ARCHIVED – Notice – Extension of Temporary Resident Status
November 24 2014 – The Government of Canada is balancing the need to protect the health and safety of Canadians while causing minimal disruption to travel and trade - and in doing so, helping to prevent Ebola from coming to Canada.
If you came to Canada from Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia or are a citizen of one of those countries, please consider the following important information.
- In order to protect the health and safety of Canadians from the Ebola virus disease, the Minister of Citizenship & Immigration released Ministerial Instructions on October 31, 2014. These instructions pause the processing of new applications for temporary resident visas, of pending temporary resident visa applications, of new permanent resident visa applications, and withhold the issuance of permanent residence visas.
This applies to applicants who have resided in, travelled to, or transited through an Ebola affected country in the last three (3) months, or for applicants who intend to travel to an Ebola affected country. An Ebola affected country is one that has widespread and persistent/intense transmission of the Ebola virus disease as identified by the World Health Organization; at this time, these countries are Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
If you would like to remain in Canada, you may apply for an extension of your temporary resident status as a visitor, worker, or student. We encourage you to learn more about application processing fees and regular processing times.
If your status in Canada has expired within the last three months and you are in Canada, you may be able to get your status back (this is called restoring your status). More information on restoration of status can be found on the Restoration of temporary resident status page. In order for CIC to extend or restore your status, you must not have travelled to an Ebola affected country in the last three (3) months and you cannot intend to travel to one while the country has widespread and persistent/intense transmission of the Ebola virus disease.
In November new border measures were put in place by the Government of Canada, which may impact your ability to return to Canada from an Ebola affected country. CIC encourages you to avoid traveling to these affected regions until such time as public health issues are resolved. Please also refer to additional information that may be of use to you before you travel.