US to close its consulate in Douala months after making Yaoundé a regional visa hub ⁰

The Trump administration plans to close the U.S. embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon, as it cuts smaller diplomatic posts around the world.

The closure is part of a wider State Department restructuring that also affects missions in Canada, Grenada, Indonesia and Japan. The Associated Press reported that the five closures are expected to save the U.S. government about $4.4 million a year.

For Cameroon, the decision comes after the United States shifted routine visa services across much of Africa to a smaller group of regional hubs. Yaoundé, not Douala, is one of the posts designated to handle those applications.

That distinction matters because Douala is Cameroon’s commercial centre and largest city. Business travellers, students and families dealing with U.S. visa requirements will continue to rely on Yaoundé for routine processing, even as the U.S. reduces its physical footprint in the country.

The United States has already reduced the number of African posts that handle routine visa cases. Its new hub system has added travel and accommodation costs for applicants in countries whose local embassies no longer process applications.

Cameroon has become part of a broader change in how Washington manages its relationship with African countries. The State Department says the hub model is intended to make screening and visa decisions more consistent, while the Trump administration has presented the wider restructuring as a cost-cutting exercise.

The closure does not mean the U.S. embassy in Yaoundé is shutting down, and it does not introduce a new visa rule for Cameroonians. But it removes a U.S. diplomatic office from the city where a large share of the country’s business activity is concentrated.

For companies, exporters and people who travel regularly between Cameroon and the United States, the practical issue is proximity. A more centralised system can make routine interactions with U.S. officials more difficult for people based in Douala and the surrounding Littoral region.

The shift is also likely to be watched in a country where China has expanded its commercial and infrastructure presence. The United States is narrowing some smaller posts while seeking to preserve influence through larger embassies and priority missions.

The State Department has not publicly set a closure date for the Douala office. Cameroon-based travellers should continue to use official U.S. visa instructions and the Yaoundé embassy for appointment.

Culled from African Business Insider