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Visa for study purposes
Please make sure to read the information below regarding our appointment system.
Here you will find all information about the visa application if you want to take part in a language course or to study or to write a doctoral thesis in Germany.
For the application of a visa for study purposes, you will need a longer preparation. Therefore, please read the information on this page carefully.
How to prepare your application
Follow the following steps while preparing your application:
- Use our Visa-Navigator to make sure you need a visa for study purposes
- Make a registration on the Consular Services Portal (Auslandsportal) and follow all prompts.
- Attention: If you are receiving a scholarship from public funds (Germany or EU funds) or are a researcher with a hosting agreement (§18d AufenthG), please register on this waiting list instead.
- Please compile your application documents for your appointment at VFS Global or the embassy according to the checklist.
Important Notice: Please do not send any documents to the embassy unsolicited. Unsolicited documents will be deleted and cannot be assigned to any case.
Important information
Please compile your application as follows:
- Folder: Original documents
- Folder: Printout of the documents submitted via the Consular Services Portal
Do not staple the pages and documents or join them in any other way!
Original documents submitted will be returned once the submission of the application has been completed. Please note the information on the General Data Protection Regulation.
- Fees: Applicants under 18 years of age: 25,000 XAF, over 18 years of age: 50,000 XAF.
Attention: VFS Global charges additional service fees.
Applicants with a scholarship from public funds: free of charge. - Visa application form: Printed visa application form: VIDEX - Long-term stay, signed by the applicant.
- Passport photo: A current passport photo, size 35 x 45 mm, biometric (see photo sample table).
- Passport: Valid, signed, valid for at least 12 months, at least two blank pages, copy of the data page and all pages with relevant visas and entries / stamps, copies of old passports with relevant visas, copies of old residence permits in Germany.
- Carte d'Identité Cameroon: CNI or Cameroonian residence permit.
- Birth certificate: and if applicable original court judgement (Grosse and Certificat de non Appel or declatory judgement) as well as photocopies of previous documents.
- If applicable, Marriage certificate
- If applicable, Birth certificate (children of the applicant): and original court judgement (Grosse and Certificat de non Appel or declatory judgement) as well as photocopies of previous documents.
- Admission to an university:
- Unconditional letter of admission (Direkte/Unbedingte Zulassung) to a German university and current certificate of enrollment at a German university or
- Conditional letter of admission (Bedingte Zulassung) to a German university and confirmation of language course or
- Letter of admission to a DSH/C1/TestDaF language course followed by studies at a German university or
- Letter of admission to a preparatory college (Studienkolleg) or
- Admission to the entrance examination (Zulassung zum Aufnahmetest).
- If you are attending a language course in Germany, you must submit the corresponding confirmation from the language school as well as proof of funding.
Please note that no more than three months should elapse between the end of the language course and the start of your studies. - Proof of qualifications - school education: School leaving certificates (Probatoire and Baccalaureat or O-Level and A-Level), training certificates and university transcripts. Please see our note on language certificates.
- Proof of qualifications - personal: Curriculum vitae in tabular form in German (maximum one page), letter of motivation in German (maximum one page), proof of further studies, internships, employment.
- Proof of means of subsistence: proof of financing (e.g. blocked account, declaration of commitment, §§ 66 to 68a AufenthG).
Please note that if you are admitted to a private university, you will need to provide proof of funding for at least the first year. - Additional documents for applicants under 18 years old:
- Identification documents of both parents/guardians: Copy of passport data page or Cameroonian identity card and, if applicable, residence permit and
- Signatures of both parents/guardians on the application form when appearing together with the child at VFS Global or
- Declaration of consent from the missing legal guardian(s), certified by German authorities or
- Personal appearance of the missing legal guardian at VFS Global within three working days or
- Registration for an appointment for the personal appearance of the missing legal guardian at the Consular Service of the German Embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
- Health insurance: Incoming health insurance from a German provider with unlimited cover and a general validity period of at least two months.
If a language course and language examination are completed in Germany before commencing studies, the health insurance must be valid for at least one year.
If you are receiving a scholarship from public funding (Germany or EU) or are a researcher with a hosting agreement, please register on this waiting list and not on the Consular Services Portal. You will receive an appointment for a personal interview and application directly at the German Embassy (Consulate), not at VFS Global. If you are unsure whether you meet the requirements, please contact the embassy and send your scholarship confirmation as an attachment.
All documents from the checklist must be presented at the appointment.
- Folder: Original documents
- Folder: Copies of all (original) documents (front and back)
| Visa to study with specific qualifications |
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| Visa to study with conditional/unconditional admission |
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| Preparatory language course/entrance test/application |
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Information on our appointment waiting time are available here.
