels and should be read separately. Passport Index reports a Mobility Score of 68 and a Passport Power Rank of 69, while Henley reports a rank of 74 and a visa-free score of 68. Equal numbers in different systems do not necessarily represent the same calculation. The Passport Index dashboard additionally lists an Individual Power Rank of 146.
Henley’s methodology covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. Those coverage figures define the scale of the January 2025 ranking. They also explain why a rank or score should always be paired with the index name and measurement period.
| Measure | Benin result | Source or period |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility Score | 68 | Passport Index Benin passport dashboard |
| Passport Power Rank | 69 | Passport Index Benin passport dashboard |
| Individual Power Rank | 146 | Passport Index Benin passport dashboard |
| World reach | 34% | Passport Index Benin passport dashboard |
| Global rank | 74th | Henley, January 2025 |
| Visa-free score | 68 | Henley, January 2025 |
This comparison is descriptive rather than a conversion between the two indexes. The Passport Index and Henley figures come from their respective published systems, and the Henley ranking is specifically identified as January 2025.
Processing times, fees, and validity
Benin’s government service information states that online appointment booking has been mandatory for passport issuance or renewal since 3 May 2021. The standard processing time is 5 working days from enrollment, and the standard passport fee is 30,000 CFA.
The government also publishes a separate emergency timeframe. Emergency passport processing can take from 24 hours to a maximum of 48 hours, according to ASK GOUV’s information on travel and residence document procedures. That emergency range should not be treated as the standard service time.
An ordinary Benin passport has a validity period of 6 years. Validity is different from processing time: a 5-working-day standard processing estimate describes delivery timing after enrollment, while 6 years describes the document’s ordinary period of validity.
Some urgent cases are treated in person only, according to the Gouvernement du Bénin information on mandatory online appointments. The listed urgent categories are medical evacuation, a state mission, scholarship travel, and diaspora short-stay returnees. This creates four documented urgent categories, but it does not establish that every applicant can use emergency processing.
For diaspora returnees, ASK GOUV says urgency must be supported by either 1 residence document or 1 return ticket. The requirement is an either-or supporting document rule, not a request for both items.
Renewal and diaspora service statistics
The government’s ePass launch information states that the renewal ePass service guarantees passport delivery within 4 weeks from validation. The same source says ePass is accessible worldwide through mobile and online platforms. The 4-week period begins from validation, so it is a different reference point from the standard 5 working days counted from enrollment.
A separate government notice about the biometric passport renewal operation for Beninese citizens living in the United States and Canada gives a fee of 65,000 CFA. That amount belongs to the USA/Canada diaspora renewal operation described by the notice and should not be substituted for the standard 30,000 CFA domestic fee.
The same USA/Canada renewal operation specified several photo conditions. The required photo had to be less than 6 months old, use a 35 mm by 45 mm format, and have a white background. Accepted image files were PNG or JPEG. Scanned photos were not accepted.
These requirements contain both numeric and binary conditions: the photo age must be under 6 months, the dimensions must be 35 mm by 45 mm, and the file must be PNG or JPEG rather than a scanned photo. They describe that particular diaspora renewal operation, not a universal rule for every Benin passport transaction.
The DEI passport document list also invites diaspora applicants to present 1 proof of residence abroad to use the diaspora corridor in Cotonou. This is distinct from the emergency-returnee rule, which allows 1 residence document or 1 return ticket to justify urgency.
Documents for adult applications
For a domestic first-time adult application, the DEI list specifies 1 online payment proof, 1 secured birth certificate copy, 1 CIP or CNIB copy in valid status, and 1 proof of profession. Each item is listed as one copy or proof, so the documented set contains four quantified requirements.
The same DEI source distinguishes adults born abroad. Such applicants need 1 translated copy of the foreign birth certificate when the country of birth is not francophone. They also need 1 legalized copy of the Beninese nationality certificate.
Applicants who acquired Beninese nationality by naturalization need 1 copy of the naturalization decree and 1 copy of the passport page showing the original nationality passport. These are nationality-status documents, separate from the general domestic first-time adult set.
Renewal applicants born in Benin need 1 copy of the identity page of the old passport. Renewal applicants born abroad also need 1 copy of the identity page of the old passport. The shared identity-page requirement is stated for both birth-location categories.
The DEI list records additional renewal documents according to how nationality was acquired. A renewal applicant who acquired nationality by alliance needs 1 copy of the marriage certificate. A renewal applicant who acquired nationality by naturalization needs 1 copy of the Beninese nationality certificate. A renewal applicant who acquired nationality by other means needs 1 copy of the document granting Beninese nationality.
Because these are category-specific requirements, applicants should match their circumstances to the relevant DEI category rather than combine every listed document into one universal checklist. The source names the documents and quantities, while the appropriate category determines which set applies.
Documents for minors and special cases
Domestic minor applicants need 2 identity photos. The DEI specifies the OACI photo size as 45 mm by 35 mm. This is a different orientation of dimensions from the 35 mm by 45 mm format stated in the USA/Canada diaspora renewal notice, so the two measurements should be kept tied to their respective procedures.
Minor applicants also need 1 original parental authorization and 1 photocopy of a valid identity document for the parent or guardian. The minor checklist therefore includes two identity photos, one original authorization, and one parent-or-guardian ID photocopy.
The DEI’s urgent-case information lists four categories treated in person only: medical evacuation, state mission, scholarship travel, and diaspora short-stay returnees. For diaspora short-stay returnees, ASK GOUV specifies 1 residence document or 1 return ticket as proof of urgency. The two sources describe the category and the supporting evidence together, but neither figure changes the ordinary 5-working-day processing time or the 6-year ordinary validity.
The most useful way to read Benin passport statistics is therefore to keep three kinds of information separate: international access measures, service-performance figures, and category-specific document requirements. The January 2025 Henley results describe a particular ranking period; Passport Index supplies a separate dashboard snapshot; and the government sources define procedures, fees, validity, and application evidence for the named services.