Visa policy of Sierra Leone

Visitors to Sierra Leone must obtain an e-Visa unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival.

Visa policy map

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  Sierra Leone
  Visa not required
  Visa on arrival / eVisa
  eVisa

Visa exemption

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Ordinary passports

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Citizens of the following countries may enter Sierra Leone without a visa:[1]

Non-ordinary passports

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  • A maximum stay of 1 month without a visa is allowed for holders of diplomatic, service and public affairs passports issued to citizens of China.
  • A maximum stay of 1 month without a visa is allowed for holders of diplomatic and service passports issued to citizens of Iran.
  • A visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and service passports was signed with Rwanda in August 2019, but it has yet to be ratified.[4]

Future changes

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Sierra Leone has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:

Country Passports Agreement signed on
  Saint Kitts and Nevis[5] All February 2017
  Kazakhstan[6] Diplomatic, service February 2017

Visa on arrival

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The government of Sierra Leone began issuing visas on arrival on 5 September 2019.[7]
Citizens of the following countries may obtain a visa on arrival (valid for 1 month) at Freetown International Airport, Jendema (bordering Liberia) and Gbalamuya (bordering Guinea) for a fee 80 USD (unless otherwise noted):[8]

1 - Citizens of Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi and Mauritius are issued a free visa on arrival. Other eligible African Union citizens are charged 25 USD for a visa issued on arrival.
2 - Free visa on arrival

Only Timatic lists Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan as countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival, while the official public notice of the Sierra Leone Immigration Service makes no mention of those countries.[7]

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

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Citizens of other countries must obtain an e-Visa.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Treaty Establishing the Economic Community of West African States - Protocol A/P1/5/79 on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment". Archived from the original on 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  3. ^ @AfricaTradeLink (6 September 2019). "Sierra Leone has announced new Visa on Arrival policy. Visa is free for ECOWAS @ecowas_cedeao member states & Visa…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ @onduhungirehe (5 July 2019). "Signing bilateral agreements with #SierraLeone🇸🇱, in the margins of the working visit of @PresidentBio in #Rwanda🇷🇼…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Saint Kitts and Nevis and Sierra Leone commit to free movement of citizens". 15 February 2017.
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ a b Abdul Rashid Thomas (5 September 2019). "Sierra Leone takes a step closer to become a popular tourist destination". The Sierra Leone Telegraph. Sierra Leone Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Visa on Arrival". Sierra Leone Immigration Department. Government of Sierra Leone. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Sierra Leone eVisa".