Guidance

Cameroon: Knowledge Base profile

Published 29 August 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cameroon-knowledge-base-profile/cameroon-knowledge-base-profile

Version 2.0

About: Cameroon

This document contains useful information about Cameroon which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

  • version 2.0
  • published for Home Office staff on 14 August 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with formatting changes.

Cameroon: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Cameroon.

There are 2 types of naming convention in Cameroon:

  • Anglophone
  • Francophone

Anglophone names

There are two name structures used by Cameroon citizens from typically English-speaking families. Their names consist of either:

  • first surname + given name + second surname
  • given name + first surname + second surname

Francophone names

The names of Cameroon citizens from typically French-speaking families consist of:

  • first surname + second surname + given name

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Cameroon.

Cameroon: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Cameroon.

Dual nationality is not recognised in Cameroon.

Cameroon: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Cameroon.

Legitimacy

Cameroon recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

  • legitimate if the:
    • parents are married at the time of the birth
    • parents marry after the child is born
    • biological father’s paternity is admitted or established during the lifetime of the child
  • illegitimate if their parents never marry

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is shared equally between both legal parents in Cameroon.

Cameroon: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Cameroon.

Adoption is legal in Cameroon.

Cameroon: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Cameroon.

Transgender citizens are not recognised in Cameroon.

Cameroon: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Cameroon.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are illegal in Cameroon.

Cameroon: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents from Cameroon.

Birth certificates

Births in Cameroon must be registered within 90 days of the birth at a civil registration office where the birth took place. Late registration is allowed. Births registered after 90 days must be done through the courts.

A register of all births is kept by each municipality.

The format of birth certificates varies from region to region.

Adoption, recognition, and legitimation of the child are annotated at the back of the birth certificate by the Civil Status official.

Where the father does not recognise the child, the father’s name will not be included on the birth certificate and the relevant field will be left blank.

Replacement certificates for missing, lost, and destroyed birth certificates can only be issued by the High Court.

Marriage certificates

Marriages in Cameroon must be registered immediately at the time of the marriage. Late registration is not allowed.

Marriage certificates are issued immediately after a civil ceremony has been conducted by the council or secondary civil status centre in the town where the marriage took place.

Death certificates

Deaths in Cameroon must be registered within 90 days. Late registrations incur a fee and the declarant must go through a tribunal.

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