Cameroon

Cameroon · Africa · updated 22.08.2026

Cameroon is a country with very dirty air and a marked price gap between its two main cities. On the World Bank scale from −2.5 to +2.5, political stability stands at −1.56, rule of law at −1.25, control of corruption at −1.22 and government effectiveness at −0.80. Life expectancy is 63.97 years, health spending 79.10 dollars per person a year, and basic water access reaches 71.41 per cent of the population. Mean PM2.5 concentration is 55.6 micrograms per cubic metre, one of the worst figures in the sample. Homicides run at 6.76 per 100,000, road deaths at 10.6 per 100,000, and the Gini index is 42.2. Natural risk overall is 3.5 out of 10 on INFORM and almost entirely water-related: floods 6.7, droughts 3.4, coastal hazards 2.6, whereas earthquakes are at 0.1 and there are no cyclones or tsunamis at all. The immigration framework has been published by the agency in full and rests on a single rule worth grasping in advance: the right to work is conferred not by the residence card but by the visa. Only the long-stay visa opens the right to paid activity and to study, and it is also a mandatory condition for the residence card. The employment contract, moreover, is endorsed by the labour minister before entry. The agencies state the visa issuing standard differently: the foreign ministry says 72 hours after pre-registration and 24 hours under the expedited procedure, DGSN says no more than 48 hours. The residence card is valid for two years and is renewed twice, the resident card for ten years; under decree No. 2025/059 of 28 February 2025 it is obtained after the SECOND renewal of the residence card, whereas the former section of the DGSN site spoke of the third. There is also a direct route through marriage, but here too the agency's texts diverge: the new section writes “the spouse of a person of foreign nationality”, the former one “the spouse of a Cameroonian citizen”. In both documents the fee depends on the applicant's nationality rather than on the type of document, and a separate rate is set aside for the French. What is not in this data: the agency publishes a processing standard only for the visa, but not for the residence card or the resident card; city populations are not given, because no official source separating the city from the region was found. The rent gap between Douala and Yaoundé is taken from the source as it stands — it is reproduced across all the lines, not just one, and the source offers no explanation for it.

Some descriptions for this country are still Russian only: 91% translated. Numbers, prices and timelines are complete.

Entry

Entry rules depend on citizenship. Choose a passport to see the requirement for that one.

Work and visas

Visa speed: A visa is issued by a diplomatic mission or consular post within NO MORE THAN 48 HOURS of the date the application is filed — the target is stated outright and applies to all four visa categories (dgsn.cm, "Offres de services" section). For the residence card and the resident card the authority publishes no separate processing target; only the reciprocal requirement on the applicant is known — to file for renewal no later than one month before the current card expires.

Visa types: Transit visa — 5 days, free of charge. · Tourist visa — no more than 30 days, NOT renewable; 50,000 CFA francs. · Temporary visa (visa temporaire) — 90 days, renewable; 50,000 CFA francs. · The long-stay visa (visa long séjour) — 12 months, multiple entries; 150,000 CFA francs under the ordinary procedure and 200,000 under the expedited one, free for diplomats. **This is the only visa conferring the right to work, to carry on a professional activity and to study in Cameroon** — the others confer no such right at all. It is also a mandatory condition for the residence card. The validity period and the fee are taken from the foreign ministry's e-Visa page after the electronic visa reform; the “Offres de services” section of the Delegation General for National Security still describes the pre-reform 180 days and 100,000 francs, and the agencies are not aligned with each other. · General rules: a visa cannot be converted from one category into another; it can be extended only in cases of force majeure and by the express authorisation of the Delegate General for National Security. Travellers arriving from countries where Cameroon has no mission are, by way of exception, issued a visa at the port and airport police commissariats or at border posts. The agencies state the issuing standard differently: the foreign ministry says 72 hours after pre-registration (pré-enrôlement) and 24 hours under the expedited procedure, the Delegation General for National Security says no more than 48 hours from the date of filing. · What is attached to the application depending on the ground: a passport valid for at least six months, a ticket to Cameroon, the required international vaccination certificates, a certificate of accommodation from the host bearing the endorsement of the territorially competent mayor, or an invitation to an event, or a firm hotel booking for the whole intended stay, a mission order, a repatriation guarantee; for salaried work, an employment contract endorsed by the labour minister; for a liberal profession or agricultural, industrial, commercial or artistic activity, an authorisation from the competent authorities; for a spouse, a document evidencing the marital link, and for minor children, the parental link; for students, a certificate of enrolment; for trainees, a placement order. · The residence card (carte de séjour) — 2 years, renewed TWICE (Decree No. 2025/059 of 28 February 2025). It is issued to a foreigner lawfully admitted to stay, on production of a passport with a long-stay visa, a certificate of residence from the administration or from the police commissioner bearing the mandatory endorsement of the head of the quarter or village, a special extract from the judicial record, a tax certificate and payment of the stamp duty. A prior application at idcam.cm is mandatory. **The fee depends on nationality:** 50,000 francs for students and minors, 75,000 for a non-working spouse, 150,000 for Africans, 200,000 for the French, 300,000 for all other nationalities. Renewal — on production of the previous card no later than one month before it expires. · The resident card (carte de résident) — 10 years, permanent status. Three routes: for a foreigner already in the country — a residence card renewed for the SECOND time (Decree No. 2025/059; the former section of the agency's site spoke of a third renewal, and the texts are not aligned); for members of religious congregations not subject to taxation — on the act recognising the congregation and a document of membership; **for a spouse — directly**, on a certified copy of a marriage certificate no more than three months old, with no prior residence. Here the texts diverge a second time: the new section writes “the spouse of a person of FOREIGN nationality”, the former one “the spouse of a CAMEROONIAN CITIZEN”. The fee likewise depends on nationality: 75,000 francs for clergy and spouses, 300,000 for Africans, 500,000 for the French, 750,000 for all other nationalities. · Refugee card — 2 years, issued on the strength of a UNHCR identification card and a certificate from the minister of external relations; exempt from stamp duty.

The arrangement worth grasping before applying: the right to work is conferred NOT by the residence card but by the visa. The right to paid and professional activity and to study is opened only by the long-stay visa; the transit, tourist and temporary visas do not confer it at all. That same visa is also a mandatory condition for obtaining the residence card. For salaried work, an employment contract endorsed by the labour minister is attached to the visa application, that is, employment is cleared before entry. The second peculiarity is that the fee depends on the applicant's nationality rather than on the type of document. Under Decree No. 2025/059 of 28 February 2025 the residence card costs 150,000 francs for an adult African, 200,000 for a French national and 300,000 for a citizen of any other country; the resident card — 300,000, 500,000 and 750,000 respectively. A separate rate is set aside for the French in both documents.