Exemptions from Sierra Leone airport fees and travel tax

Foreign Travel Tax

The Foreign Travel Tax applies to every person leaving Sierra Leone by ship, aircraft or other transport ¹. The National Revenue Authority says the exemptions in section 11 of the Act were repealed with effect from 26 July 2001 by Act No. 4 of 2004 ¹.

The Minister of Finance may exempt persons by Order published in the Gazette ¹. This site did not find a current list of such Orders. Anyone who believes an Order covers them should ask the National Revenue Authority.

Airport security fee

The Ministry of Internal Affairs notice of 2022 said inbound and outbound passengers pay US$25 ². It listed no exemptions ². The US Department of State page describes the fee as applying to all inbound and outbound passengers ⁵.

The fee was suspended for all passengers from 6 July 2026 ³. During the suspension Securiport logs inbound and outbound passenger data, except for holders of diplomatic passports ⁶. The sources do not say whether diplomatic passport holders were exempt from the fee itself ⁶.

Aviation charges and surcharges

Section 21 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2019 lets the Director-General grant exemptions from rules in the public interest, under regulations and with publication ⁴. The Act sets a safety charge on all air tickets and does not list passenger groups that are exempt ⁴.

What this site could not confirm

• Whether infants, transit passengers or airline crew pay a lower rate or no charge. The sources reviewed do not say ¹.
• Whether diplomats were exempt from the US$25 security fee before its suspension ⁶.
• Any exemption from airport charges set by the Sierra Leone Airports Authority. Its tariff was not found in an official online source ⁷.

Where to check the rules

The Foreign Travel Tax rules are on the National Revenue Authority page, which cites the Foreign Travel (Ticket) Tax Act, 1975 and Act No. 4 of 2004 ¹. The ticket issuer collects the tax and gives the passenger a written statement of payment ¹. The page gives the rate as 10% of the normal return fare. The authority's October 2022 guide gives flat rates of US$25 to US$250 under the Finance Act 2017 ^1,8. This site cannot say which applies now ^1,8.

The Civil Aviation Act, 2019 is published on SierraLII ⁴. Its table of contents lists section 95 as Charges ⁴. The text of that section could not be read for this page.

Other rules at departure

The US Department of State says dual US and Sierra Leonean nationals must show proof that they paid taxes on Sierra Leone revenue before they are cleared to leave ⁵.