Congolese Montreal students face uncertainty over Canada's Ebola travel restrictions

Congolese students in Montreal separated from loved ones due to Canada travel restrictions

A trip back to Kinshasa this summer was supposed to be a chance for Jonathan Likongo to see his family after two years of living and studying in Montreal.

Instead, the Université de Montréal student decided to stay in Canada, worried that leaving could prevent him from returning.

“I was supposed to leave, but out of an abundance of caution and prudence, I didn’t,” Likongo said.

In May, Canada introduced temporary measures restricting entry for certain foreign nationals from multiple countries in central Africa, citing the risk posed by the Ebola outbreak. In July, it went a step further, saying it would deny ⁠entry ⁠to ‌foreign nationals who had been to the ⁠Democratic Republic of Congo ‌( D.R.C.) within the past 21 days.

Likongo, a member of the Congolese Students’ Association at Université de Montréal, says the timing has been difficult for students who had planned to travel during the summer break.

“The illness arrived right in the middle of the holiday period,” he said. “Some people didn’t even know there would be all these restrictions.”

Universities across Quebec say hundreds of students could be affected by the measures, including people already enrolled in programs and students expected to begin their studies this fall.

Université de Montréal says 170 students from the D.R.C. or Sudan have been admitted for the fall, while another 182 people from those countries were already enrolled in programs during the winter or summer.

Université Laval says it has 240 students from the D.R.C., South Sudan and Uganda, including 72 newly admitted students and 168 continuing students. Université du Québec à Montréal says approximately 100 students are affected.

Canada to temporarily bar entry by foreign nationals recently in Congo due to Ebola risk

The universities say they are working with students to prepare for different scenarios.

At Université de Montréal, undergraduate students have until Aug. 29 to change their registration, while graduate students can begin their program later, within one year.

Université Laval says students can have their situations assessed individually, with options including deferring admission, starting classes remotely or arriving after the start of the semester.