Freetown and its harbour from the air, Sierra Leone

Who needs a visa for Sierra Leone?

Sub-Saharan Africa · Freetown

Photo: David Hond / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Of 198 nationalities, 15 enter Sierra Leone with no paperwork at all. The rest: 121 can get a visa at the border and 62 must be approved before they travel.

We have not found a Sierra Leone government portal we can link to with confidence, so we link to none — a lookalike is worse than nothing. Apply through Sierra Leone's own immigration service or its embassy.

What do you need?

Who needs what

Visa free 15

Nothing to apply for and nothing to pay before you travel.

eVisa (electronic visa) 62

A real visa application, made online instead of at an embassy. It is assessed, it takes days rather than minutes, and it can be refused.

Visa on arrival 121

Issued at the border rather than beforehand. Bring the fee in cash in the currency the border post accepts. It is a permission, not a guarantee.

About Sierra Leone

Region
Western Africa
Capital
Freetown
Population
8,819,794 2025 · 100th of 197
Size
71,740 km² 117th largest of 199
Density
123 per km²
Language
English
Currency
Sierra Leonean leone SLE
Borders
Guinea Liberia

Capital, area, languages and currency from the open country dataset, pulled 21 September 2026. Population from the World Bank, series updated 13 July 2026. Density is calculated from the two figures above.