Visit Sierra Leone - experience at land border (Guinea)?
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Sep 15, 2012 3:16 PM Last Post By: vedicaudio
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Visit Sierra Leone - experience at land border (Guinea)?
Hello,Has anyone managed to use the visa services of Visit Sierra Leone when entering the country from a land border post (Guinea)?
We are thinking of using Visit Sierra Leone's (www.visitsierraleone.com/www.vstravel.com) online service for our Sierra Leone visas. They cost almost the same as at the Embassy in Dakar (we were quoted CFA53,000 today for French and Canadian passports), and seem more convenient.
However, I haven't been able to find testimonials from anyone who successfully used VSL's visa at a land border post. Their website only mentions the airport. There are murmurings on the forum that it will be accepted at land borders, and the application form does ask if you will be coming from a land border. But it would be a big reassurance if there is someone out there who has actually succeeded in doing so!
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I did send them an email, but their website says that it takes 2-3 days to reply and we need to decide whether to attempt the Sierra Leone visa at the Dakar embassy today.And besides that, there is nothing better than hearing about firsthand experience! A border post is the worst place to find out for the first time that your visa will not be recognized.
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Wow, actually they have replied already, saying: :"I would like to assure you that the visa PDF issued by the Sierra Leone Immigration Office will be valid for entrance via land. You shouldn't have any problems."Think that we'll give them a shot! Will post the outcome after we cross the border.
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I also receieved a repsonse from Ibrahim a few months ago saying VSL visas can be obtained at the land border. I also heard from a traveller that he obtained a visa at the border just by turning up, but NOT using VSL. He said the price was high ($130 usd from memory), but that it was issued on the spot with no fuss. However, this is a lone report, and I haven't heard from anybody else who has managed this.8
I travelled from Conakry to Freetown in January with a visa from visitsierraleone with no troubles.Was a hassle free border, aside from changing taxis in Pamelap on the Guinea side where there are some dodgy characters keen to rip you off (or sell you broken glass they tell your are diamonds). Just beware of the final room in the police checkpoint on the SL side, they will try rather hard for a bribe. We also had no troubles leaving SL to Liberia with this visa.
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Thanks, Mossa.We are now out of Sierra Leone, and we also entered/left the country using the VSL visa without any problems. We entered from Guinea (Gbalamuya -- this was written on the visa document) and left to Sierra Leone (Gendema/Bo Waterside).
I'd just suggest that you print 2 copies of the visa documents for yourself. The immigration officers will keep one copy when you enter the country. The other copy may be handy while you travel through the country (although we never needed it), and immigration officers at the border will likely ask for it when you depart.
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Just want to point out that the VSL "visa" isn't really a visa. It is an entry permit. The difference is that visas are generally multiple entry for the same price. The costs and entries depend on your nationality, but as a rule of thumb a visa will be valid for 1 year and allow multiple entries. So if you are planning on more than one entry in a year, it is worth it to get an actual visa sticker put in your passport from an embassy or consulate. For American passports the current prices are $140 multiple entry visa, or 630,000 leones single entry permit.
