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.
Permanent residence visas issued to individuals from the affected regions have also been suspended, preventing about 1,700 PR visa holders from travelling to Canada.
See your eligibility for Canadian permanent residence
Here is a breakdown of the number of PR applications for each affected country that have been suspended, 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 permanent resident 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 for individuals who identified their country of residence as one of the three affected by the Ebola measures, as of May 24, 2026, for 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 federal government 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.”
This marks the first instance that the powers granted by the passing of Bill C-12, which took effect in March of 2026 were used, allowing the Governor in Council to issue orders to suspend the processing of immigration applications and permits such as PR visas.
The order does, however, provide the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration 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 is a breaking news story. CIC News will update this article as more details become available.
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.
