Do Cameroonian passport holders need a visa for Ecuador?

By Vinayak Gupta · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated September 4, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes. Cameroon is named on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list of 45 nationalities that must hold a visa before they travel, so a Cameroonian passport is not one of the many Ecuador admits on arrival. The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, lodged online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the requirement that decides your timeline is a criminal-record extract that has to be translated and legalised before Ecuador will act on the file.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, before travel
Why: Cameroon is one of 45 countries on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list
Visa to apply for: Temporary visitor tourist visa, 90 days
Where: Online, on the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform
The hard requirement: Casier judiciaire (bulletin n 3), translated and legalised
Passport validity: At least six months

Entry requirements

A Cameroonian passport valid for at least six months.
An original criminal-record extract (extrait de casier judiciaire, bulletin n 3), and an equivalent from anywhere else you have lived in the last five years, translated into Spanish and legalised. Ecuador counts it as valid for 180 days from the date of issue to your last entry, and asks for it only from applicants over 18.
Proof of lawful means of support under Ministerial Agreement No. 70 of 28 June 2024, with a travel itinerary and return tickets.
A colour photograph to specification: JPG, no more than one megabyte, 5 by 5 centimetres, white background, neutral expression or a natural smile, both eyes open.

On the list, and the casier judiciaire is the long pole

Ecuador’s foreign ministry publishes the list of nationalities that need a visa before arriving, and the government services portal carries the same 45 names as the Régimen Especial. Cameroon is on both, so the visa is a firm requirement rather than a formality to sort out on landing in Quito.

The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days. The portal frames it as an authorisation for tourism and states that holders may not work. The application is made only online through the ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the visa is issued through an Ecuadorian mission abroad, so the process starts on the internet and ends at a consulate.

The document that governs your timeline is the criminal-record extract. For a Cameroonian that is the extrait de casier judiciaire, bulletin n 3, obtained from the court of the place of birth, then translated into Spanish and legalised. The legalisation is the slow step, so begin it before the rest of the file.

Good to know

Where the extract comes from is tied to where you were born, which catches Cameroonians in the diaspora. The bulletin n 3 of the casier judiciaire is issued by the court of first instance of your place of birth, so someone born in Douala requests it there even if they now live abroad, often through a relative or a proxy. Build that step into the timeline, because it precedes the translation and the legalisation rather than running alongside them.
Cameroon is not in the Apostille Convention, so the extract takes the longer authentication route. Ecuador accepts a criminal-record certificate that is either apostilled or consular-legalised, and because Cameroon issues no apostille the document has to be legalised through the Ministry of External Relations and then the Ecuadorian mission accredited to Cameroon. That is weeks of processing across more than one office, so treat it as the first task.
The extract is counted valid to your arrival, not your application. Ecuador treats it as valid for 180 days from issue to your last entry, so an extract obtained early and paired with a slow legalisation and a later trip can lapse against the journey rather than the paperwork. Work the dates backwards from your intended landing.
This is a tourism visa in the narrow sense and the portal states as much, describing the permission as being for tourism and prohibiting holders from carrying out work activities. Anything on the trip that could be read as work, including short unpaid but organised engagements, is a different application, and the distinction sits in the description of the visa rather than in a footnote.

Frequently asked questions

Do Cameroonian citizens need a visa for Ecuador?

Yes. Ecuador publishes a list of 45 nationalities that must obtain a visa before arriving, its Régimen Especial, and Cameroon is on it. Most other nationalities are admitted without one.

Which visa should Cameroonians apply for?

The temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, applied for online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform.

Do Cameroonians need a criminal-record extract for an Ecuador visa?

Yes, if you are over 18. Ecuador asks for an original extrait de casier judiciaire, bulletin n 3, translated into Spanish and legalised, plus an equivalent from anywhere you have lived in the last five years.

Can a Cameroonian casier judiciaire be apostilled?

No. Cameroon is not a member of the Apostille Convention, so the extract is legalised through the Ministry of External Relations and the relevant Ecuadorian mission instead.

Can Cameroonians work in Ecuador on this visa?

No. The government portal describes the permission as being for tourism and states that holders are prohibited from carrying out work activities.

How long can Cameroonians stay in Ecuador on this visa?

Up to 90 days. The visa is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, and it does not permit work.

Other passports for Ecuador

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 4 September 2026.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana del Ecuador, "Lista de países que deben presentar visa al ingresar al Ecuador": 45 nationalities are named as requiring a visa to enter Ecuador, and Cameroon (Camerún) is among them. Read 2026-09-04. https://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/2020/06/30/lista-de-paises-que-deben-presentar-visa-al-ingresar-al-ecuador/
Gobierno del Ecuador, gob.ec, "Concesión de visa de visitante temporal turista 90 días", MREMH: the 45 Régimen Especial countries include Cameroon; the visa authorises tourism and prohibits work; the application is made only online through the e-VISAS platform and the visa is issued through Ecuadorian missions abroad; requirements include a passport valid at least six months, a colour photograph to specification, an original criminal-record certificate from the country of origin or residence over the last five years translated and apostilled or legalised and valid 180 days from issue to last entry and required only of those over 18, proof of lawful means of support under Acuerdo Ministerial No. 70 of 28 June 2024, and a travel itinerary with return tickets. Read 2026-09-04. https://www.gob.ec/mremh/tramites/concesion-visa-visitante-temporal-turista-90-dias
HCCH, Apostille Section, status table: Cameroon is not a Contracting Party to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, so Cameroonian public documents are authenticated by consular legalisation rather than apostille. Read 2026-09-04.
République du Cameroun: the extrait de casier judiciaire (bulletin n 3) is issued by the court of first instance of the place of birth. Read 2026-09-04.

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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