Cameroon e-Visa: how the evisacam.cm system works

Article 28 of Decree No. 2023/147 states that visa applications for Cameroon and the payment of the related fees are made exclusively online through the dedicated platform. The decree defines two outputs: the online visa authorisation, a paperless document that allows the traveller to present themselves at a Cameroonian border post wherever they live, and the biometric visa, a self-adhesive sticker with a chip containing the holder's photograph and fingerprints or iris data. In everyday language the whole system is called the e-Visa, and MINREX promotes it under that name on evisacam.cm and evisacam.com.

Every visa-required foreigner uses it, whether for a transit, a short stay or a long stay. Diplomatic and courtesy visas go through the same steps without the payment, since they are free; the Washington mission handles them outside the general portal. According to MINREX, more than 541,000 visitors had used the system in its first three years, through 46 consular posts and the two international airports of Douala and Yaoundé-Nsimalen.

MINREX's tariff: short-stay ordinary visa (six months) 100,000 XAF, short-stay express 150,000 XAF, transit up to five days free. For the long-stay visa, Ordinance No. 2024/001 of 20 June 2024 sets 200,000 XAF, which corresponds to the EUR 305 shown by the London High Commission; MINREX's page still shows an older figure of 150,000 XAF, and the Washington mission lists USD 272.73. The amount charged on evisacam.cm at the time you pay is what applies. Accepted methods are Visa and Mastercard; some missions also mention mobile money. Payment is final and does not guarantee a visa.

Pre-enrolment: you create an account (the London mission notes the e-mail address may have at most 70 characters), receive an activation link with a temporary password, set a security question, then open a new visa request, complete every field marked with a red asterisk, save, upload the scanned documents, check the summary and click Finalise and pay. MINREX lists the prerequisites: a computer or smartphone, internet access, a valid passport, a Visa or Mastercard card and each supporting document scanned separately.

Payment: the receipt arrives by e-mail or SMS within minutes and can also be downloaded from your account; it is not a visa. Processing: the mission that is legally competent or geographically closest reviews the file. Applicants living in the mission's city receive an automatic invitation to book the biometric enrolment; applicants far from a mission or in an area without coverage receive an online visa authorisation with a QR code. Affixing: the sticker is placed in the passport at the mission, or at the border post on arrival for holders of the online authorisation, after the police check the documents and biometrics.

The decree gives the DGSN 24 hours for its security opinion and the mission three days from pre-enrolment to decide, or 24 hours under the express procedure; a refusal is notified within three days. In your account the file shows one of four labels: Paid (under review), Approved (authorisation or appointment available), On Hold (information or a document missing, to be edited and resubmitted) or Rejected (final; a new application is needed). Apply at least 10 days before travel and not more than six months in advance.

Portal questions go to contact@evisacam.cm or support@evisacam.cm, and the London High Commission gives the e-Visa phone line (+237) 222 20 79 08 during business hours. Overpayments or double debits are claimed on claim.evisacam.cm. Imitation websites exist; the official addresses are evisacam.cm and evisacam.com, linked from the MINREX site diplocam.cm. Questions about a file under examination go to the Cameroonian mission handling it.