Treatment at hospitals in India: a guide for patients in Cameroon

The Indian medical visa

e-Medical Visa

Cameroonian passport holders can apply for India's e-Medical Visa online, without going to the mission in person to lodge the application. One practical warning about checking that for yourself. The official eligibility list does not say "Cameroon". It gives the country as "Cameroon Union Republic", at entry 29, and the entries are not in an order that makes it easy to find. People scan the list, fail to see their country, and conclude they are not eligible. You are. Applications are made on the official e-Visa portal, and the hospital's letter is part of the file from the start.

Apply on the official Indian e-Visa portal

Indian mission

• The High Commission of India in Yaoundé serves Cameroon.
• Door No. 141, Street No. 1813, Mini Prix Bastos, Yaoundé-1. Telephone +237 222 21 80 66.
• Because the online route is open to Cameroonian passports, most patients never need to attend in person. The mission matters for the paper medical visa, and for anything the online form will not accept.

Travelling with a family member

Two family members may come with you, each on an e-Medical Attendant Visa tied to your own medical visa. They are applied for on the same portal, and each person needs a separate application, including children. Apply for the attendants at the same time as the patient rather than afterwards. The attendant visa depends on the patient's visa, so a late application is the part most likely to leave a family travelling apart.

Documents

• The national portal asks for the passport bio page, a recent front-facing photograph on a white background, and a letter from the Indian hospital on its letterhead giving the date or the expected date of admission.
• The passport must have six months' validity and two blank pages, and you are asked for a return or onward ticket and evidence of sufficient funds.
• That is the portal's list and not the High Commission's. Yaoundé does not publish a Cameroon-specific checklist that we have been able to read, so we confirm the list in force with the mission and give it to you before you apply.

Visa rules differ by country and change often. Once a partner hospital accepts your case we arrange the hospital’s invitation letter and check the current rules with you before you apply.

Getting to India

Airports

Cameroon's airport operator lists three international airports: Douala, Yaoundé-Nsimalen and Garoua. Douala is the one that matters for a journey to India. It carries the international traffic, and the long-haul connections are sold from there rather than from the capital.

Routes to India

• No non-stop service between Cameroon and India could be confirmed on an official source, so expect to change aircraft at least once.
• Itineraries from Douala to Indian cities are sold with a single change in East Africa or the Gulf, but no official page sets out the routing or the stop count, and that is exactly the detail that decides whether a connection is comfortable for someone who is unwell.
• We check the flights and connections available with you at the time of booking, rather than naming a routing here that may have changed by the time you travel.

Before you travel, check your own government’s current travel advice and your airline’s flight status.

Money

Currency

The CFA franc BEAC, ISO 4217 code XAF. It is shared with five neighbouring states and is not the same currency as the CFA franc used in West Africa, which carries the code XOF.

Treatments we coordinate

Our partner hospitals treat these conditions, among others. Where hospitals publish their own prices we show an indicative range; otherwise ask us for an estimate.

• Heart surgery
• Cancer treatment
• Orthopedics and joint replacement
• Spine and neurosurgery
• Kidney care and transplant
• Liver transplant
• Bone marrow transplant
• IVF and fertility treatment
• Neurology
• Eye surgery
• Cosmetic and plastic surgery
• Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery
• Dental care

Don't see your treatment? Send us your reports and we will ask the right specialists at our partner hospitals.

How it works

1. Send your medical reports.

   Share your reports and scans with us on WhatsApp, by email or through our form. Your doctor can also send them to us.

2. Receive a specialist opinion and cost estimate.

   Specialists at our partner hospitals review your reports. We send you their opinion, the treatment they recommend and a clear cost estimate.

3. We arrange your travel.

   We arrange the hospital's invitation letter for your medical visa and help you with flights, accommodation and airport pickup.

4. Treatment, return home and follow-up.

   We support you during treatment and recovery in India, and we stay in touch after you return home.

Our partner hospitals

We work with partner hospitals across India. Their specialists review the medical information on this website and discuss cases with referring doctors.

• Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru / Pune / Gurugram / DelhiJCI-accredited
• Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune
• Jehangir Hospital, Pune
• Ramaiah Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Kauvery Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Aster Medicity, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru / Gurugram / NoidaJCI-accredited
• Apollo Hospitals, Bhopal / Bengaluru / Delhi / ChennaiJCI-accredited
• Medanta
• Artemis Hospitals

Talk to us about treatment in India

Send us your medical reports whenever you are ready, or ask us a question first. Coordination is free for patients.

For referring doctors

If you refer patients for treatment in India, we work alongside you. You submit the case through our online case form, and a specialist from our partner hospitals can discuss it with you by video call on request. We keep you informed during your patient's treatment and after they return home, so you can continue their care.