{"id":44291,"date":"2025-04-11T16:04:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports"},"modified":"2025-04-11T16:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:04:21","slug":"frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","title":{"rendered":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. <\/strong><\/span>A growing number of Sierra Leonean citizens have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as the deliberate denial of their right to access passports, despite having made full payments to the Immigration Department.<\/p>\n

For over a week now, individuals seeking travel documents have reported that after paying the required fees, they are consistently turned away without completing the passport process.<\/p>\n

According to several complainants, the Immigration Department continues to collect money from applicants, only to instruct them to \u201creturn later\u201d due to a reported suspension in biometric photo capturing. Sources within the department revealed that this suspension was ordered by the newly appointed Chief Immigration Officer, though no official statement has been released to clarify the situation or provide timelines for resolution.<\/p>\n

Every day, scores of hopeful applicants\u2014many with urgent travel or business plans\u2014gather at the department\u2019s headquarters, only to return home disappointed and emotionally drained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI paid last week Monday, and since then, I\u2019ve been going to immigration daily. They keep telling me they are not taking pictures because of an order from management,\u201d lamented Mariatu Jalloh, a trader who says her goods are now stuck at a port in Guinea due to her lack of travel documents. \u201cThey are wasting our time and killing our businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another citizen, Abdul Sesay, shared his ordeal: \u201cI am supposed to travel for a scholarship interview in Ghana. I submitted my documents and payment, but they keep postponing me. How do they expect the youth to progress when the system is designed to frustrate us?\u201d<\/p>\n

The halt in operations has led to significant disruptions in the personal and professional lives of many. From missed medical appointments abroad to stalled employment opportunities and disrupted academic pursuits, the effects have been far-reaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just inefficiency; it\u2019s oppression,\u201d said Isatu Koroma, who had plans to travel for a medical operation in Dakar. \u201cWe paid our money. Why are they refusing to complete the process? Why collect money if they know they won\u2019t take our pictures or process the passports?\u201d<\/p>\n

Citizens are now calling on the Chief Immigration Officer and the Government of Sierra Leone to immediately address the situation, restore normal services, and ensure accountability for those who have already paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not only administrative negligence; it is a violation of our rights,\u201d said lawyer a and civil rights advocate. \u201cPeople are being held hostage in their own country simply because someone decided to suspend a process without proper communication or transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of a clear explanation from the Immigration Department has fueled public suspicion and anger, with some alleging that the halt is part of a corrupt practice meant to exploit applicants.<\/p>\n

In the absence of timely communication from officials, social media has become an outlet for aggrieved citizens to vent their frustration and organize calls for action.<\/p>\n

The government is yet to respond publicly to the growing concerns. However, the patience of the public is wearing thin, and pressure is mounting on the administration to intervene and resolve the crisis before it escalates further.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. A growing number of Sierra Leonean citizens have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as the deliberate denial of their right to access passports, despite having made full payments to the Immigration Department. For over a week now, individuals seeking travel documents have reported that after paying the required fees, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":44290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[292],"class_list":["post-44291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-sierra-leone"],"yoast_head":"\nFrustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports - Sierra Leone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. A growing number of Sierra Leonean citizens have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as the deliberate denial of their right to access passports, despite having made full payments to the Immigration Department. For over a week now, individuals seeking travel documents have reported that after paying the required fees, they […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sierra Leone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\"},\"wordCount\":534,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Sierra-Leone\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\",\"name\":\"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports - Sierra Leone\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/\",\"name\":\"Sierra Leone\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports - Sierra Leone","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports","og_description":"Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. A growing number of Sierra Leonean citizens have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as the deliberate denial of their right to access passports, despite having made full payments to the Immigration Department. For over a week now, individuals seeking travel documents have reported that after paying the required fees, they […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","og_site_name":"Sierra Leone","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports","datePublished":"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports"},"wordCount":534,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg","keywords":["Sierra-Leone"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports","name":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports - Sierra Leone","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-11T16:04:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/sites\/16\/2025\/04\/sm_1744375628.056965.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/frustration-mounts-as-immigration-department-denies-citizens-access-to-passports#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Frustration Mounts as Immigration Department Denies Citizens Access to Passports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/","name":"Sierra Leone","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}