Legalisation requirements for Sierra Leone
Documents for use in Sierra Leone usually do not need to be legalised if they are signed/authenticated by a UK notary public (s. 2 of the Sierra Leone on Proof of Documents (Commonwealth and Foreign Countries) Act 1961 and, specifically for affidavits, Order 31, para. 12 of the High Court Rules 2007).
However, the Consulate of Sierra Leone still provides legalisation if required.
Before presenting the documents to the consular section, they must be Apostilled by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
FEES
The FCDO Apostille fee is £40 for standard service, £100 for premium service or £35 for e-Apostille service.
The consular fee is £200 per document.
PROCESSING TIME
Turnaround time is likely to be 1-2 working days for standard service (paper-based), 5-6 hours for premium service or 5-48 hours for the e-Apostille service.
The consular processing time is likely to be 3-5 working days.
IMPORTANT NOTES
For the Standard Apostille Next-Day Service (paper-based Apostille), we must receive the original documentation by 11:00 am to be despatched the next working day.
The Premium Apostille is a limited service the FCDO can provide for a few eligible types of documents and they require evidence to support the urgency requirement. Please contact our Legalisation Team for further details.
Documents eligible for the e-Apostille must be first notarised with an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) or a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES).
Photocopy of the document is required upon submission to the Consulate.
Method of Payment: Bank transfer only (Account: Sierra Leone High Commission Account No: 10782653 Sort Code: 20-36-47)
Opening hours: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm (submission) and 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm (collection) Monday to Friday
CONSULATE ADDRESS
41 Eagle Street, Holborn, London WC1R 4AT