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yaoundé strongly recommends the submission of proof of language proficiency (min. level B1) in order to support the plausibility and credibility of the motivation for the intended study visit.
Registration on the Consular Services Portal is only possible with an A1 certificate.
For English-language degree programmes, the required English language skills (e.g. TOEFL certificate) must be submitted.
Please note: Only ALTE certified language certificates (Goethe-Institut, ÖSD, telc, TestDaf, ELC) less than one year old are accepted. The oldest module counts!
Amount of funding
As part of the visa procedure, proof of funding for the first year of study must be provided, unless the programme is to be taken up for less than one year.
For all financing options, proof of at least EUR 992 per month (~EUR 11,904 per year) must be provided when submitting the application.
Blocked account
In the visa procedure, proof of subsistence can be provided by setting up a blocked account. When choosing a provider, you initially have free choice, although certain requirements must be met.
Declaration of commitment
Third parties who live in Germany and wish to assume responsibility for ensuring your livelihood can submit a declaration of commitment (§§ 66 to 68a AufenthG) to the responsible immigration authority.
This must contain the note ‘nachgewiesen’ [eng: proven]. Unfortunately, declarations of commitment in which financing has been ‘glaubhaft gmeacht' [eng: credibly demonstrated] cannot be accepted when applying for a study visa. The declaration of commitment must not be older than six months at the time of application.
If a relative in Germany has submitted a declaration of commitment on your behalf, please enclose the relevant proof of relationship (e.g. birth certificates) with your visa application.
Scholarship
If you have received a scholarship (e.g. from the DAAD, Erasmus+, a university or a foundation), this can be accepted as proof of funding. Please note that scholarships must also cover at least the monthly/annual amount stated above. If the promised scholarship does not cover the amount, you must provide further proof (e.g. blocked account) in the amount of the shortfall.
Private University
Please note that you must provide proof of payment for the tuition fees for the first year for any private university.
From December 1, 2025, the external service provider VFS Global will handle the acceptance of applications in the following categories:
- Accelerated skilled worker procedure pursuant to § 81a AufenthG (Vorabzustimmung der Ausländerbehörde)
- Employment in the nursing and healthcare sector
- Students (excluding scholarship holders)
The processing and decision on applications will continue to be carried out exclusively by the Embassy or the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (BfAA). VFS Global is only responsible for accepting the applications, recording biometric data, and checking for completeness. After the embassy or BAMF has completed its review, VFS Global will deliver the decision to the applicant in a sealed envelope. VFS Global has no influence on the process and will not be informed whether a visa has been granted or denied.
4th Floor “Immeuble Ekang” (Opposite Palais des sports)
Yaoundé
The Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (BfAA) supports the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yaoundé in the processing of visa applications in the category of study, employment and training in the context of nursing and healthcare professions.
Processing at the BfAA does not change anything for applicants. If there are any queries or need for clarification regarding your visa application, you may be contacted directly by the BfAA to speed up processing. Your visa or notification of refusal will continue to be issued by the responsible diplomatic mission abroad.
Detailed information on visa processing by the BfAA can be found here (information is only available in german).
Please note that incomplete applications cannot be processed. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yaoundé and the BfAA reserve the right to request further documents in individual cases and to have the authenticity of the documents submitted checked. Documents submitted prior to the application cannot be assigned to a later visa application.
The visa should be applied for with sufficient time before the planned departure. The processing time for complete application documents is currently around three months. Processing may be delayed due to incomplete application documents or irregular processing measures. There is no entitlement to the issue of a visa within the specified processing time. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yaoundé accepts no liability for any delays in travelling in the event of irregular processing times.
Attention! The submission of falsified documents and the provision of false information will result in the immediate rejection of the application!
Please note that the applicant may also be entered in the visa warning register and/or entry concerns may be recorded!
Visa applicants who have submitted, obtained or produced forged or falsified documents in the visa procedure or have obtained authentic documents by providing false information or have provided false information or have obtained a visa by concealing material facts which they were obliged to provide can be entered in the visa warning register, § 2 VWDG.
Further information on the visa warning register can be found here.
The German Embassy never requests money transfers over the phone. Payments to the passport or visa office are made exclusively in person at the counters, based on a fee regulation and upon issuance of an official receipt.
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Yaoundé may request further documents in individual cases and have the authenticity of the documents submitted checked. Documents submitted prior to the application cannot be assigned to a later visa application.
German, English and French documents do not have to be translated. Documents in other languages must be submitted with a German translation.