The legal framework
Cameroonian law rests on the Civil Code from the colonial period, supplemented by Ordinance No. 81-02 of 29 June 1981 on the organisation of civil status registration, and coexists with customary laws in the regions where they are recognised, which have their own rules for taking in a child (recueil). It provides for two forms, adoption plénière and adoption simple. The English-speaking regions apply rules inspired by the common law to certain questions of personal status: adoption there is dealt with by an adoption order close to the British model, whose effects do not exactly match those of the adoption plénière of the written law. The adoption is granted by the tribunal de premier degré (court of first degree) or the tribunal de grande instance (High Court), depending on the nature of the adoption and the place where the child lives. Beforehand, the child's situation is established — birth certificate, death of the parents or their consent, a jugement d'abandon (judgment declaring the child abandoned) where relevant —, the services of the Ministère des Affaires sociales (Ministry of Social Affairs) carry out an enquête sociale (social enquiry), and the application is made to the court by requête (petition), with a lawyer's assistance; the adoption judgment is then transcribed in the registers of the état civil (civil status registry). Cameroon is not among the States parties to the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption: Cameroonian decisions have no automatic recognition abroad, and an exequatur or an adoption procedure in the country of residence is needed. Same-sex relations are criminalised: there is no union and no joint adoption for same-sex couples.
The coexistence of written law and customary laws is the central difficulty. In many regions the extended family takes in a child according to custom (recueil), without going before a judge: the child grows up in the family without any trace in his or her civil status records, which causes problems at school, for a passport and when an estate is settled. The recueil is socially recognised but creates no legal parentage (filiation) in the état civil; it takes effect only through a court decision. Nor does it give anyone parental rights in the UK, or the child a right to come to the UK: Cameroonians in the UK who want to adopt a brother's or a sister's child and bring the child to live with them face an intercountry adoption with all its requirements, even within the family. Within the UK, a child under 16 who lives for 28 days or more with someone who is not a parent, a person with parental responsibility or a close relative — grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or step-parent — is privately fostered, and the local authority must be told. In the English-speaking regions, the adoption order may have effects that differ from those of an adoption plénière; how it is treated abroad is assessed at the recognition stage.
Cameroon's absence from the Hague Convention is what makes most diaspora projects fail. A couple obtains a perfectly regular adoption judgment in Douala or Buea and only then discovers that their country of residence requires prior approval and will not let the child in without it. The rule is therefore to start from the country of residence, not the other way round. In the UK, the steps are set out on GOV.UK: assessment and approval by a UK adoption agency, a certificate of eligibility issued by the central authority — the Department for Education in England — and sent to the overseas authority, matching and a visit to the child, court proceedings that may be needed in both countries, and entry clearance for the child; bringing a child into the UK for adoption without meeting these requirements is a criminal offence. At the time of writing Cameroon is not on the UK's list of countries from which adoption is restricted. Because Cameroon is not a Hague country, a Cameroonian order is not a Convention adoption in UK law: how it is treated depends on UK rules on overseas adoptions, an adoption order from a UK court may still be needed after the child's arrival, and the child does not automatically become British — a British adopter can apply to the Home Office to register the child (form MN1), which is discretionary, whereas a UK adoption order made in favour of a British adopter makes the child British. Irish law recognises intercountry adoptions only from Hague Convention countries or countries with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement: Irish residents should ask the Adoption Authority of Ireland before taking any step.
Key points
| Laws | Civil Code from the colonial period; Ordinance No. 81-02 of 29 June 1981 on civil status; customary laws where they are recognised |
|---|---|
| Forms | Adoption plénière (full) and adoption simple; in the English-speaking regions, an adoption order close to the British model |
| Court | Tribunal de premier degré or tribunal de grande instance, depending on the nature of the adoption and the child's place of residence |
| Procedure | Child's situation established, enquête sociale by the services of the Ministry of Social Affairs, petition with a lawyer, judgment, transcription in the état civil |
| Recueil | Customary taking-in of a child: socially recognised, creates no parentage in the état civil; effect only through a court decision |
| 1993 Hague Convention | Cameroon is not a party |
| Recognition abroad | Not automatic; exequatur or an adoption procedure in the country of residence needed |
| Same-sex couples | Relations criminalised; no union, no joint adoption |
| Costs | Court and lawyers' fees of a few hundred thousand CFA francs; for the diaspora, a double procedure that can take several years |
| British and Irish families | UK assessment and approval first, certificate of eligibility (Department for Education in England); bringing a child in without meeting UK requirements is an offence; no automatic British citizenship (Home Office registration, form MN1); Ireland recognises only Hague or bilateral-agreement adoptions |
In practice
- Start in the UK: contact your local authority's adoption service or a voluntary adoption agency that handles intercountry adoption, go through the assessment and approval, and ask whether it has experience of Cameroon; the central authority — the Department for Education in England — then issues the certificate of eligibility. UK documents for the Cameroonian court are legalised by the FCDO Legalisation Office.
