Benin/Togo border | Customs and Immigration

Togo to Benin.

First policemen chase away a fixer and then started searching baggage, found nothing interesting so he walked me to customs, and saying I need to pay 4000 . I refused initially calmly but got really pissed off after he started arguing (I guess he got part of this money later on). He disappeared after he saw I was escalating, but in the end I didn't get my carnet stamped. I was told this will be done later and unfortunately I believed this.
The Benin side was all smooth and professional but obviously they could not stamp Togo exit on CDP. I was told I need to go again through Immigration if I return to Togo for the stamp, so I give up.
Don't miss the CDP stamp by Togo (it's on the roundabout).

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I used a taxi app to order a taxi from Lome to the border (5500 cfa). It only took 20 minutes to leave and enter the country. After leaving Togo, you still have to walk a bit to Benin Immigration. Your luggage is checked in the middle of the road (in the roundabout). When I entered Benin, I showed the printout of the online visa - you have to show it again when you leave the country, i.e. keep it safe. I was also able to buy a SIM at the border (4000 cfa with 1 GB). From the border I travelled to Ouidah in a shared taxi (3000 cfa + 100 cfa toll)

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Togo -> Benin

No CDP

Togo:

1. Just when you enter the round about 200 m before the border there is Togo customs on the right. They right down your car information.

2. At the border there is a big building first windows are for exit Togo and then next windows are for entry Benin. They are in the same room just different windows (diagonal). You don’t need your Benin e-visa printed. She filled in the form for me.

3. Laissez-passes is still the same building. It’s the window after the main entrance of the building. Still from the outside. It’s 5790 cfa for a month. I gave him 6.000 and didn’t argue about the change. After we got the receipt we were good to leave no further registration.

SIM card
- 2.000 for the sim
- 1GB for 1.000 cfa
- You can probably get better deals than me if you bargain enough

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Togo -> Benin

eVisa doesn't have to be printed.

very annoying fixer, who even don't know where to go for the carnet de passages.

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When leaving Togo & Benin the passport checkout/checkin are at desks (through 2 different windows) in the same building. You park outside the office under a massive tin roof. Make sure you get the carnet stamp-out of Togo before you get to this area. To get carnet stamp into Benin, stay parked under tin roof, and walk just past the passport stamp office.

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Benin to Togo: We opted for a VOA in Togo, which went smoothly with the friendly immigration officers. Single entry VOA for a short stay was XOF 25.000 in cash. Crossing the border and arranging the VOA took us under 30 minutes.

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Benin to Togo with a car and carnet.

A bit slow overall.

Benin customs is on the other side of the building. Both sides customs needed help stamping the carnet.

Togo visa on arrival. 15 days is the longest they give here.

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Easy joint border.

We made the eVisa a few days before crossing. Usually ppl always say they receive the Visa in 5 min, for me it was not the case.. it took 2 days till I received the approval. (51€/1 Mo.)

We printed the evisa and went to immigration office to receive the exit stamp. The lady at the office wanted 2000cfa for the exit stamp. We said we wouldn’t pay that as we know it is not necessary. She made us wait for 15 min and gave us the stamp at the end.

Entry was not a problem and for the passavant we payed 6000cfa/1 Mo.

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Dans le sens Benin -> Togo.
Que ce fut long !
Beaucoup de monde le samedi, et personne du cote du benin pour s occuper du cpd.
1h15 a l aller. Et 3h30 ce jour.
Pour le cpd, normalement, tout se passe dans le batiment des douanes, a cote, vers les camions. Normalement :)

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Easy mutual border.

Just before the border we were stopped by policeman saying that we had to pay 4.000cfa to write down our car info in their book. We told them we knew we didn't have to pay and that we had friends who had passed not long ago. We had to wait some minutes and then we could go on.

Everything is in the same place.

Togo Police : you get an exit stamp and they write your info in their register

Benin police : we gave our printed evisa and we had to fill in a form. They put the entry stamp in our passports.

Benin vehicle registration : They wrote down the info of our car

Benin customs (without CDP) : we got a laissez-passer for our car for 1 month. we paid 6.000cfa. we got a receipt of 5.790cfa but we were too tired to argue for those 210cfa.

When everything was done you drive a few 100 meters where they do a small control of your stuff.

No health check. They didn't ask us for our yellow fever vaccine nor COVID.

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Very easy border crossing. It looks and works almost exactly as the border from Ghana into Togo (north of Lomo).

Coming from Togo, there is a small tin shack on the right where they note your vehicle details coming in.

When entering the main site the signs are not overly clear but staff are friendly and help to show you where to go. Park up under the roofed area, right by the counters. Ignore the fixers, this is very easy.

There's a counter for passports for Togo and another for Benin. We gave the chap a print out of our e-visa and he stamped our passport and gave the printouts back.

There's another counter next to it for Benin police to register your vehicle in.

As for the carnet, it is stamped out for Togo via a counter to the right with a sign up about laisser passer. For Benin, head over to the large building behind where the lorries are. Head up the steps and to the left. Find the office for the Chef Piste who stamps the carnet.

All done.

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East border, Togo exit on one side of the building and Benin entry on the other.

Note: we bought SIM card for 2k CFA with 1GB. We then bought 20GB but the guys tried to charge 30k CFA. Should be 20k. They gave the 10k back after a short discussion and us showing them the text message.

