The legal framework
Cameroonian family law knows only marriage: civil marriage, and customary marriage (mariage coutumier) once it has been recorded or registered in the état civil. There is no registered partnership. Concubinage, very common in practice, creates no duty of maintenance, no sharing of property and no inheritance right for the surviving partner: only a will can pass property to him or her. Children's rights do not depend on their parents' status, provided their parentage (filiation) is established and registered. For anything bought together, the only real protection is a notarial deed stating each partner's share. The weakest position is that of the veuve de fait (a widow without a marriage certificate): without a certificate or a will, she can be pushed out of the home and away from the property by the deceased's family. Having a customary union recorded in the état civil is often the most accessible way to rights, and the cheapest.
Many British-Cameroonian couples first live together without marrying, in the UK, in Cameroon or between the two, and the law of both countries gives them little. In Cameroon concubinage has no legal status at all, and when a partner dies it is often the family of the deceased that decides, according to custom, what happens to the home and the property; the woman who loses her partner is the first to suffer. In England and Wales there is no such thing as a 'common-law marriage': cohabitants do not inherit when there is no will, cannot claim maintenance for themselves after a separation and share property only according to who owns it, although a partner who lived with the deceased for the two years before the death can ask the court for reasonable provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, if the deceased was domiciled in England and Wales. Scotland and Ireland give cohabitants limited remedies — under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Irish Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 —, and the inheritance tax exemption between spouses and civil partners never applies to an unmarried partner.
A UK civil partnership — now open to opposite-sex couples throughout the UK — has no status in Cameroon, which knows no registered partnership; for a same-sex couple, Cameroonian criminal law also comes into play (see the page on same-sex marriage). For immigration, the UK is more open than many countries: the family visa can be granted to an unmarried partner after at least two years in a relationship, normally living together, under the conditions published on GOV.UK; Irish citizens check the rules of the Irish immigration service. For children, a child born in Cameroon to a parent who is British otherwise than by descent is normally British by descent; when only the father is British and the parents are not married, this has been possible since 1 July 2006, provided paternity is proved in a way HM Passport Office accepts. Couples who want full rights in both countries marry — before the officier d'état civil (civil status registrar) in Cameroon, or in the UK.
Key points
| Registered partnership | None |
|---|---|
| Concubinage | Widespread but without legal status: no maintenance, no sharing of property |
| Inheritance | The surviving partner does not inherit; only a will can pass property to him or her |
| Children | Rights independent of the parents' status, provided parentage is established and registered |
| Customary marriage | Produces civil effects once recorded or registered in the état civil — often the most accessible route |
| Joint purchase | Notarial deed stating each partner's share: the only real protection |
| Widow without a certificate | Without a marriage certificate or a will, can be pushed out of the home by the deceased's family |
| UK and Irish partners | A UK civil partnership has no status in Cameroon; few rights for cohabitants in the UK (no 'common-law marriage' in England and Wales); UK family visa open to unmarried partners after two years in a relationship, normally living together; a child of an unmarried British father can be British by descent if paternity is proved |
In practice
- Have a customary marriage recorded or registered in the état civil: it is the step that turns a de facto situation into rights, and the most protective and least costly one.
- Declare and acknowledge children at the état civil within the legal time limits. If the father is British, keep the evidence of paternity that HM Passport Office accepts before applying for the child's British passport; a birth certificate in French needs a certified English translation.
- Write down each partner's contribution to anything bought together, buy property as co-owners with stated shares by notarial deed, and keep the records of transfers from the UK.
- Make a will before a notary that provides for your partner within the limits of the inheritance law that applies, and give a copy to someone you trust; for assets in the UK, make a UK will as well, drafted so that neither revokes the other.
- Give each other written powers of attorney for banking and, in the UK, lasting powers of attorney (England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalents), so that a partner can act if the other loses capacity.
Cost and coverage
Recording a customary marriage on time and registering births cost little; a notarial deed of purchase with stated shares and a notarial will mean moderate notarial and registration fees, whereas a dispute between heirs costs a great deal. On the UK side, a UK will and lasting powers of attorney carry modest fees, UK documents for use in Cameroon are legalised by the FCDO for a fee per document, and visa applications carry the fees and the immigration health surcharge published on GOV.UK.
Recent changes
Public policy in Cameroon and in the region focuses mainly on the systematic registration of marriages and births: it is that registration, far more than the length of life together, that rights depend on. In the UK, civil partnerships were opened to opposite-sex couples in England and Wales at the end of 2019, in Northern Ireland in 2020 and in Scotland in 2021; England and Wales still have no general legal regime for cohabitants, a reform discussed for many years.
Where to go
- Services d'état civil of the communes: registration of births, acknowledgement of children, recording of customary marriages.
- Notaries and cliniques juridiques (law clinics): written agreements between partners, deeds of purchase with shares, wills.
- Women's rights organisations: support, especially for widows without a marriage certificate.
- British High Commission in Yaoundé: consular assistance (no notarial acts in Commonwealth countries); HM Passport Office for a child's British passport; GOV.UK for family visas; Irish citizens: Department of Foreign Affairs.
Worth knowing
The veuve de fait is the great loser from the absence of a status: without a marriage certificate or a will, she can be pushed out of the home and away from the property by the deceased's family. Registering the union in the état civil is the most effective protection. And for British-Cameroonian couples, living together creates no family status in either country: only marriage gives a partner rights in both, and a will remains indispensable in any case.
Frequently asked questions
We have lived together unmarried in Douala for years: what rights do we have?
From the relationship itself, none: concubinage has no legal status and creates neither maintenance, nor sharing of property, nor inheritance, however long it lasts. Each partner keeps what is in his or her name; a joint purchase is safe only with a notarial deed stating the shares, and only a will protects the survivor. Your children's rights do not depend on it, provided their parentage is registered. If you want more, marry before the officier d'état civil or have a customary marriage recorded in the état civil.
Our child was born in Cameroon, I am the British father and we are not married: is the child British?
Yes, if you are British otherwise than by descent — generally by birth in the UK, by naturalisation or by registration — and your paternity is proved in a way HM Passport Office accepts: since 1 July 2006 a child of an unmarried British father can inherit citizenship this way. Declare and acknowledge the child at the état civil within the legal time limits, keep the birth certificate with a certified English translation if it is in French, and apply for the passport. If you are yourself British by descent, the child is not automatically British: ask about registration.
Can my Cameroonian partner join me in the UK without marrying?
Possibly, as an unmarried partner, if you have been in a relationship for at least two years — GOV.UK asks that you have normally been living together — and meet the other conditions of the family visa published there. Otherwise marriage, in Cameroon or in the UK, is the usual route, or a visa of the partner's own for study or work; the relationship itself gives no right of residence.
Official sources and links
- Services du Premier ministre — official government website — laws and regulations of Cameroon (French version)
- 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