Germany is outsourcing part of its visa intake in Cameroon to VFS Global, opening a new application centre in Yaoundé on 1 December 2025 and publicising the expansion on 2 December. The facility is the 69th German visa centre run by VFS worldwide and will focus on student, trainee and skilled-worker categories that do not require interviews with consular officers.
German Ambassador Christian Sedat told local media the move should cut waiting times by roughly 50 %, adding about 500 extra files each month to the embassy’s current 1,000-application capacity. VFS staff will collect biometrics, scan documents and return passports, while final decisions remain with German officials, preserving legal accountability.
![German Embassy teams with VFS Global in Yaoundé, adding 500 visa slots per month]()
For German universities and companies that recruit heavily from Cameroon—the second-largest African source of students in Germany—the extra capacity offers a concrete timeline benefit. Mobility managers should nevertheless remind applicants that VFS charges service fees on top of standard visa fees and that complete documentation is still essential now that the remonstration route is ending.
The partnership also hints at a broader German strategy: leveraging private outsourcing to tackle global bottlenecks as Berlin pursues its Skilled Immigration Act targets. HR departments in other talent-source countries should watch for similar roll-outs and budget accordingly.
German Ambassador Christian Sedat told local media the move should cut waiting times by roughly 50 %, adding about 500 extra files each month to the embassy’s current 1,000-application capacity. VFS staff will collect biometrics, scan documents and return passports, while final decisions remain with German officials, preserving legal accountability.
For German universities and companies that recruit heavily from Cameroon—the second-largest African source of students in Germany—the extra capacity offers a concrete timeline benefit. Mobility managers should nevertheless remind applicants that VFS charges service fees on top of standard visa fees and that complete documentation is still essential now that the remonstration route is ending.
The partnership also hints at a broader German strategy: leveraging private outsourcing to tackle global bottlenecks as Berlin pursues its Skilled Immigration Act targets. HR departments in other talent-source countries should watch for similar roll-outs and budget accordingly.
