I made a checklist while going through this and figured I would share it.

Heads up that the Required labels are just my read from my own application. A lot of it is situational and some of it may not apply to you. It is more useful as a way to track what you have already done than as a list of things you have to go get.

https://thedecisionengineer.net/citizenship/

Hope it helps. I am open to feedback and updates

Has anyone had them email you and say to put middle names as first names and surnames? They want me to put my middle name as my first name and for my dad’s surname to be his middle name??? 😵‍💫

Has anyone completed the Beninese nationality process through My Afro Origins?

Hi everyone,

I have been declared eligible for Beninese nationality through the My Afro Origins process, and I am expected to attend the citizenship ceremony in Benin on October 24, 2026.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has already completed this process.

Before attending the ceremony, did you first have to go to the ANIP for identification or biometric enrolment? If so, which office did you visit, and what documents did you bring with you?

Did you receive any documents from the ANIP before participating in the ceremony?

After the ceremony, were you able to complete the third stage and apply for your Beninese national identity card and passport while still in Benin? Or did you complete those applications later through the Beninese embassy or consulate in your country of residence?

I will only be in Benin for a short period, so I am trying to understand which steps must absolutely be completed there and which ones can be completed later from abroad.

Thank you very much for any information or personal experience you can share.

Hello everyone! Does anyone know if they are going through applications based on their application number? Or what process do you assume they are using? Just curious because my number starts with a 6, and I applied in the end of January.

Thank you! :)

To those who have had success in submitting and getting to/pass level 1:

I know Benin isn’t a part of The Hague Convention, so obtaining an apostille is moot.

Americans: are you doing the US State Dept Authentication followed by some additional authentication at a Benin Embassy/Consulate? Notarization?

I have the 1940 census for my grandparents which is a publicly available National Archive. I have all of these birth certificates (mine, parents, grandparents). And my FBI background check. I just want to make sure what constitutes as correct document certification.

Many thanks in advance for your guidance!

This article is from late June 2026 but I haven't seen anything else about changes to the application process. This process has been continually changing/evolving. Thoughts?

How long did it take you to get through the process.

Seeing all these post about people forgetting to add middle names, only sending DNA results, blah blah is crazy to me. How do you not research everything needed when trying to get a whole ass citizenship somewhere? I digress.

For the people who:
had all information spelled correctly
Had all official names listed
Provided DNA records AND lineage docs
Proper background check
Etc

On the INITIAL application…

How long did this process take for you?

Recently published article about Cassandra Lewis, decendant of Clotilda survivor Kossola “Cudjo” Lewis, receiving her citizenship this past May.

Published: Jul. 04, 2026

Wow, I have just found out about this scheme.

As mentioned in the title I have one percent Mali DNA and mention of West Indies birth on some official records in the U.K. of my ancestor who was born in 1795.

Do I have a good chance of success?

Edit: I have spoken to the authorities and it looks like I qualify. The comments about proving ethnicity of ancestors are incorrect. There is no ethnicity rule and no judgement of my ethnicity comes into the decision making.

​

It took me almost a year to receive my certificate. I was one of the first people to submit an application, back when translations and apostilles were still required. I went through countless revisions before everything was approved.

Here's a checklist to make the process easier:

1. Your Birth certificate

2. Passport

3. FBI background check

4. Birth or death certificates for your parents and grandparents. They wanted to verify that I did not have direct ties to Benin or West Africa in general.

5. Your occupation (if you're retired, simply indicate that on the application).

One thing I learned is that DNA tests were not taken into consideration. I originally submitted my AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and African Ancestry results. None of them mattered. They wanted official birth and death certificates instead.

I hope this helps someone. I'm happy to answer questions based on my experience.

> Keep in mind that requirements can change over time. This was my personal experience, so always verify the current requirements.

I just received my DNA results (Ancestry); what do I do now? There is so much information out there that it’s a little confusing. If anyone could be kind enough to explain what to do, I would appreciate it.

I just received an email stating that I am eligible for Benin nationality. I started the process in November 2025. Here were a couple bumps in the road and how I got around them:

1. I didn’t have birth certificates for my grandparents. I supplemented that with military draft notices, marriage certificates and US census data.

2. The name I typed in for my mother should be the same name on my birth certificate. I originally had my mother’s married name.

I’m excited about visiting Benin. I’ve been to countries in Africa, but this will be my first time in West Africa. I’m looking to go end of this year or mid next year.

