Canada’s Ebola travel restrictions on people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan remain in force until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 27, 2026, after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada extended them by 60 days on Sept. 28.
The extension keeps visas, travel authorizations and permanent resident visas suspended for residents of the three countries, while an outbreak in Congo has passed 4,000 deaths. The Canadian Press reported that the measures leave tens of thousands of people in limbo, including some already approved to settle in Canada.
In its Sept. 28 notice, IRCC said Canada “remains deeply concerned” about the outbreak in Congo and the “evolving risk” in neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan. The department said the extension is meant to keep preventing the spread of Ebola in Canada.
The immigration rules turn on where a person lived, not their passport. According to IRCC’s temporary measures page, they apply to foreign nationals who listed Congo, Uganda or South Sudan as their last country of residence on an application. A citizen of one of those countries who was living elsewhere when applying is not covered.
For those covered, temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorizations, temporary resident permit counterfoils and permanent resident visas cannot be used to board a plane to Canada, even if they were approved before the measures began on May 27. IRCC said it keeps processing new and existing applications but will not finalize them until the measures end.
The suspension does not extend a document’s expiry date, the department said. Valid documents are reactivated automatically when the measures lift, and anyone whose visa or permit expires in the meantime must apply for a new one.
A separate border rule has applied since July 20. Foreign nationals who have been in Congo at any time in the previous 21 days cannot board a flight to Canada or transit through a Canadian airport, IRCC and CIC News reported. The ban is enforced through an interim order under the Aeronautics Act, CIC News said.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents can still come home. Those who have been in any of the three countries in the past 21 days must undergo a health assessment on arrival and quarantine for 21 days, according to The Canadian Press and CIC News. Travellers who show symptoms are isolated in a medical facility, CIC News reported. Foreign nationals with valid documents who were recently in Uganda or South Sudan face the same screening and 21-day quarantine.
Families in Canada waiting for relatives from the three countries have one route around the pause. IRCC said it considers exemptions case by case through its crisis web form. Applicants must explain why they should be exempt, show they pose no public health risk and attach evidence, such as proof they were outside the affected countries for at least 21 days before the measures began, quarantine records or a medical note.
IRCC also told applicants not to send passports to visa application centres while the measures are in place, warning that passports will be returned and extra fees may apply. It said people should make sure the department has their current email address, since notices are sent by email.
The scale of the backlog is large. CIC News reported in June that about 36,000 permanent residence applications were affected by the suspension.
The outbreak behind the rules is still growing. Congo’s government reported 4,018 deaths and 8,300 confirmed cases across seven provinces as of Oct. 2, Reuters reported, making it the worst epidemic in the country’s history. By Oct. 6, government data showed at least 8,400 cases and more than 4,000 deaths, The Associated Press reported. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no known treatment or vaccine, The Canadian Press reported.
The picture is different in the other two countries. Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, and the World Health Organization and Africa CDC declared its outbreak over on Aug. 27 after 42 days with no new cases. South Sudan has not reported a case, according to The Canadian Press and CIC News. Both countries remain on Canada’s list.
That has drawn criticism. The WHO, which does not recommend travel bans for Ebola, has called such measures based on fear rather than science, and Canadian humanitarian workers have said the rules hamper their work, The Canadian Press reported. Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Immigration Minister Lena Diab have described the measures as a precaution aligned with the United States and Mexico, CP reported.
The virus has also crossed new borders since the extension. Kenya confirmed its first case and death this week in a man who had travelled from Congo through Uganda, as reported in our earlier coverage. Kenya is not covered by Canada’s measures, and Ottawa has announced no change since that case.
The measures have now been extended twice, first by 30 days in late August and then by 60 days. Ottawa must decide by Nov. 27 whether to let them lapse, renew them or change the list of countries. Travellers can check current advice at travel.gc.ca.
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Via The Canadian Press, CIC News, Reuters and The Associated Press.
