The Cameroonian government plans to make the visa process digital. It submitted a bill to the National Assembly on July 2 to update the January 1997 law on the conditions of entry, stay and exit of foreigners in Cameroon.

The bill proposes to amend three articles (10, 11, and 15) of the law. Once the proposition is validated, foreigners will be able to apply for a visa online both for temporary visits, long stays, studies, or business. The new approach will make it possible to centralize and protect the data recorded on the digital platform; control the flow of entries and exits on the territory by deploying terminals on land, sea, air, and port points, and guarantee the maximum security of diplomatic documents.

Another advantage is the reduction of travel distances and queues in embassies for visas. These are issues the diaspora and foreigners complain most about. Moreover, “state revenues will be better secured because payment of services will now be made online," the government said. 

Last April, the Ministry of External Relations announced the entry into force of the biometric visa in June. The government has entrusted this digitization project to an Ivorian company specializing in security, identification, recording, and analysis of data and information for the safety and internal security of states.

Ludovic Amara