Governments across multiple jurisdictions have introduced Ebola-related travel measures, including entry restrictions, visa issuance suspensions, quarantine requirements, health declarations, and enhanced screening procedures.
Recent travel history is increasingly being treated as an immigration and border-control factor. In several jurisdictions, travelers may face entry restrictions, quarantine requirements, or additional compliance obligations despite holding valid visas, work permits, or residence permits.
Employers and travelers should consider recent travel history alongside immigration status when planning international assignments, business travel, and workforce deployments. Failure to do so may result in assignment delays and travel disruption.
The current Ebola outbreak, associated with the Bundibugyo virus strain, was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 17, 2026. First reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the outbreak has since expanded geographically and remains subject to ongoing monitoring by international health authorities.
The WHO reports that more than 11,000 confirmed cases and 5,300 deaths have been recorded, making it one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in recent history. While localized outbreaks have been successfully contained in certain areas, the outbreak remains active as transmission continues in parts of the DRC.
Ebola-related immigration measures have been implemented across multiple jurisdictions in North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. These include Angola, Canada, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Curaçao, India, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, the Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States, South Korea, and Tanzania.
These jurisdictions have introduced measures linked to recent travel history from or through the following Ebola-affected countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
The introduced measures vary by country and generally include:
While measures vary by jurisdiction, governments are increasingly assessing recent travel history, not just nationality or immigration status, when determining whether international mobility can proceed. Citizens returning to their home countries are sometimes exempt but will be subject to mandatory requirements dependent on the jurisdiction.
As a result, employees, assignees, and business travelers may be denied boarding or entry, required to quarantine, or subjected to additional screening despite holding valid immigration authorization.
Employers should consider recent travel history alongside immigration status when planning international assignments, business travel, and workforce deployments. Failure to do so may result in assignment delays, travel disruption, project resourcing challenges, and increased compliance obligations.
Employers should also consider potential implications where employees travel to Ebola-affected countries and are subsequently unable to return immediately to their host country or normal country of work. Some restrictions apply for a defined period based on recent travel history. Employers should inform employees of potential reentry implications before travel, review the validity and expiration dates of relevant immigration permissions, and consider contingency arrangements where a delayed return may affect an employee’s ability to work. This may include assessing whether remote work from another jurisdiction is both feasible and compliant while the employee waits to become eligible to return.
Actions for employers and individuals
Vialto recommends taking the following steps:
We can assist employers in identifying potentially affected employees, assignees, and business travelers, reviewing immigration and assignment timelines against current travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, and screening measures, and assessing potential impacts on entry eligibility and mobility plans.
We continue to monitor official announcements and we’ll share further guidance if additional travel, border, or immigration measures are introduced. For tailored advice, please contact our team.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto point of contact, or alternatively:
Simply follow our Vialto Alerts page on LinkedIn and posts will be displayed on your feed. To ensure you don’t miss one, once you’re on our LinkedIn page, click on the bell icon under the banner image to manage your notifications.
Further information on Vialto can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
© 2026 Vialto Partners. All rights reserved.