By Hans Ngala
The Biya regime has maintained sealed lips as the Trump gov’t has lumped Cameroon together with Ethiopia and Nigeria for stricter US visa requirements. In March, Cameroon was given 60 days to rectify a number of issues which the US government was uncomfortable with, or risk getting a permanent ban from the US.
It seems the ban hasn’t been made permanent but the US embassy in Yaounde in a statement later said that it was “revising its visa procedures, as well as the validity periods and issuance fees for most visa classifications”, adding that “Cameroonian citizens who successfully apply for a tourist, business, exchange, or student visa are now issued a single-entry, three-month validity visa, with a significantly reduced issuance fee of $35 or its equivalent in FCFA (down from $215) to be paid if the visa is approved”.
At press time, CNA was awaiting clarification from the US embassy as to what their statement means when it talks of a “three-month validity visa”.
The Biya regime, known for its lackadaisical approach to leadership has not commented on the tightened restrictions even though Americans have 90-day visa entry to Cameroon. It is also unclear whether the Biya regime complied with the US government’s 60-day window request and whether if they failed – does Cameroon actually risk getting banned permanently from US visas. Countries like Somalia and Eritrea already have US visa bans for all visa types.
