Nursing and health professions
Cameroon is in the annex to § 38 BeschV. Employers and private agencies may not recruit nurses and other health workers in Cameroon or place them from Cameroon; only the Federal Employment Agency (BA) may. Whether you may apply yourself is discussed below, with open points.
The WHO list
- The WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023 (55 countries, published March 2023) names countries with a low health-worker density and low health coverage; WHO asks richer countries to avoid active recruitment from them. Press coverage of the list includes Cameroon, and the German annex (55 states) lists "Kamerun". The provisional 2026 list (WHO circular C.L.25.2026 of 8 June 2026, 36 countries) also includes Cameroon; it is provisional until adopted. We did not read the WHO country tables ourselves; check the WHO page.
- WHO says neither the Code nor the list limits the freedom of health workers to migrate to countries that admit and employ them.
What German law does (§ 38 BeschV)
- § 38 BeschV: recruitment in, and placement from, the states in the annex may, for health and nursing jobs, be done only by the Federal Employment Agency. The annex lists Cameroon (Kamerun).
- So private recruiters and agencies cannot lawfully recruit nurses in Cameroon. An agency that does so, or asks you for money, is a red flag (Scams).
- Applying yourself is allowed, but the consequences fall on you: a permit based on private placement in breach of the ban is not approved by the BA (§ 40 (1) Nr. 1 AufenthG); that the accelerated skilled-worker procedure then falls away was not confirmed. Worker and employer declare own initiative in writing. Fines for private placement go up to €30,000 and target the employer or private intermediary, not the skilled worker (§ 39 BeschV with § 404 (2) Nr. 9, (3) SGB III). The rule also reaches in-company Ausbildung (§ 16a) and predominantly in-company recognition measures (§ 16d (1)); not confirmed from the text. Source for the own-initiative practice: state form of the Regierung von Mittelfranken (administrative practice, not statute). Ask a lawyer before you rely on it.
- The seal Faire Anwerbung Pflege Deutschland does not apply here: seal holders may not recruit in annex states either.
- We found no BA recruitment programme (such as Triple Win) for nurses from Cameroon; check the BA and Make it in Germany.
Recognition: regulated professions
Nursing is a regulated profession: you may work as a nurse only with German recognition; otherwise as an assistant. Federal portal: anerkennung-in-deutschland.de. In Berlin the LAGeSo decides. Fees, processing time and treatment of Cameroonian nursing qualifications (state diploma, private schools) were not confirmed.
| Way | In short |
|---|---|
| Recognition from abroad | If the training is only partly equivalent you get a notice with the missing parts. |
| Qualification measure (§ 16d (1)) | Permit for an adaptation course (Anpassungslehrgang) or aptitude test (Kenntnisprüfung). German as a rule at least A2. |
| Recognition partnership (§ 16d (3)) | Needs a concrete job offer and an agreement with the employer. |
| Ausbildung as nurse (Ausbildung) | Also covered by § 38 BeschV if arranged by an employer in-company. |
Other health professions (doctors): licensing rules were not covered; ask the LAGeSo. Documents: Documents.
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