Visa policy of Sierra Leone explained

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 exemption

Ordinary passports

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

Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Cote d'Ivoire Gambia Ghana Guinea

Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Togo

Non-ordinary passports

• 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.^[3]

Future changes

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

Visa on arrival

The government of Sierra Leone began issuing visas on arrival on 5 September 2019.^[5]
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):^[6]

African Union member states (except ECOWAS, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia)^1 All European Union member states Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas^2 Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados^2 Belize Brazil Cambodia Canada China Dominica Fiji^2 Grenada Guyana India Indonesia Israel Jamaica^2 Japan Kiribati Kuwait Lebanon Liechtenstein Macao Malaysia^2 Nauru New Zealand Norway Oman Pakistan Papua New Guinea Qatar Samoa Saint Kitts and Nevis^2 Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saudi Arabia Singapore^2 Solomon Islands Sri Lanka^2 Switzerland Thailand Timor-Leste Tonga Trinidad and Tobago^2 Turkey Tuvalu United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Vanuatu

_{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.^[5]

Electronic Visa (e-Visa)

Citizens of other countries must obtain an e-Visa.^[7]

See also

• Visa requirements for Sierra Leonean citizens

Notes and References

1. Web site: Treaty Establishing the Economic Community of West African States - Protocol A/P1/5/79 on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment . 2018-11-20 . 2018-11-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181121022124/http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/IIA/treaty/3084 . dead.
2. 1169905253317132289 . AfricaTradeLink . Sierra Leone has announced new Visa on Arrival policy. Visa is free for ECOWAS @ecowas_cedeao member states & Visa… . 6 September 2019.
3. 1147190210746339328 . onduhungirehe . Signing bilateral agreements with #SierraLeone, in the margins of the working visit of @PresidentBio in #Rwanda… . 5 July 2019.
4. Web site: Saint Kitts and Nevis and Sierra Leone commit to free movement of citizens . 15 February 2017.
5. Web site: Abdul Rashid Thomas . Sierra Leone takes a step closer to become a popular tourist destination . The Sierra Leone Telegraph . Sierra Leone Telegraph . 21 May 2023 . en . 5 September 2019.
6. Web site: Visa on Arrival . Sierra Leone Immigration Department . . 21 May 2023 . en.
7. Web site: Sierra Leone eVisa.