Ebola outbreak impact on immigration ??

[basketballfan]

Does anyone think that the Ebola outbreak could impact on Canadian immigration? If so, which African countries/regions would that apply to ? Only the affected countries? I'm just asking because when I was visiting Uganda in 2000, there was also an Ebola outbreak and at the time the Canadian government was warning Canadians abroad in Uganda that they may not be allowed to travel back to Canada. I'm planning to move to Zambia at the end of September until our immigration process is over. The virus in not in the Southern region and Zambia has placed restrictions on travel to their country to prevent Ebola. So I'm just thinking about how all of this is already impacting or could impact immigration from African countries.

 

[rhcohen2014]

since it's mandatory to be cleared medically before being approved, i believe any chance of ebola having an affect on immigration is pretty slim. if a person is infected, then CIC will not approve them because of the health risk of a communicable disease. and to be honest, that person probably wouldn't live long enough to see the approval happen.

as for whether cic would stop processing applications from a certain country because of an ebola outbreak... doubtful. there are many countries where fatal diseases are rampant, and you don't see CIC banning people from sponsoring their spouse because of it, do you? NO! I'm pretty sure CIC does not have the authority to stop processing certain applications without legislation approval. it takes a lot of government involvement to make that happen.

 

[basketballfan]

The thing that I don't get is how useful is the medical check for people like my husband who did his check almost a year ago and whose application is well underway, how would that be helpful now? What about people like myself and my son, who are already citizens and did not have to do medicals? I personally think that with the state of emergency in Liberia and the international communities' involvement we are on a positive path to control the spread of it.

I also just visited PHAC's website and found the Quarantine Act, which allows the federal government 'to prohibit entry of travelers or importation of goods from certain countries or regions of the world to prevent the introduction or spread of a disease.' This was introduced after SARS. From my brief readings, I can see that what would be a more likely response, if deemed necessary, would be health check at the border upon entry.

This is certainly interesting...will keep my eye out.

 

[rhcohen2014]

to me, you are comparing apples to oranges. ebola's symptoms are very noticable, so i would asume is someone was trying to get on the plane with blood flowing from their orfices, they would not be allowed to board. same if they showed up at the border. with ebola, people's eyes start to bleed...so yeah, i'm pretty sure border agents would figure it out before they let the person pass immigration. and again, it's a fatal disease, so i doubt the person will be able to walk, talk, or even live to cross the border after arriving from africa.

with SARS, i believe the symptoms are more dormant, and not physically noticable, so your comparison doesn't make any sense. i think you are worrying about nothing. i would suggest to stop finding things that can go "Wrong" with you application, and focus on everything working out fine.

 

[Alurra71]

Ebola has a life cycle of roughly 5 to 7 days to start with symptoms then another roughly 5 to 7 days to show signs of the bleeding which Ebola is known for. I seriously doubt that anyone that was infected with this virus would get their visa before becoming very ill. I think the odds of someone contracting and then immediately coming to Canada are very slim indeed. In the areas that this is prevalent you will likely show a screening process of some sort before folks are allowed to just freely travel from place to place to help alleviate the risks.

 

[scylla]

Ebola has a life cycle of roughly 5 to 7 days to start with symptoms then another roughly 5 to 7 days to show signs of the bleeding which Ebola is known for. I seriously doubt that anyone that was infected with this virus would get their visa before becoming very ill. I think the odds of someone contracting and then immediately coming to Canada are very slim indeed. In the areas that this is prevalent you will likely show a screening process of some sort before folks are allowed to just freely travel from place to place to help alleviate the risks.

The incubation period (period from infection to first signs of symptoms) is actually anywhere from 2 to 21 days.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

 

[basketballfan]

Looks like any impact, if any, on immigration relates more to the burden the outbreak has had on local infrastructure and processes (i.e., getting medicals complete in the midst of a priority health crisis).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ebola-outbreak-delays-canmore-couple-s-adoption-plans-1.2748827

and this case is interesting and garnering lots of media attention, more so related to general migration, especially because he did manage to get through health check screening enroute to the US.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/ebola-virus-first-us-case-confirmed-1412111463

Will continue to keep an eye out on this.

 

[basketballfan]

I know that I was criticized for even thinking that immigration could be impacted by Ebola in this thread in August but looks like Visa's from Ebola affected countries HAVE been suspended: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29861563 . I don't agree with the decision and I am very sympathetic to those who have applications in process - I think it is an over-reaction propagated by the media; I say that as an epidemiologist who has been following the outbreak for months....

 

[zardoz]

I know that I was criticized for even thinking that immigration could be impacted by Ebola in this thread in August but looks like Visa's from Ebola affected countries HAVE been suspended: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29861563 . I don't agree with the decision and I am very sympathetic to those who have applications in process - I think it is an over-reaction propagated by the media; I say that as an epidemiologist who has been following the outbreak for months....

http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2014/2014-10-31-x8/html/extra8-eng.php