UAE Ebola Precaution Measures: What They Mean If You're Applying for a Visa

If you’re planning a trip to the UAE and you’ve seen headlines about Ebola-related visa restrictions, here’s the short version: unless you hold a passport from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan or have travelled through one of those three countries recently this does not change your UAE visa application. The detail behind that, and the one group it does affect, is below.

Most Travellers Are Unaffected

It’s worth saying plainly, before the detail: the vast majority of people applying for a UAE visa today have nothing to do with this restriction. It applies to a narrow, specific group tied to three countries and a 21-day travel window not to visa applicants generally, and not to tourism to the UAE as a whole.

The Three Countries and the New Rule

On 6 June 2026, the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) jointly suspended new visa issuance including visit visas for nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan, effective 1pm that day. The measure is a precaution tied to an Ebola outbreak in the region and carries no announced end date.

Two Questions That Tell You Where You Stand

Rather than a long list of scenarios, it comes down to two questions:

1. Are you a national of DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan? If yes, new visa issuance to your nationality is currently paused.

2. Have you physically been in any of those three countries even on a layover within the last 21 days? If yes, entry to the UAE is currently refused, regardless of your nationality or visa type.

If the answer to both is no, neither restriction applies to you, and your application proceeds as normal.

Worth being direct about the first group: while this measure is active, eDubai Visa has no application route to offer nationals of these three countries this is a government-issued entry restriction, not something any visa assistance platform can process around.

The 21-Day Window

The 21 days reflects the outer edge of Ebola’s incubation period. Once you’ve spent more than 21 consecutive days outside DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, this particular restriction no longer applies to your entry though the separate nationality-based suspension above still stands if you hold one of those three passports.

What Continues As Normal

• Cargo flights between the UAE and the three countries
• Transit flights that don’t involve entering the UAE
• Anyone already holding a valid UAE visa issued before 6 June 2026
• Every other nationality with no recent presence in the three countries

A Separate Outbound Advisory

Don’t confuse this with a different notice: the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has advised UAE residents and nationals against travelling to DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan unless necessary. That’s outbound guidance for people leaving the UAE the opposite direction from the entry restriction above, and worth checking directly on mofa.gov.ae if it applies to you.

Could This Change?

No end date has been set, and the UAE has said the measure may be extended which also means it could be shortened or lifted without much notice. That’s why this page carries a last-verified date rather than a fixed status. If you’re reading this later, check ICP or MoFA directly before relying on it.

If none of this applies to you, you’re free to carry on: see UAE visa types and pricing, check the documents you’ll need, or track an application already in progress.

Compliance notice: eDubai Visa is a private visa assistance service operated by ONLY TOURISM L.L.C (Licence No. 690148), not a UAE government authority. Entry and visa decisions rest solely with UAE immigration authorities. This is a live, health-related restriction that may change verify current status against ICP, NCEMA, or MoFA before travelling.