Also note do not stop and park the car until you get out of the border area. We got told off

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German/Brazil Passport Togo to Benin E-Visa in print on a paper stamp the passport and the CDP in and out at the end a mean want to say the CDP is not valid we ignore him and wait

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Togo to Benin.
Easy border, everything at the same place. We had our evisa for Benin, 50€ for one month. And we could have a passavant for our car (we don’t have CPD) for 6000 CFA, one month. We also bought SIM card directly there for 1500CFA, with MTN you can have 50GO for 30€

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Togo > Benin
Quite easy border, every stepp in the same location
Exit Togo, fast and easy
Enter Benin, fast and easy for the entry stamp on passport. For our CPD, it was a small mess because one police guy wanted us to buy the Laisser Passer (6000 cfa). Try to explain that with the CPD we don't have to buy the Laisser Passer. He didn't listen to us, started to shout. Anyway, we tried différents desks, probably all of them, and finally found the custom chief (watching music videos on his TV haha). He was really nice and helpfull, stamped our CPD and that's it ;)

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Benin to Togo.
Custom are juste the side office of immigartion. Need to passe police control... try to get 2000 cfa for registrer without invoice so we refuse to pay and it was easy.
We get the laisse-passe for 30 days for our motorbike for 7000 cfa.
Fast and easy

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All was easy.
In out benin to Togo
We get the Visa at the border. 25 000 cfa single entry 15 days.

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at this moment borders are completely open. from Togo to Benin. Immigration in same building, passport check and i had a evisa for Benin. all took 15 minutes. then cusoms which are 300 mtr in direction of border. i did not need a laissez passer for my motorbike.

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from Benin to Togo
Benin side No problem.
Togo side, needed:

The Laissez Passer( for each non-African traveler) which ONLY from Securite Ministry in Lome, NOT from Togo consulate in Cotonou. they don't care the bribe if you don not have this document. IMPOSSIBLE to pass.

Covid test in 7 days(only for non-Africans). if you don't have, will take a test here, free and 3 mins.

A form

here the immigration gave me a 7days Visa(only this visa here), 10k cf, 5mins.

the officer was very polite

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No 8-day visa at the border anymore! We had the worst experience. Since we didn’t have the e-visa the officers took our passports and said we could pick them up in Cotonou and get the 8-day visa there as well. Today we were at the office in Cotonou and the 8-day visa is impossible to get there. Besides, the passports have to remain at the office for 3 days in order for the visa to be issued.

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Can still get visa on arrival, 10,000CFA for 8 days

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The border is open non stop and you can buy the visa for Benin at arrival.

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super easy, very friendly officers on both sides of the border. Still selling 8 days for Benin for 10.000,- CFA

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Easy boarder. They tried to sell me the transit visa for 32.000 in Benin but I continued to say I’m tourist. They have up quickly, so got the tourist visa for 10.000. Like in Togo I got through without stamping my carnet.

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As described. No problems. People helpful and nobody there to trick you. Customs chief helped me organise insurance with a nearby agency because mine had expired. All above board.

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Entering Togo. Easy exit Benin.
15.000 for Togo visa (USA).
No papers for motorcycle needed. All quick and friendly

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VISAS BENIN:

Even if E-Visa it’s already working, in this border you could still get:
TRANSIT VISA -2 days- 32.000 CFA
TOURIST VISA -8 days- 10.000 CFA

I arrived with a single entry E-Visa Tourist of 30 days (30.000 CFA / 50€), they look at the printed paper but didn’t actually checked the bar code or anything. They were a little mess, they keep on asking how much I paid for my e-visa.

In my case it took 2 minutes to receive to my email the e-visa since I apply online. But if you are not staying in Benin more than 8 days, I would risk to go to the border and try to get the on arrival, if things change, you can anyways apply in 5 min for e-visa online. Theres people selling telephone sim cards in no man’s land.

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Fastest border in Africa so far! Passport stamped out. Carnet was not stamped on the way in so didn't have to go to costums.

Entering Benin, very easy passport stamped in 5 min. Nobody asked us to stamp the carnet or to go to customs with the car so we just went without it. (If neither a carnet is needed or TIP is issued we like to just don't care about it because it gives us the opportunity to fly home whenever we want.)

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Exiting Togo to enter Benin.
Usual procedures to get stamped out and in.
TIP available for ca. 6000.

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Easy border as stated below. Leaving Togo - no problems. Stamped the passports and made some copies of it for unknown reason. Since we didn't get a stamp in our carnet when entering Togo, they let us drive off without anything.

Entering Benin also easy. Police is on the right side and stamped passports quickly. Car registration is on the opposite site in a little shack. Also further on no customs wanted to see our car or the carnet and we could just continue.

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Dutch citizens 3 June 2017.

Border is open 24 hours.
We got ourselves stamped out at the Togo side, they did not ask for our Laisser Passez.
Because we stopped too late for a police officer he took our driving license and told us if we paid him CFA 20 000,- he would give us our license back.
After a bit of begging we walked back to the police post in anger, at that moment he already called us back and returned our licenses.

Benin border was easy, if for some reason(they made a mistake at the Gabon embassy in one of our passports so we did not have anymore time to arrange the Benin visa for one of us) you need to buy a visa at the border it is possible. The price is CFA 32 800,- (the price is stated on the VISA) and it's done in 5 minutes.

After that the Laisser Passez is available a bit further down the road for CFA 5790,-.
They did not check our car as there was a soccer match on TV and we could just drive off.

Easy enough.

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Easy border.
you can get a visa for Benin at the border but it is a 2day transit visa and it costs you 32800CFA.
We got our visa in Lome and have a 15day visa for 20000CFA but it was a hassle.

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Easy and fast Border, no Money, no Problems. Friendly People.

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nice and helpful people.

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Leaving Togo. Easy enough. Passport stamped. My Carnet wasn't stamped on the way in. Explained and showed. Let me go

Entering Benin. Show passport to enter border. Immigration on right hand side. Vehicle registration opposite in a shack. Customs little further down. Stamped Carnet no problems

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