Updated
SL-CIP
For investors and their families
Citizenship of Sierra Leonefor investors
We verify the investment basis, family composition and process terms before any agreement or payment.
- Checked against the 1973 and 2006 laws as at 27 August 2026
- The SLID announcement of 2 January 2025 checked separately
- Before any payment we confirm the basis, the authority, the timeline and the payments in writing
01 / About the program
What is known about citizenship of Sierra Leone
This page keeps the provisions of the law in force and the direction announced in 2025 separate. They are not equal in legal certainty, so they cannot be merged into one ready programme with a fixed price.
The published law provides for naturalisation
Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1973 sets two qualifying periods of continuous residence: at least 8 years where at least one parent is of African descent, and at least 15 years where there is no such ground.
The 2006 amendments clarified the procedure
Section 9 as amended in 2006 ties the application to a prescribed form, an oath, a declaration of residence and employment satisfactory to the minister, and the fees provided for by law. A decision on naturalisation does not come down to a single payment.
In 2025 SLID announced a new direction
The Immigration Department’s press release of 2 January 2025 speaks of facilitating the naturalisation of qualified foreign investors and of people with roots in Sierra Leone. The press release itself sets no investment amount, fees, timelines, family composition or decision procedure.
The public rules are not enough for a calculation
As at the date this page was updated we have not found in open official sources a legal instrument with investment routes, rates and guaranteed timelines. That is why the page carries no price, no calculator and no promise of a passport in a few months.
02 / What you get
What citizenship of Sierra Leone gives you
None of these possibilities replaces checking the particular task. Banks, visa authorities and other states apply their own rules.
Citizenship and a national passport
Once citizenship has been lawfully acquired a person holds the status of a citizen of Sierra Leone and may obtain national documents in the established order.
Dual citizenship is possible
The 2006 amendments allow citizenship of Sierra Leone alongside that of another state. The rules of your current country of citizenship are checked separately.
A link with the ECOWAS states
Sierra Leone belongs to the Economic Community of West African States. The specific rights of entry, residence and work are confirmed against the rules of the chosen country as at the date of travel.
A status with no annual renewal
Citizenship is not a temporary residence permit. At the same time the law provides grounds for losing or being deprived of the status, so the information in the application must be complete and accurate.
Initial assessment
Who is included in your application
Choose your family composition. We will verify who may be included, which documents are required and on what terms the application is accepted.
Who is applying for citizenship?
about 1 minuteno calls or obligationsconfidential
- Investment basis verification
- Family composition and document list
- Terms, payments and action plan
03 / Why people apply
When Sierra Leone is considered
This direction makes sense only where there is a specific link with the country or a verifiable legal basis. For the task of free travel around Europe it does not suit.
There are roots in Sierra Leone
First of all we raise certificates, archive records and relatives’ documents. The descent-based direction announced in 2025 requires the procedure to be confirmed separately.
There is actual residence in the country
If the qualifying period has already been accumulated or is close to complete, we check the continuity of residence, the ground of stay and the documents for the whole period.
There is a real investment project
A business or an investment may be a ground for a separate application, but it does not replace a published provision. Before any payments we check who receives the application and on what basis.
Lawful alternatives need comparing
If the investment direction cannot be confirmed, we compare it with programmes where the legal basis, the payments and the procedure are officially published.
04 / Under the published law
How the family is checked
The published provisions of ordinary naturalisation contain no single investment package for a whole family. Each person’s basis is checked separately. The rules of the direction announced in 2025 have not been disclosed publicly.
- Of full age and full capacity
- Meets the qualifying period under the applicable provision
- Files the prescribed form and takes the oath
- Discloses the information required by the law and the authority
- Automatic inclusion in one application is not confirmed by the published provisions
- Their own basis and the order of the process are checked separately
- The marriage is confirmed by official documents
- A child’s status depends on the parents’ citizenship and on the applicable provision of the law
- Birth certificates and the parents’ documents are checked separately
- The conditions of an unconfirmed investor route cannot be transferred to a child
- A separate application and their own lawful basis
- Kinship in itself does not replace the qualifying period or any other prescribed criterion
06 / Comparison
What is published and what is not yet
The comparison shows the level of legal certainty of each route. It determines whether a cost can be calculated and the work started.
| Ordinary naturalisation | The direction for investors | |
|---|---|---|
| The source | The 1973 Act and the 2006 amendments | The SLID press release of 02.01.2025 |
| Status | A published basis | A direction announced, no public rules found |
| Qualifying period | 8 or 15 years of continuous residence | The public conditions are not published |
| The investment amount | Not a condition of section 8 | No official threshold found |
| Family composition | Each person’s basis is checked separately | No public rules found |
| Can payments begin | After the qualifying period and the documents are checked | Only after written confirmation of the provision and the recipient |
The comparison reflects the open official sources as at 27 August 2026. The absence of any public rules we could find does not prove that no internal procedures exist, but it does not allow them to be presented as a published programme.
Full program comparison →09 / How it works
How the work is done
We check the primary sources
We go through the law in force, the amendments, the official SLID announcement and the instruments available. We record separately which conditions are published and which are not in open sources at all.
We go through the applicant’s facts
We check the parents’ descent, the history of residence, citizenships, convictions, sanctions restrictions, the source of funds and the purpose of obtaining the status.
We confirm the route in writing
We request the provision, the competent authority, the procedure, the family composition, the timelines, the payments and the consequences of a refusal. The written conclusion includes only confirmed conditions.
We fix the conditions before payment
The client receives a written conclusion, a list of risks and a plan of action. If the basis is not confirmed, we do not move on to collecting the file or to state payments.
We prepare the documents
Only after the route is confirmed do we collect civil status records, proof of residence, certificates, financial documents, translations and certifications.
