Saudi Arabia Halts All Visas for Travellers From Kenya Over Ebola RiskSaudi Arabia Halts All Visas for Travellers From Kenya Over Ebola Risk

The decision cuts into one of Kenya's busiest labour routes. A government statement in July 2024 put the number of Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia at 310,266, the largest group in the Gulf, The Kenyan Wall Street reported.

With every visa category frozen, Kenyans holding job offers, pilgrimage plans or business invitations cannot obtain new entry papers until Riyadh lifts the order, and no end date or review date has been published.

Saudi Ban Also Covers Transit Through Third Countries

The entry ban is not limited to direct flights. Travellers who stayed in Kenya, or in any other country with an active Ebola outbreak, within 21 days of arrival will be refused entry even if they reach the kingdom through a third country, Arabian Business reported.

On the published wording, that rule would also catch Kenyans who already live and work in Saudi Arabia and travel home on leave. The reports reviewed by Mwenendo mention no exemption for existing residence permit holders.

Saudi officials framed the step as precautionary. The kingdom's Public Health Authority said the health situation inside Saudi Arabia "remains reassuring" and is under constant watch.

The directives build on infectious disease rules first introduced in July 2019 and tightened in May 2026 for high-risk arrivals. In June 2026, Riyadh suspended travel to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan for the same reason.

Kenyan Remittances From Saudi Arabia Already Halved

The ban arrives as money sent home from the kingdom was already shrinking. Inflows from Saudi Arabia fell to about KSh 6.1B ($46.98M) in January to March 2026, from about KSh 12.8B ($98.67M) in the same quarter of 2025, according to Central Bank of Kenya data reported by Business Daily, which linked the drop to new work permit rules.

Diaspora transfers are one of Kenya's largest sources of dollars, alongside tea, tourism and horticulture. A freeze on new placements in a major Gulf market adds pressure on a flow that has already softened this year, as Kenya's August remittance figures showed.

The measures as published deal with travellers and visas. They say nothing about cargo, so there is no sign yet that the fuel Kenya buys from Saudi Arabia under a government-to-government supply arrangement is affected.

Kenya's Ebola Count Before the Ban

Kenya confirmed its first case of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on 6 October, in a man who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Uganda. By 26 October the country had nine confirmed cases and two deaths, Kenyans.co.ke reported, including four health workers.

The Saudi announcement came on the same day the Ministry of Health said Kenya had gone 10 days without a new Ebola case, with 46 contacts due to leave quarantine on 3 November. Seven patients remain in isolation, so the 42-day countdown to an outbreak-free declaration has not yet begun.

Job Seekers Face an Open-Ended Wait

Until Riyadh reverses the order, recruitment agencies cannot obtain Saudi visas for Kenyan workers, so anyone asked to pay for a Saudi visa or placement while the suspension stands should treat the offer with caution.

By midday on Saturday, Mwenendo had found no public statement on the ban from Kenya's Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs or the Ministry of Labour. The length of the freeze is likely to depend on how quickly Kenya clears its remaining cases, but Saudi Arabia has not said what conditions it will apply before lifting it.