Canada extends its Ebola entry ban and visa freeze for DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan to 28 September

The Government of Canada extended its temporary Ebola border measures for another 30 days on 28 August 2026, keeping them in force until 28 September. The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that foreign nationals who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the previous 21 days remain barred from entering, that immigration documents held by residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan remain suspended, and that arrivals from the affected areas continue to be quarantined for 21 days. The renewal came one day after the World Health Organization and Africa CDC declared the outbreak in Uganda over. It prolongs a freeze that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says covered 31,693 permanent-residence and 10,465 temporary-residence applications from overseas as of 12 August.

Background

Canada introduced the measures at the end of May 2026, when the outbreak in eastern DRC spread to Uganda. IRCC suspended temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorizations, temporary resident permit counterfoils and permanent resident visas held by residents of the three countries from 23:59 Eastern time on 27 May, affecting about 67,000 people at the time. On 20 July the government added an outright entry prohibition for foreign nationals who had been in the DRC within 21 days, backed by an Interim Order under the Aeronautics Act that stops airlines boarding them. Each package has been renewed in 30-day blocks since. The DRC outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, with 2,786 deaths among 5,794 recorded infections; Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths, with no patient in care since 16 July; South Sudan and Canada have recorded none.

What exactly changed

Nothing was added or removed; the whole package was carried forward for 30 days. Travellers who have been in an affected area within the previous 21 days and show symptoms of Ebola are isolated at a medical facility on arrival; those without symptoms receive a health assessment and must quarantine for 21 days. Foreign nationals who were in the DRC within 21 days cannot enter Canada at all. Residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan cannot use previously approved visas, eTAs or permanent resident visas to travel to Canada. IRCC continues to process new and existing applications from affected people but will not finalise any of them while the measures are in place. The suspension does not extend the validity of any document, and visa application centres will not accept passports from affected applicants. The government said the domestic risk remains low, that the measures are precautionary "given the severity of Ebola disease", and that it "will adjust these measures as needed based on available information".

Who it affects

The largest group is people outside Canada who already hold an approved document: IRCC counts 1,534 permanent residents and 23,415 temporary residents overseas whose visas are suspended, on top of the applications that cannot be finalised. In practice that is a Congolese family whose permanent resident visa is ticking toward expiry, a Ugandan student with a September start date and a suspended study-permit visa, or the Ugandan husband of a Canadian citizen who, as one couple told The Canadian Press, missed two family weddings this summer. Canadian citizens and permanent residents can still return but must quarantine for 21 days. Anyone of any nationality who was in the DRC in the past three weeks is caught by the entry ban.

What to do now

If you hold a suspended document, do not book travel to Canada before 28 September and watch the IRCC special-measures page for any change to the end date. Check the expiry date on your permanent resident visa or temporary resident visa: it is not being extended, so if it lapses during the freeze you will need to apply for a new document once the measures end. Do not send your passport to a visa application centre until then; it will be returned and further fees may apply. If you have an urgent reason to travel, IRCC accepts exemption requests supported by evidence; humanitarian need and urgent protection are among the factors it weighs. Applicants inside Canada whose status is expiring should apply to extend it before the expiry date as usual: the freeze applies to documents used for travel, not to in-Canada status. Our Canada guide (/country-guides/canada) covers the permit types involved.

How this compares elsewhere

Canada's approach is at the strict end of the range. The United States has a CDC order barring most non-citizens who were in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, renewed on 12 August through 11 September. Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates apply 21- to 30-day travel-history bans, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also suspended visa issuance for nationals of the affected countries; Israel, Qatar and Taiwan bar entry to recent travellers from them, and Uganda itself has suspended flights to and from the DRC. Public-health researchers quoted by The Canadian Press argue the Canadian rules go beyond WHO guidance by keeping Uganda and South Sudan in scope when neither has an active outbreak; the Public Health Agency replied that "although the global public health risk remains low, the consequences for affected individuals are severe".