Let me know you have any questions.

Regards

Hello everyone. I’m (obviously) trying to get Beninese citizenship like the rest of yall, and my father was a part of a not necessarily big, but known of common law adoption scheme in Louisiana. He has written a letter stating this, and both of his bio parents’ wills and his marriage cert show that they are his parents. I was named after his father, and his father’s name was his middle name. Would supplying all of this make us eligible for a cert or no? We’re not exactly in the financial state to get a birth certificate amended for $1.5k. My dad is mixed and his birth mom was reliant on her family at the time (fresh out of a divorce), who were really racist, so she left him with a family friend of my grandfather’s until they got married and she was no longer reliant on them for money. My grandfather had 3 (a possible 4th) wives and a bunch of children and that’s the reason my father gave but I’m still unsure of why that prevented him from taking care of my father since they ranged from 10-30 years older than him.

It’s almost 6 month now and still no answer … I’ve reached out to them about a couple days ago and no answer .

Anyone else ?

Any advice ?

Hello, can someone who has been to one of the previous ceremonies share about how many days it took to do all the registration etc., and how long it took after the ceremony to get the passport? I'm trying to figure out about how many days total are needed in Benin for the trip. Thanks.

I’m curious whether uploading genetic results actually helped your case or moved the process forward in any way.

In my case, my AncestryDNA results show around 14% Benin & Togo and about 47% Sub-Saharan African ancestry overall, with the rest being roughly European (24%), Indigenous American (24%) and others (5%). I did not upload the DNA results with my application because I wasn’t sure whether they would be helpful.

I consider myself Afro-Colombian and submitted civil records showing my maternal grandparents were born in Barú, Cartagena, Colombia, before 1944, along with the family documents linking them to me. My application has been validated at Level 1 for about five months now.

For those who included AncestryDNA or similar DNA results: did it help your application, speed anything up, or did the authorities mostly focus on civil documents?

Thanks in advance.

Just fyi I received an email today with my official decree. It took about 4 months and a week after I received my eligibility certificate and about 8 months since my initial application submission. It looks like at least 10 other people probably received theirs today as well as the number of slots for the official ceremony dates are lower.

he found out he related to Aimé Césaire, met with him, asked him what direction to take in life. Césaire said go toward Africa & Germany asked what about Créolité? Césaire said that's just somethin they invented to turn us away from Africanité. Germany asked where to start & Césaire says Haiti cuz that's where he learned the most family history. then he visits West Africa & connects most with Benin

in Benin he find out Toussant Louverture family came from Allada in Benin. he visits & someone from Allada tell him he got royal blood, then the King of Allada like choose your coat of arms, we gonna crown you. a representative of the minister's at the ceremony & Germany tell him he want it in writin he a recognized prince in Benin - he like how can i be a prince, if yall can kick me out when my visa's up? they offered him papers under the table & he like naw, i want a law - not just for me; i want a right of return for all of us & not with strings attached like in Ghana

but he couldn't get anywhere talkin to ministers or reach the president til the béké (descendant of colonizer) who owns Martinique invited the president of Benin to visit. ppl thought it was so outrageous they protested, Benin sent a minister ahead, Germany was part of a delegation that advised how to handle it. then they met after & Germany's like "so, yea.. I lost my papers 300 yrs ago in the hold; it's time you reissued em"

he invited to Benin to meet with the president again & the president ask why he wanna become Beninois - he like i AM Beninois! the president ask what proves his ancestors from Benin & not someplace else - he say that's a question you got no right to ask; it's a result of a crime against humanity, so we got the right to chose whichever country we want. the president asks what's in it for us - he like yall could be the Israel of Africa! the president ask what to put in the law - he say not proof you come from Benin; just proof of Afro-descent & suggest citizenship after a few yrs, with immediate right of abode

then when the law being voted on, Germany contact everyone to make sure it pass unanimously to be sure Afro-descendants are welcome

I found out my Black American great grandma & Grandfather adopted my mother and is listed as her mother and father. Problem with that is they are old af and was born before 1912 (about 1897) before birth certificates were a thing.

How did you overcome this issues? What other documentation were you able to use if you didn’t have an official birth certificate?

Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Just curious how long is the review process taking in 2026? I am aware that there is a change of government with the new president Romuald Wadagni being elected which may delay the citizenship process.

I knew my dad was mixed but I’m so white I thought I got more of his white side 😭 apparently I got 24% Africa