1

I arrived at the border in the middle of December. The officials told me I had to go back to Accra to get a provisional visa. I told them the embassy had informed me that it was available. They then gave me the transit visa. The real problem occurred at the Benin embassy in Kotenou. They refused my passport photo because it did not have a white background and they were not satisfied with a hotel address in Kotonou. they wanted to know the room number and telephone number. the lady who deals with visas is the most unfriendly person I have met in Africa. It was ready after 3 days and the lady who handed it out to me was very friendly.

2

Yes this is true, you have to apply beforehand I obtained mine in Accra at a cost of 15000cfa for the expedited one was done same day...10000cfa for a slightly longer timescale three days. They were most helpful in Accra. I was travelling onto Nigeria and they were interested to know that i already had the visa for Nigeria...not sure if this helped to make the process quicker.