(Business in Cameroon) - Effective July 1, 2021, the official passport application fees will rise in Cameroon, per an ordinance modifying the 2021 finance law president Paul Biya signed on June 7, 2021.

“Starting from July 1, 2021, the stamp duties for national passports are set as follows: XAF110,000 for issuance, renewal, and extension of regular passports. There is no change in [the price] the other passports,” the presidential ordinance indicates.

This means that starting from July 1, 2021, the cost of ordinary passports will rise by 31.81% (from XAF75,000 to XAF110,000). The ordinance provides no reasons to explain such a price hike but we note that it is part of the strategies to raise the fiscal earnings (XAF2,743.1 billion) expected for the 2021 fiscal year.

This is the third time passport fees are being increased in Cameroon over the past 20 years. It successively went from XAF30,000 to 50,000 then to XAF75,000 and now to XAF110,000. The last price hike occurred in 2016. At the time, Cameroonian authorities explained that the aim was to help provide the State with financial resources necessary to modernize and secure the identification and travel document important for economic operators’ trips worldwide.

Comparatively, the price in Cameroon is almost thrice the prices in West African countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Togo (between CFAF30 and 40 thousand). As for the official issuance deadlines, it is about two weeks for the said West African countries against three months for Cameroon.

Sylvain Andzongo