- In Cameroon, have the child's situation established: birth certificate, death of the parents or their consent, and where relevant a jugement d'abandon.
- Go through the enquête sociale conducted by the departmental services of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and apply to the competent court by requête, with a lawyer's assistance.
- Obtain the adoption judgment and its transcription in the état civil registers, keep several copies and have them translated into English by a certified translator if they are in French; then apply for the child's entry clearance and, depending on the case, for a UK adoption order and the child's registration as a British citizen (form MN1).
- Never go through intermediaries who offer a particular child, and do not mistake a recueil for an adoption. To adopt your Cameroonian spouse's or partner's child who already lives with you in the UK, the route is a step-parent adoption under UK law: notice to the local authority, then an application to the family court once the child has lived with you for at least six months. If the child still lives in Cameroon, the intercountry adoption rules may apply: ask an adoption agency first.
Cost and coverage
Court and lawyers' fees in Cameroon amount to a few hundred thousand CFA francs. What makes it expensive for the diaspora is the double procedure: the Cameroonian adoption and then recognition, or a new adoption, in the country of residence, which can take several years. On the UK side, the Department for Education charges a non-refundable fee, currently £2,500, which does not cover legalisation, notarisation or translation; add the adoption agency's assessment fee where it charges one, travel, the child's visa, the Home Office fee for registration as a British citizen and the FCDO's legalisation fees.
Recent changes
The long-running reform of the Code des personnes et de la famille (Code of Persons and the Family) plans to rewrite the adoption rules and clarify how they fit with customary laws; the text has not yet been adopted. The UK keeps a list of countries from which adoption is restricted — at the time of writing Cambodia, Guatemala, Nepal, Haiti, Ethiopia and Nigeria —, which is reviewed from time to time: check it on GOV.UK before starting.
Where to go
- Ministère des Affaires sociales (Ministry of Social Affairs), departmental services: enquête sociale.
- Tribunal de grande instance of the area, or tribunal de premier degré, depending on the type of adoption.
- Approved reception centres and religious institutions (centres d'accueil et institutions religieuses agréées); services d'état civil of the communes for the transcription.
- High Commission of Cameroon in London for Cameroonian nationals in the UK.
- In the UK: local authority adoption services and voluntary adoption agencies, the Department for Education (England) for the certificate of eligibility, the Home Office for British citizenship; British High Commission in Yaoundé for consular assistance; Irish residents: Adoption Authority of Ireland.
Worth knowing
Because Cameroon is not a party to the Hague Convention, an adoption granted there is not recognised automatically abroad: a separate procedure is needed in the country of residence, and it often fails. Start in the UK, not in Douala — bringing a child into the UK for adoption without prior approval is a criminal offence. And a customary recueil is not an adoption: it creates no legal parentage in Cameroon and no parental rights in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cameroon a party to the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption?
No. That is the main difficulty: Cameroonian adoption decisions have no automatic recognition in the countries party to the Convention, the UK and Ireland included. In the UK a Cameroonian order is not a Convention adoption, and the child does not automatically become British.
Can we adopt a Cameroonian child while living in the UK?
Possibly, but it is long and uncertain. First come assessment and approval by a UK adoption agency and a certificate of eligibility from the central authority — the Department for Education in England; then the Cameroonian procedure — the child's situation established, enquête sociale, judgment, transcription in the état civil —; then entry clearance and, as the case may be, a UK adoption order and British citizenship. Expect several years, and never start with the Cameroonian court.
We live in Manchester and took in my sister's child in Cameroon according to custom: is that enough?
No. The recueil is socially recognised but creates no parentage in the état civil; it takes effect only through a court decision, and it gives neither parental rights in the UK nor a right for the child to come here. If the child is to live with you in the UK through adoption, it is an intercountry adoption, even within the family: talk to a UK adoption agency before starting any procedure in Cameroon.
Can I adopt my Cameroonian wife's child?
If the child already lives with you in the UK, yes, through a step-parent adoption under UK law: notice to the local authority, then an application to the family court once the child has lived with you for at least six months, with the consents UK law requires. If the child still lives in Cameroon, the intercountry adoption rules may apply; ask an adoption agency which case you are in. An adoption order made by a UK court makes the child British if you are British.
Official sources and links
- Services du Premier ministre — official government website — laws and regulations of Cameroon (French version)
- GOV.UK — adopting a child from overseas — UK rules, certificate of eligibility, restricted countries
- GOV.UK — get a document legalised — legalisation of UK documents by the FCDO Legalisation Office
- British High Commission Yaoundé — consular assistance for British nationals in Cameroon