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Sierra Leone scraps entry visa

  • River No 2, a taste of the beauty of Sierra Leone

By Umaru Fofana

The Sierra Leone Government has scrapped entry visas effective this week and has duly informed all its embassies, airline operators and international partners and other government bodies. 

Travellers will now get visa on arrival at the airport or the land border. 

Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray told Politico that this was a move to encourage tourism and business in the country.

“This is an indication that the New Direction is poised to take the country to another level and our latest step in making the country attractive to tourists and foreign investors”, Swaray says.

Henceforth citizens from the US, UK, EU member states, Commonwealth countries, Gulf Cooperation Council member countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman), BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), as well as citizens from Iran, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Israel, Bolivia, East Timor, Macau, Samoa, Tuvalu will pay US$ 80 on arrival.

Citizens from AU member states excepting ECOWAS will pay $25.

Nationals of West African countries will be covered by the visa-free protocol of ECOWAS, “while all other countries with which Sierra Leone has visa-free agreements will continue to enjoy visa-free access”.

Reacting to the move, the founder and CEO of Visit Sierra Leone, Bimbola Carol said it would have a positive impact on travel to the country because it makes it easier for people to come here.

“Sierra Leone recorded 81,000 arrivals in 2013 and lost half of that number in 2014 as a result of Ebola” Carol said, adding: “We have still not reached pre-Ebola levels. It's clear we are lagging behind other destinations in the sub-region so I am optimistic that this will be a much needed catalyst for the sector. It certainly makes it much easier for visitors to get here”.

Carol, who is also the President of the Sierra Leone Tourism Federation, however, said that tourism still had a bunch of other issues to contend with ”such as protection of tourism assets".

© 2019 Politico Online

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