As part of efforts by the government and people of Sierra Leone to attract more visitors to the country, boost tourism, and improve their investment climate, the government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced a new visa regime for the country. This development makes Sierra Leone the latest African country to latch onto the growing demand for African countries to make ease of movement across the continent a priority. The new Visa regime gives Visa on Arrival (VoA) for all African nationals and other selected citizens from across the world.
The new regime which takes immediate effect grants visa-free entry for countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who will benefit from the regional blocs visa-free protocol. Also citizens of other countries that have existing Visa-Free arrangement with Sierra Leone will continue to enjoy visa-free access to the country.
The government of Sierra Leone has been engaging in a series of projects as policy changes aimed at making the country investor friendly and also market its huge tourism potential most of which are quite outstanding , relatively unknown, pristine, making it one of the most beautiful and serene countries in the world. This new Visa regime according to government sources will make visiting Sierra Leone hassle free.
According to the new visa fees, citizens of the African Union member states will enjoy visa-on-arrival but will be required to pay a $25 dollar fee, while citizens of other nations will be required to pay $80 visa fee on arrival. Those covered by this arrangement are United States, United Kingdom, European Union member states and those in BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Others are, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman (the Gulf Cooperation Council nations) as well as citizens of Iran, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Israel, Japan, and South Korea are listed among others.
The Information Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, was quoted as saying: “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.”
In Africa, most regional blocs allow easy entry of citizens across their borders. A very effective measure is in East Africa between Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Ethiopia in 2018 also announced a visa free and visa on arrival regime for all Africans. Rwanda has a global measure in that regard. Mauritius has, however, topped the African Development Bank’s visa openness index. At the bottom have been Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.