Saudi Arabia has added Kenya to its Ebola travel ban list, suspending travel by Saudi citizens to Kenya, halting all types of visas for arrivals from the country and barring entry to anyone who has been there in the past 21 days. The Public Health Authority (Weqaya) announced the measures on Friday 30 October 2026, citing its assessment of the outbreak.
Kenya becomes the fourth country under these rules, after the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan were added in June. For Kenyan workers in the Kingdom and for employers waiting on new recruits, the effects are immediate.
What changed in the Saudi Arabia Kenya travel ban
Three separate measures took effect with the 30 October announcement, as reported by Okaz, Asharq Al-Awsat and Khaleej Times.
| Measure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Citizens’ travel | Saudi citizens may not travel to Kenya |
| Visas | Issuance of all visa types to people arriving from Kenya is suspended |
| Entry | Arrivals from Kenya are barred, including those who transit through other countries |
| 21-day rule | Anyone who stayed in Kenya, or another country with an active Ebola outbreak, in the 21 days before arrival cannot enter |
The transit rule is the part many travellers miss. Flying Nairobi to Dubai or Doha and then on to Riyadh does not get around the ban, because the test is where you have been in the last 21 days, not where your last flight came from.
Weqaya said the health situation inside the Kingdom is reassuring and under close monitoring, and that further measures may follow if needed.
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Why Kenya was added now
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on 6 October 2026, a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the DRC and later died in Nairobi, according to Khaleej Times. It is the fourth country to record a case linked to the outbreak in eastern Congo.
Kenya has asked Saudi Arabia to lift the measures, calling them disproportionate. Its government says all nine cases are linked to one imported case, with no spread in the community and no new cases since 19 October.
Saudi Arabia has used Ebola entry controls since July 2019 and tightened them in May 2026. On 25 June 2026, the Ministry of Health announced the same package for the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, with extra screening at entry points for travellers from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and the Republic of the Congo.
Who is affected
The biggest impact falls on Kenyan nationals, who make up a sizeable expat community in the Kingdom, and on the households and companies that employ them.
- Kenyans planning to come to Saudi Arabia on a new work, visit, family or Umrah visa. With all visa types suspended, new visas cannot be issued while the measure lasts.
- Employers and recruitment offices waiting for Kenyan workers whose visas are not yet stamped.
- Kenyan residents with a valid iqama who are on leave in Kenya or planning a trip home. Weqaya has not said whether resident iqama holders are exempt, so the 21-day rule should be treated as applying to them until officials say otherwise.
- Any traveller, of any nationality, who has been in Kenya in the past 21 days, including business visitors and tourists.
What expats should do now
If you are Kenyan and living in Saudi Arabia, the safest move is to postpone any trip home until the rules are clarified. Leaving now risks being unable to return before your exit re-entry visa runs out.
- Delay non-urgent travel to Kenya. A short holiday could turn into weeks stuck outside the Kingdom.
- If you are already in Kenya, check your exit re-entry visa expiry on Absher and ask your employer to extend it through Muqeem before it lapses.
- Talk to your airline before flying back, and do not rely on routing through a third country.
- Employers should pause travel bookings for Kenyan recruits and keep their recruitment office informed.
- Anyone with fever or symptoms after recent travel to East or Central Africa should call the Ministry of Health on 937.
What has not changed
The entry ban is based on travel in the last 21 days, so Kenyan workers already in Saudi Arabia who have not been to Kenya recently are not covered by it. Their iqama, work contract and Qiwa records stay as they are.
The measures have no published end date. Saudi Life Guide will update this page when Weqaya or Jawazat issues guidance on residents and exemptions.