Working in Cameroon as a foreigner

The rule: an approved contract before you start

Section 27 of the 1992 Labour Code provides that any employment contract for a worker of foreign nationality must be approved (visé) by the minister before it starts to run. In practice it is the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP), through its labour regulation directorate, that processes applications, collects the fees and carries out inspections, according to Cameroon Tribune and EcoMatin. The employer applies. A foreigner who comes to work on their own account (trade, a liberal profession) does not need contract approval, but is subject to residence and business registration rules.

A circular from the employment minister dated 3 February 2023, reported by Droit Médias Finance, restated two rules. Only a long-stay visa allows a person to work, under the decree of 4 September 2007 on the entry and stay of foreigners; the 90-day temporary visa does not. And under section 6 of Decree No. 93/575 of 15 July 1993, the contract of a worker living in Cameroon on a tourist visa is rejected. The circular noted that about 90% of foreigners enter on a temporary visa.

How much does contract approval cost?

The 2023 finance law introduced a fee for approving foreign workers' contracts equal to two months' gross salary for non-African workers and one month (a 50% reduction) for African workers. In May 2024 the government sought consultants to draw up a salary benchmark for expatriates by job, to curb under-declaration, and in July 2024 it was preparing a 16-article draft decree on procedure, renewal and penalties.

The official list of documents and the processing time are not published on the official pages consulted. Private guides mention several copies of the contract, the employee's CV and qualifications and a justification for hiring a foreigner, but we could not check this against an official text.

Inspections: how many foreigners work in Cameroon?

The acting employment minister, Mounouna Foutsou, relaunched a national inspection campaign against undeclared foreign workers in June 2026. According to Cameroon Tribune, in January 2025 the country had about 60,000 foreigners holding a visa or residence card, 16,000 of them holders of a resident card, and about 12,000 Chinese workers. Roughly half are thought to be workers: according to the director of labour regulation, Jeanine Ngo'o Eba, quoted by EcoMatin, the national register lists only 11,800 compliant workers out of some 30,000 expected, or 39.3%.

No numerical quota of foreign workers per company was found in the texts consulted. Control works through contract approval, which lets the administration assess each hire.

The entry visa: evisacam

Since 30 April 2023 visas have been applied for online on the official evisacam platform (evisacam.cm), launched by the external relations minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella. Payment is by card or mobile money, a decision comes within 72 hours (24 hours for express), and biometric enrolment then takes place on arrival or at some missions. The High Commission in London advises applying at least 10 days before travel, and no more than six months ahead.

Residence card and resident card

Foreigners' residence is governed by Law No. 97/012 of 10 January 1997 and its implementing Decree No. 2007/255 of 4 September 2007, amended by Decree No. 2008/052 of 30 January 2008. Cards are issued by the General Delegation for National Security (DGSN, the national police) and, since a 2016 reform, carry an electronic chip. The residence card (carte de séjour) is valid for two years and renewable; renewal should be requested at least a month before expiry, according to a specialist guide. The resident card (carte de résident), valid for ten years and renewable, is available under the 1997 law to foreigners with six years' uninterrupted lawful residence, and as of right to the spouse of a Cameroonian after at least eighteen months of marriage.

• Certified copy of the passport bearing a long-stay visa
• Certificate of residence from the local authorities
• Criminal record extract
• Tax compliance certificate
• Proof of the reason for the stay (approved contract for an employee)
• Online pre-enrolment, then in-person enrolment at the DGSN

Nationals of CEMAC countries

Nationals of the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon may enter Cameroon visa-free for up to 90 days. CEMAC's proclaimed free movement does not, however, amount to a right to work without formalities: the political scientist Cyrille Aymard Bekono noted in 2019 that Cameroon's migration policy has never given community nationals a status of their own and is silent on their right to enter and reside freely. A CEMAC employee is therefore still subject to contract approval (at the African rate of one month's pay) and to residence rules.

Social security and tax for expatriates

A foreign employee hired in Cameroon is registered with the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) like any Cameroonian employee: social security treaties apply the rule that workers are insured in the country where they work. The France-Cameroon social security agreement, signed on 5 November 1990 and in force since 1 March 1992, lets an employee posted by a French company stay in the French system during the posting, and makes pensions (old age, disability, survivors, industrial injury) payable in the other country. The Cameroonian system has no unemployment insurance, the French liaison body CLEISS points out. Contribution rates are set out on the CNPS page.

On tax, an expatriate's salary is subject to the same deductions as a local employee's (income tax and levies withheld through the payslip); see the payslip page. The contract approval fee is not a salary tax: it is a charge paid by the employer for each approval.

Frequently asked questions