Benin has maintained its first place at the continental level in terms of attractiveness and ease of entry into the country since 2018, i.e. for 4 consecutive years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021). This is announced by the new Visa Opennes Index Report 2021, published by the African Development Bank. This classification, beyond its economic benefits, makes Benin a model and a convinced defender of the cause of African integration. By facilitating the free movement of people, Benin is in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, whose Aspiration n ° 2 envisages “An integrated continent, united on the political level and anchored in the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of the African renaissance ”.
Great advances
31st out of 55 countries in Africa in 2016, Benin has quickly recovered since the advent of the New Start regime. This, thanks to the many reforms undertaken by the Talon Government in this case, the decision to abolish visas for Africans who wish to go to Benin for a stay not exceeding 90 days. From 2018, several other reforms will bring a notable improvement to the management of visas in Benin and allow a better opening of Benin to the world, in particular to Africans. These include, among others: the introduction of the tourist visa on arrival, the establishment of a fixed price for all non-Africans whose duration of stay in Benin is less than one week, the establishment the electronic visa issuance platform, accessible anywhere in the world via the Internet at the address https://evisa.gouv.bj. These reforms directly propelled Benin to the top of the IOVA ranking in 2018, tied with the Republic of Seychelles. This significant jump in the ranking is undoubtedly the international recognition of the relevance of the reforms carried out in this area by the Government. Since then, by maintaining consistency in the monitoring of reforms which, if necessary, are improved over time, the Government has succeeded in maintaining the position of continental leader acquired by Benin successively in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Rastel DAN