We run the application and the decision
We file the set under the confirmed procedure, answer requests and monitor the issue of documents after a positive decision. We do not guarantee the outcome in advance.
Get the check plan
The guide has the sources, the questions to put to the receiving side and the documents to check before any payments.
10 / Travel
Travel on the passport and the ECOWAS region
We do not publish a number of visa-free countries without a current check. For each destination what matters is the passenger’s citizenship, the purpose of the trip, the length of stay and the rules of the receiving state.
The ECOWAS states
Sierra Leone is a member of ECOWAS. The conditions of entry, residence and work are checked against the regional and national rules of the chosen country in force.
Without a visa in advance
On individual destinations entry without a consular visa is possible. The length of stay and any further documents are confirmed before tickets are bought.
An eVisa or a permit on arrival
For some countries the application is filed online or the permit is issued at the border. That is not a visa-free regime and the requirements differ.
A visa in advance
For countries with a consular regime the application is filed before the trip. A Sierra Leone passport in itself gives no right to enter the Schengen area, the United Kingdom or the United States.
Sierra Leone’s membership of ECOWAS is checked against the community’s official list. The visa rules of other countries are confirmed separately as at the date of travel.
The terms are checked against the citizenship laws of 1973 and 2006.
Assess the application11 / Our role
Why the legal check is entrusted to BRIDGES
The BRIDGES team checks the basis, the procedure and the payments against the official sources available. After the check the client receives a written conclusion and a clear next step.
We work from the primary source
We separate the law, an official press release and a commercial offer. Each document carries its own legal weight.
We put the check before the payment
The amount, the recipient, the basis, the stage and the terms of return must be confirmed in writing before any money is transferred.
We check the applicant and the route separately
Even a procedure in force does not mean a particular person meets its conditions. We assess both elements before the full file is prepared.
We propose an alternative where the basis is not confirmed
If the public basis is insufficient or the risk unacceptable, we compare countries with published rules instead of persuading the client to carry on.
12 / Team
The Sierra Leone team
The legal basis, the documents, compliance and coordination are split between specialists in each area. The final conditions are fixed in a single written plan.
Andres FerreiraHead of Investment AdvisoryThe strategy and the final assessment of the route
Eva LauriHead of OperationsThe legal sources and the set of documents
Klara RihterHead of Compliance and Due DiligenceCompliance and confirming the source of funds
Daniel KovachSenior International Law AttorneyCoordinating the applicant and controlling the stages15 / Materials
What the client gets before the start
The client gets a set for taking a decision, in which every material condition is tied to a verifiable source.
- A summary of the published provisions with the sections cited
- A written status of the investor direction
- A list of questions for the competent authority
- A personal list of documents and evidence
- A map of the payments, the recipients and the risks of recovering funds
- A comparison with confirmed alternatives
What goes into the materials depends on the basis. We do not include unofficial rates and timelines in the pack as conditions set by the state.
16 / News
The legal chronology
The Citizenship Act of Sierra Leone was passed. Section 8 fixed the residence qualifying period for naturalisation.
Amendments clarified the order of naturalisation and allowed dual citizenship under the law of Sierra Leone.
SLID announced new measures to facilitate the naturalisation of qualified foreign investors and of people with roots in Sierra Leone.
BRIDGES updated its check of the open sources. No legal instrument with investment routes, amounts and guaranteed timelines was found.
Worth having
Checking the Sierra Leone route
A short list of what has to be confirmed before an agreement and any payments.
Inside the document
- The provision of law and the powers of the receiving side
- The requirements for the applicant and the family composition
- The official structure of payments and the recipients
- The order of decision, refusal and return of funds
We will send it after a short form - no call or obligation.
17 / Questions
Answers to common questions
On 2 January 2025 SLID announced a direction to facilitate the naturalisation of qualified foreign investors. But as at the date this page was updated we have not found in open official sources a legal instrument with investment routes, amounts, timelines and rules for including a family. So we do not call the announcement a ready programme with fixed conditions.
The published law sets no such period. The 2025 press release likewise contains no guaranteed time to a decision. Any short timeline should be confirmed by official rules and by written conditions from the competent authority.
The open sources we found contain no official investment threshold and no full structure of state payments. That is why the page carries no amount and no calculator. A BRIDGES calculation will appear only once verifiable official conditions are obtained.
Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1973 requires at least 8 years of continuous residence where at least one parent is of African descent, and at least 15 years where there is no such ground. The requirements as to the form of application, the oath, the declarations and the fees apply in addition.
The law of Sierra Leone as amended in 2006 allows dual citizenship. But the law of your current country of citizenship has to be checked separately, because restrictions may apply on its side.
The published provisions of ordinary naturalisation do not describe a single investment package for a family. The 2025 press release likewise does not disclose the rules on the composition of an application. The basis and the order of the process for each family member have to be confirmed separately.
The SLID press release of 2 January 2025 mentions people with roots in Sierra Leone. We have not found detailed public rules with requirements as to the degree of kinship, the evidence and the procedure. Before the work begins the family’s documents have to be checked and written confirmation of the applicable order obtained.
Sierra Leone belongs to ECOWAS, but the specific conditions of entry, residence and work depend on the regional protocols in force and on the rules of the chosen state. We do not replace that check with a general phrase about visa-free countries.
The provision of law, the powers of the receiving side, the official account, the purpose of the payment, the terms of return, the requirements for the applicant, the rules on family, the order of screening and the consequences of a refusal. Every material condition must be fixed in writing.
No. The decision on citizenship is taken by the competent authority after the applicant and the documents have been checked. Neither an investment nor an agreement with a consultant gives anyone the right to promise a decision in advance.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
Tell us what outcome your family needs
We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.
