Ottawa has extended, for a second time, the emergency order that freezes visa, permit and permanent residence decisions for people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Uganda, and has renewed the ban on foreign nationals entering Canada within 21 days of being in the DRC. Both measures now run to 11:59:59 p.m. on Sept. 28.
The extension was published in the Canada Gazette on Saturday. As of Aug. 12, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had put 31,693 permanent resident applications and 10,465 temporary resident applications from the three countries on hold, and had suspended 24,949 visas, electronic travel authorizations and permits it had already issued, according to the explanatory note attached to the order.
What the immigration order does
The order, signed by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab on Aug. 23 and in force since Aug. 28, stops IRCC from finalizing applications for permanent resident visas, temporary resident visas, electronic travel authorizations, work permits, study permits and temporary resident permits from foreign nationals whose country of residence is the DRC, South Sudan or Uganda. Documents already issued to those applicants are suspended for the same period. The freeze has been in place since May 27; this amendment moves its end date from early September to Sept. 28.
It does not apply to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, people registered under the Indian Act, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, or accredited foreign representatives and their families. The minister can exempt an applicant “after taking into account risks to public health, mitigation measures, whether the foreign national is in urgent need of protection or any other humanitarian and compassionate considerations.”
Entry ban and 21-day quarantine
A separate order in council from the Public Health Agency of Canada, P.C. 2026-779, took effect Aug. 30 and replaces the orders in force since May 30. Under it, a foreign national who has been in the DRC in the 21 days before arrival is prohibited from entering Canada. People who are allowed in after being in an affected country face a health assessment on arrival; those without symptoms must present a quarantine plan and quarantine for 21 days, and anyone showing symptoms must isolate at a medical facility. Crew members, people arriving to provide medical care and several other categories are exempt.
Transport Canada has matched the measure with an interim order under the Aeronautics Act: airlines may not board a foreign national who has been in the DRC in the previous 21 days on any direct or indirect flight to Canada, unless that person is permitted to enter under the public health order.
Why it matters in Toronto
The hold applies to family sponsorships, spousal cases, work permits and study permits already in the queue, not only to new applications. Anyone in the GTA with a file from the three countries should expect no decision before Sept. 28 at the earliest, and relatives who already hold a visa or eTA should check whether it is among the suspended documents before booking travel.
The World Health Organization reported 5,105 confirmed cases and 2,420 deaths in the DRC outbreak as of Aug. 17, making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, the explanatory note says. Uganda had recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, and had gone 42 days without a new locally transmitted case after its last patient was discharged on June 16.
Source: Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 160 No. 36 — Order Amending the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to Ebola Disease in Canada Order (Immigration Applications and Documents), published Sept. 5, 2026.
