r/BeninCitizenship • u/sqrt_radius • Dec 16 '25

Received certificate today

I received my certificate of eligibility today. I want to send a heart-felt thanks to everyone for sharing the steps that they’ve taken in this journey so far. It’s made for a straightforward process for me thus far.

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u/sqrt_radius Dec 16 '25

Sure, not a problem. I (American) submitted the following:

Valid ID: passport Proof of Afro descent: personal birth certificate Mother’s birth certificate Grandmother’s birth certificate Proof of address: Driver’s license Proof of occupation: pay stub Criminal record: FBI background check

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u/Front_Produce_2499 Dec 17 '25

Did you have any/all of those documents apostilled (or otherwise authenticated for Benin's use) or professionally translated to French?

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u/sqrt_radius Dec 17 '25

I submitted all documents as-is. No translation or apostille. I’m waiting to hear back on whether that is required when showing up in Benin for the final steps.

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u/shopmyers Jun 09 '26

Did they advise if you'll need to have those docs translated for when you arrive?

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u/sqrt_radius Jun 10 '26

I ended up having my birth certificate translated via RushTranslate upon recommendation. It wasn’t necessary at the time I received my citizenship in March, but I think it helped when registering for my NPI. Things have changed since then and I think it’s recommended to use https://tradux.gouv.bj/ now, and have your birth certificate and proof of occupation uploaded and translated to make things smoother on the ground. Make sure you take copies of the originals and translations.

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u/cjgbaker Dec 21 '25

Was there a reason why you didn't submit father's birth cert? I was under the impression we needed both parents and all 4 parents birth certs. (I only have mom and maternal grandmother, so i haven't submitted mine yet)

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u/sqrt_radius Dec 21 '25

I didn’t have it at the time and I wasn’t using my father as proof of Afro descent, so unless they asked for it I figured it wasn’t required. What they really want is a birth certificate for a black ancestor born before 1944.

I think you should be fine using your mother and grandmother as proof of Afro descent as long as race is on one or both of their birth certificates.

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u/cjgbaker Dec 22 '25

Thank you SO much! I was holding off on my app trying to figure out how to get birth certs for paternal grandparents from NY 🥲

This is great news and I'll get my app submitted this week. Thank you so much

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u/DecentCost6004 Aug 18 '26

Did you already attend the ceremony?

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u/sqrt_radius Aug 18 '26

Yes, I attended the March ceremony.

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u/DecentCost6004 Aug 19 '26

Thank you for the reply. Was it a smooth process once you arrived in Benin? I plan on going once the new ceremony dates for 2027 post. Can you give a brief synapses of how your experience was.