(CANADA) — Canada and the United States imposed travel restrictions and visa suspensions on residents of DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan this month, citing an Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo strain and tightening entry rules across North America.

Canada said it will suspend the validity of temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorizations and permanent resident visas for residents of the three countries for 90 days starting May 27, 2026, at 23:59 EDT. The United States had already paused visa services at its embassies in Kinshasa, Kampala and Juba on May 18, 2026, while adding entry limits and airport screening rules.

Canadian officials described the measures as temporary and precautionary. U.S. authorities took a narrower approach on existing travel documents, keeping currently valid visas valid for travel while subjecting travelers to enhanced screening and routing flights to designated airports.

Ottawa announced the Canadian measures on May 26, 2026. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada paused decisions on all new applications from residents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, including study and work permits.

Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said: “This step is necessary because of the seriousness of this situation and the severity of the Ebola outbreak. We must put the safety and security of Canadians as our top priority.”

Canada also set a quarantine requirement that starts May 30, 2026. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and foreign nationals who have been in the affected areas within the previous 21 days must complete a mandatory 21-day quarantine. Asymptomatic travelers will be monitored, while those with symptoms will be isolated at a hospital.

Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, said: “The health and safety of people in Canada is our top priority. It will take one case. One. Not two. One case. And everybody will say, we didn’t put [border restrictions].”

The measures reach beyond visa holders. By suspending the validity of travel documents already issued to residents of the three countries, Canada temporarily blocks travel on those documents during the 90-day period. Officials said valid documents unaffected by the pause will be reactivated after that period without requiring a new application.

Roughly 350 people arrive in Canada weekly from the affected countries. That figure shaped the government response as officials weighed the outbreak against cross-border travel volumes.

The World Health Organization raised the risk level in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to “very high” because of the Bundibugyo strain, which has no current vaccine. Canadian and U.S. officials tied their response to the approach of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, a period they said would bring heavier international travel.

Washington moved earlier. The U.S. Department of State paused all immigrant and non-immigrant visa services at the U.S. embassies in Kinshasa, Kampala and Juba as of May 18, 2026. The pause covered new visa processing, not visas already issued.

A separate U.S. health order took effect the same day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a 30-day order, under Title 42 authorities, suspending the entry of certain non-U.S. citizens who had been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan within the last 21 days.

The Department of Homeland Security added airport controls to that framework. It directed flights carrying passengers who had been in the affected countries to land at designated airports for enhanced health screening: Washington-Dulles on May 21, Atlanta on May 22, and Houston on May 26.

A DHS spokesperson said: “To reduce the risk of the Ebola virus spreading, Customs and Border Protection is enhancing public health screening, travel monitoring, and health protection response activities.”

The U.S. approach differs from the Canadian one in one important respect. Canada said the validity of temporary resident visas, eTAs and permanent resident visas for residents of the three countries will be suspended for 90 days. The United States said currently valid visas remain valid for travel, though travelers face enhanced screening and, in some cases, entry suspension under the CDC order.

That distinction leaves different effects on travelers with existing documents. In Canada, a resident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Ugandan resident or a South Sudanese resident holding one of the suspended documents cannot rely on it during the suspension period. In the United States, a traveler with a valid visa may still face the CDC’s 30-day restriction if that person was present in one of the three countries within the previous 21 days.

Canada’s actions came through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The federal government set out the measures in its announcement on temporary border measures, which said the response covered visa suspensions, a processing pause and quarantine rules.

U.S. arrival limits appeared in a Federal Register notice covering arrival restrictions for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. The State Department posted its embassy action in a notice on the temporary pause of visa operations in East/Central Africa.

The CDC separately described the airport measures in a media statement on enhanced Ebola screening. Together, those actions created a layered system of visa pauses, entry limits, redirected flights and health screening.

The Canadian order also reaches permanent resident visas, a category not usually grouped with short-term travel documents in public health announcements. It means the suspension touches planned immigration travel as well as visitor entries, while the pause on new decisions freezes movement on fresh applications from the three countries.

Study permit and work permit applicants fall into that processing halt. Canada did not frame the move as a permanent bar, and officials said the pause is temporary, with documents set to return to valid status after 90 days if they are unaffected at the end of the suspension.

Bundibugyo Ebola has prompted strong public health responses before, but officials stressed the absence of a current vaccine in setting this round of restrictions. That fact, combined with the WHO risk level of “very high,” drove both governments toward border and travel controls rather than waiting for a wider spread.

The timing adds pressure. North America is preparing to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and both governments cited that event as a reason to act aggressively before travel volumes rise further.

For now, the rules are date-specific and narrow in their legal form, even if their practical effect is broad. Canada begins its visa suspension at 23:59 EDT on May 27, 2026 and its quarantine regime on May 30, 2026. The United States started its embassy pause and CDC order on May 18, 2026, then phased in designated airport arrivals over the next eight days, ending with Houston on May 26.