36,000 permanent residence applications suspended under Ebola measures

Canada has suspended the processing of around 36,000 applications for permanent residence (PR), in quarantine-related measures affecting foreign nationals within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Republic of South Sudan.

PR visas issued to individuals from the affected regions have also been suspended, preventing about 1,700 PR visa holders from travelling to Canada.

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Here is a breakdown of the number of PR applications that have been suspended from each affected country, for those who have not yet arrived in Canada, as of May 24, 2026.

Permanent resident Immigration category	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Uganda	Republic of South Sudan	Application count
Economic	511	123	7	641
Family class	1,165	2,194	50	3,409
Humanitarian and compassionate / public policy	574	338	9	921
Permit holders class	6	0	0	6
Protected persons	1,778	28,274	613	30,665
Unspecified	3	395	20	418
Total:	4,037	31,324	699	36,060

Temporary residence applicants and holders of temporary residence travel documents, including temporary resident visas (TRVs) and electronic travel authorizations (eTAs), have also been hit by the suspension, which took effect on 27 May, and is set to remain in effect for 90 days.

The table below details the number of foreign nationals from each country holding valid temporary and PR immigration documents, who have not yet arrived in Canada, as of May 26, 2026 (totalling 24, 548).

Country of residence By immigration category		Democratic Republic of the Congo	Republic of South Sudan	Uganda
Permanent resident	Economic	36	1	6
	Family class	67	3	285
	Humanitarian and compassionate / public policy	0	2	25
	Protected persons	57	140	1 110
	Total	160	146	1,426
Temporary resident	Study permit	413	4	102
	Study permit extension	0	0	0
	TRV	11,529	251	9,764
	eTA	446	71	150
	Temporary resident permit	0	0	44
	Visitor record — Extension	0	0	0
	Work permit	27	0	15
	Work permit extension	0	0	0
Total	12,415	326	10,075	22,816

IRCC also had 7,751 temporary resident applications in its inventory awaiting processing for individuals who identified their country of residence as one of the three regions affected by the Ebola measures, as of May 24, 2026, including eTAs, study and work permits, TRVs, and temporary resident permits.

While the suspensions remain in effect, affected applications will not be processed, and affected document holders cannot travel to Canada unless they qualify under a specified exemption.

The Governor in General implemented these measures under the Minimizing the risk of Exposure to Ebola Disease in Canada Order (Immigration Applications and Documents) due to those countries having a "high or very high risk of an outbreak of Ebola disease."

Under the Order, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has the authority to exempt a foreign national, in the case that the foreign national is "in urgent need of protection or on other humanitarian and compassionate considerations."

This marks the first instance that the powers granted by the passing of Bill C-12, which took effect on March 26, 2026, were used. The bill grants the Governor in Council broad executive authority over immigration applications, immigration documents, and temporary residents. This includes the power to suspend, cancel, or amend immigration documents such as work or study permits, TRVs, and PR visas.

The figures referenced throughout this article come from the Canada Gazette, and are accurate as of 2 p.m. on June 12, 2026. Full details can be found here.

The suspension of immigration documents for Ebola-stricken regions came alongside quarantine measures for travellers who have recently been to one of these countries, which took effect on 30 May, and will remain in place until August 29, 2026.

 

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