Travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan will be turned away at UAE borders under fresh entry restrictions tied to the spread of the Ebola virus, federal authorities confirmed.
Anyone arriving from the three nations will be refused entry, a rule that also covers passengers routing through other countries before reaching the UAE. The only exception applies to those who can show they spent more than 21 days outside the affected nations prior to their arrival. Officials clarified that transit flight operations remain unaffected by the rules.
The restrictions were issued jointly by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), which described the action as part of the country’s preventive approach to safeguarding national readiness against the disease.
Under the directive, the processing of all new visas for citizens of the three countries — visit visas among them — stops at 13:00 on Saturday, 6th June 2026. The authorities noted the suspension may be lengthened depending on circumstances. Goods continue to move freely, however, with cargo flights linking the UAE and the three nations operating without interruption.
NCEMA and ICP indicated they are working alongside domestic and global partners to track how the Ebola situation evolves, leaving open the possibility of extending similar precautions to additional countries should their own risk evaluations and health benchmarks call for it.
