It has come to the notice of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) that some foreign nationals are not obtaining or renewing their Residential and Work Permits as required by law.  Please be advised that according to the laws of Sierra Leone, all foreign nationals including ECOWAS citizens must obtain residential permit from the Immigration Department to become lawful residents in the country, and work permit from the Work Permit Bureau at the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations to be lawfully allowed to undertake any vocation.

The General Public is hereby informed that a joint team from the NRA will be conducting a compliance enforcement exercise to identify individuals/businesses that have breached the law by either not obtaining their residential and work permits or continuing to stay and work in the country without renewing them after the expiry period. During this exercise, each foreigner residing and working in the country will be required to produce upon request his/her residence and work permit to NRA officials.

In light of the above, we are requesting all foreign nationals resident in Sierra Leone especially those working for mining companies and individual businesses without valid Residential and Work Permits to regularize their status. Any individual/business who fails to comply with this request shall face the following penal actions in accordance with Section 3 of the Finance Act, 2009:

Publication of names  with  total amount owed in the National Gazette as defaulters
Court Action
And/or prevent any person owing from absconding