Formerly issued by the district or village chief, the issuance of the attestation and certificate of residence is now the prerogative of the agents of the National Agency for Identification of Persons (ANIP). The neighbourhood chiefs will only play an intermediary role in the process. The new issuing procedure was explained this Tuesday, November 15, 2022, to the Communal Units of Identification of Persons (UCIP) of the Littoral department by the agents of the ANIP during a training session organized at the prefecture of Cotonou.
Attestations and certificates of residence are now issued from the database of communal registers in Benin. There are two main stages to this issue: The first is to have the residence card drawn up by the chef quartier. According to Zita Balley, head of the ANIP’s monitoring and evaluation department, the cost of obtaining this form is 500 CFA francs, payable to the district or village chief.
This residence card is completed and registered by the local authority electronically. However, since most district managers are not familiar with the new technologies, they are called upon to be accompanied by a collaborator. As we were doing under the new birth registration mechanism, the chief of the district must also register the residence of the person concerned in the communal register,” said Ms. Zita Balley. This is how the chief of the district also has to register the residence of the person concerned in the communal register first,” said Ms. Zita Balley.
After this stage, the applicant will then go to the town hall at the level of the Communal Units for the Identification of Persons (UCIP). This is where the attestation or Certificate of Residence will be issued. “This residence certificate is for an amount of 2,000 FCFA with a distribution key of 1,000 FCFA for the stamp duty for the town hall and 1,000 FCFA for the ANIP account,” said Zita Balley.
Since the Council of Ministers of 20 July 2022, Beninese citizens are obliged to report any change of principal residence. This system leads to the establishment of communal registers. These will allow for the secure issuance of attestations and certificates of residence. Note that the new form of residence certificate is valid for one year.
