Long-stay route for a foreign employee in the private, public or parastatal sector, including technical-assistance personnel.
Eligibility: 2Documents: 4Process & costs: 5Report facts: 10
Middle Africa · Immigration
Cameroon
Cameroon sits in Middle Africa. Its immigration system runs 27 distinct routes — led by family, short stays and visits and work, each set out in official law. 23 of them cite an official government source, shown on the route with the date we last read it. Who actually qualifies depends on your full profile.
- Immigration routes
- 27across 12 route categories, each set out in official law
- Source-cited routes
- 23 of 27cite an official government source, with the date we last read it
- Largest category
- Family9 of the 27 routes — see them under Family below
- Region
- Middle Africa
- Capital
- Yaoundé
- Population
- 29,879,337
- Official language
- English, French
- Currency
- XAF
- Time zone
- UTC+01:00
Source-cited pathways
Immigration routes
All 27 routes, grouped by purpose — 23 of 27 cite an official government source directly. Any route below without one says so on the route.
Work
2 routes
Short official professional mission in Cameroon without local employment.
Report facts: 1
Investment
1 route
Short exploratory or promotional visit connected with the provision of services or capital for an investment.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 5Report facts: 12
Starting a business
2 routes
Long-stay route for an individual practising a liberal, commercial, industrial, agricultural, pastoral, cultural or craft activity.
Eligibility: 1Documents: 3Process & costs: 5Report facts: 12
Short visit for a business person carrying out a personal for-profit professional activity without taking local employment.
Documents: 4Process & costs: 4Report facts: 14
Study
2 routes
Long-stay route for a foreign national admitted to a training placement lasting more than three months.
Eligibility: 2Documents: 4Process & costs: 5Report facts: 8
Long-stay route for study at a university or vocational-training institution in Cameroon.
Eligibility: 3Documents: 4Process & costs: 4Report facts: 9
Family
9 routes
Short family-accompaniment route for the adult child who is still studying of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 5Report facts: 17
Short family-accompaniment route for the first-degree ascendant relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 5Report facts: 17
Short family-accompaniment route for the minor child relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 5Report facts: 17
Short family-accompaniment route for the spousal relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 5Report facts: 17
Longer family-reunification route for the adult child who is still studying of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 1Report facts: 14
Longer family-reunification route for the first-degree ascendant relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 1Report facts: 14
Longer family-reunification route for the minor child relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 1Report facts: 14
Longer family-reunification route for the spousal relationship of a foreign national admitted to stay or reside in Cameroon.
Documents: 5Process & costs: 1Report facts: 14
Resident-card route for a foreign spouse married to a Cameroonian citizen for at least eighteen months and regularly residing in Cameroon.
Documents: 4Process & costs: 3Report facts: 8
Living from your own income
2 routes
Short visit by a foreign national receiving a pension from an official Cameroonian body.
Eligibility: 1Documents: 5Process & costs: 8Report facts: 8
Periodic short visit by a foreign person who owns an income stream or real property in Cameroon and comes to manage it.
Eligibility: 1Documents: 4Process & costs: 8Report facts: 9
Long-term residence
1 route
Ten-year resident card for a foreign national who has completed at least six consecutive years of regular stay in Cameroon.
Eligibility: 1Documents: 3Process & costs: 1Report facts: 7
Culture, faith and volunteering
1 route
Resident-card route for a member of a religious congregation duly recognized in Cameroon.
Eligibility: 1Documents: 2Report facts: 7
Short stays and visits
3 routes
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Documents: 3Process & costs: 4Report facts: 11
Short visit while hosted by a family member or friend in Cameroon.
Documents: 3Process & costs: 4Report facts: 11
Individual, organized or package tourism visit to Cameroon.
Documents: 3Process & costs: 4Report facts: 10
Humanitarian protection
2 routes
Protection procedure for a person seeking recognition as a refugee in Cameroon.
Process & costs: 1Report facts: 6
Two-year identity card for a foreign national already recognized as benefiting from asylum in Cameroon.
Documents: 1Process & costs: 2Report facts: 6
Official government source: prc.cm · checked 2026-07-26
Medical treatment
1 route
Short admission to receive medical treatment in Cameroon.
Documents: 2Process & costs: 5Report facts: 14
Transit
1 route
Multiple-entry transit visa for a traveller continuing through Cameroon to a final destination.
Documents: 3Process & costs: 5Report facts: 5
Official sources
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