The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has invoked the Quarantine Act to bar most foreign nationals who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within the previous 21 days from boarding flights to, or entering, Canada. The emergency measure—set to take effect at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 20, 2026—follows confirmation of a growing Ebola outbreak centred in eastern DRC. It applies to commercial and private air carriers and to land and marine ports of entry, and will remain in force for at least 30 days. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and recognised protected persons may still enter the country, but must undergo enhanced screening and be prepared to self-isolate and monitor symptoms. Humanitarian and medical workers returning from the region will be processed under separate protocols that balance public-health safeguards with the need for rapid deployment of aid. The government has also suspended the processing of temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorisations (eTAs) and permanent resident visas for affected travellers while the ban is in force. For multinational companies, the ban has immediate implications for duty-of-care policies and mobility planning. Corporate security teams should verify the recent travel history of employees, contractors and family members destined for Canada, and update itinerary-approval workflows to prevent inadvertent non-compliance. Organisations operating in mining, energy and development sectors with staff rotations through Kinshasa, Goma or surrounding provinces must build in additional lead time for crew changes and consider third-country quarantine options if essential travel cannot be deferred. Immigration counsel stress that the measure does not affect applications already in process, but it will pause new submissions from DRC residents and from third-country nationals who have visited the country. Employers using the Global Talent Stream or other expedited work-permit pathways should identify alternative sourcing pools to avoid project delays. Mobility managers are also urged to keep abreast of provincial public-health directives, which may introduce further screening or isolation requirements at worksites. The Ebola travel ban underscores Canada’s readiness to use border controls to manage public-health threats—even when the domestic risk is assessed as low. Similar restrictions were applied during the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 and, more recently, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. PHAC will review the epidemiological situation weekly; the order can be rescinded, extended or expanded to additional countries if warranted.
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada
