is a West African country well-known for its diversity. It shares borders with Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Cong. When you google Cameroon, one of the findings you see will be “Africa in miniature”. That is no coincidence as it has almost every type of climate and landscape in different parts of Africa. Some even boldly noting that visiting Africa without checking Cameroon is not a complete experience of Africa. I will not be so pretentious, but there is a point behind that for sure. Visiting Cameroon can be a life-changing experience. Cameroon was heavily affected by European powers like France and Britain at some point in history. As a former colony of these empires, the influence is evident, and you can find it in language, cuisine, and culture. The official languages are French and English. It works well for tourists since they find English and French speakers more easily. Nature is one of the things that Cameroon can boast about. The Limbe Wildlife Center is one of the most successful projects in the world. Many rescued chimpanzees, gorillas, and other species are preserved and lead peaceful life in this sanctuary. Cameroon has one of the best views in Africa. I am talking about Mount Cameroon's view, a giant active volcano with a height of 4040 meters. Mt Cameroon has great importance for locals. This volcano is deeply rooted in their cultures and beliefs. Cameroon has also cost in the west. Although the coastline is relatively short, its beauty is worth seeing. Beaches here are much different from beaches most of us have seen. The origin of sand in these beaches is volcanic. Therefore, the color of the sand tends to be black in Cameroon. Cameroon is a developing country. Its economy was one of the prosperous in Africa. It exports products like petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton. There is a need for qualified workers in Cameroon. If you think of taking employment, studying, or anything that requires a long stay in Cameroon, this article can help you look at visa to Cameroon and long-term visas in particular. But before jumping into that, we will look at Cameroon visa policy.
Cameroon Visa Policy
If we check out the visa policy of Cameroon, we will see nationals of most countries are required to apply for Cameroon visa to visit the country. Only a few countries, namely Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Nigeria. If you are not from one of these countries, you will follow some procedures to get a visa to Cameroon. What kind of visas are there to Cameroon? Well, they are specified according to the nature of travel. What we will elaborate on today are long-term visas which include study and work visas. Now it is time to have a look at Cameroon visa application and requirements for visas.
Cameroon Visa Requirements
As we already mentioned, visas can be short and long term. They are distinguished based on Cameroon visa fee, length, requirements, etc. When you start the application, you will need some documents. Although there will be some differences in terms of Cameroon visa requirements, most of the documents required are universal and remain actual for all types. They are: • 2 Cameroon visa application forms signed, dated, and completed by the applicant. • 2 of your biometric photos for your visa. The background of the photo should be white. Preferably no facial expression. • Your passport should stay valid for the next 6 months, starting from the date of your departure from Cameroon. • Copies of your passport’s main pages • If you are applying from another country, you need to present a visa or residence permit, depending on your situation. • Travel itinerary and flight ticket bookings and proof of accommodation can be hotel reservations or private houses. If a host invites you, you will need an invitation letter which should include a copy of the ID of the inviter, contact details of the inviter, copy of residency permit of the host, Confirmation of residence (lease agreement in good standing, house bill). • Copy of your yellow fever vaccination, which should prove that you are vaccinated against yellow fever. You should be able to prove your financial sufficiency for the travel. Financial means for that purpose can be a bank statement indicating activities in the last • 3 months, cash, credit card, etc. • Travel insurance. Almost for every type of visas to Cameroon, these are standard requirements. However, there will be some additional requirements depending on the visa type. How much is Cameroon visa fee in general? Well, yet again, the fee prices range based on some factors. It can change depending on visa type, application country, entry types, etc. Usually, it costs slightly more to get a long-term visa.
Long term visas
We get a glance of what are the general requirements for visas. But what about long-term visas? Will there be more documents required? The answer is yes and we will explain it explicitly. You have two types of long-term visas to apply for. They are work visa and study visa. To start Cameroon visa application for a study visa, you will need one additional document other than filling out Cameroon visa application form and presenting general documents. You should prove your purpose of visit. To accomplish this task you can present an Admission Letter from Educational Institution in Cameroon indicating that you are enrolled in the study in Cameroon. Alongside this letter, you will present a document proving your financial sufficiency for your study and travel. If it is sponsored or by someone or a scholarship, then the person's bank account is needed. Furthermore, you should be registered in the institution you are going to study. In the case of a work visa, you will need to prove your purpose of travel, similar to a study visa. This will be done by presenting the following: • A letter provided by the company you are going to work for. In this letter, details of the length of duration and financial-legal responsibilities should be revealed. • If it is a business partner in Cameroon, then an introduction letter by this partner is needed. Note that it should be legalized and signed by Immigration services. • You should present your employment contract. This contract should be legalized and signed by the Minister of Labor and Social Security in Cameroon. You might be wondering about Cameroon visa cost for long-term visas. For study visa, visa fee vary between 75 and 150 USD. For the work visa, on the other hand, Cameroon visa cost around 70 and 300 USD. What about processing time, you might ask. The average Cameroon visa processing time for long-term visas is somewhere between 3 and 25 days. These numbers are relative. They can change from country to country.
How to apply for Cameroon visa?
To get a visa to Cameroon, you will go through some of the procedures. Remember that you can not get a visa on arrival. Cameroon simply does not grant such visas. The only way left is to apply it through foreign immigration bodies of Cameroon such as embassies or consulates, and visa application centers. The first step to apply for Cameroon visa will be to find and contact a local embassy of Cameroon (if any, otherwise look for the nearest embassy of Cameroon). There, you will make an appointment to start your application. Once it is time, you present your documents, pay the Cameroon visa fee, and wait for the application to be processed. You can make sure of Cameroon visa processing time by inquiring the embassy. If your application is successful, you will get your visa from the embassy. The validity of long term visa is 6 months or 1 year. However, only USA passport holders can get 1 year-long visa. It is recommended to apply for the visa around 90 days before your planned date of arrival. To extend or renew your long-term visa, you need to apply for a residence permit at an authorized government body. You can extend your visa by leaving and re-entering the country. To sum up, getting a long-term visa to Cameroon requires a lot of work, and visa application is time-consuming. You need to be well prepared and ensure that you have all the required documents at your disposal. You can inquire the embassy of Cameroon about visa application or rely on Pickvisa and get your visa much more easily.
