Rwanda yellow fever and health entry rules

Yellow fever certificate rules

The Ministry of Health page Information for Travellers, hosted on the Rwanda Biomedical Centre site, sets the yellow fever rules. The page shows no date. It was read on 24 October 2026 ¹.

No certificate is required for residents or non-residents who come from countries that are not endemic and have no active outbreak ¹. A certificate is mandatory for residents and non-residents who come from endemic countries or countries with an active outbreak ¹. The page advises people going to endemic countries to get vaccinated 10 days before travel ¹.

Travellers from a country with an active outbreak, or who visited one in the past 24 days, must hold a valid certificate. They must have a temperature below 38.5°C and agree to report symptoms for 6 days ¹.

Arriving without a valid certificate

• A certificate is not valid until 10 days after vaccination. The traveller is quarantined until it becomes valid ¹.
• A traveller from an outbreak or endemic country who has no certificate is vaccinated on arrival ¹.
• The traveller pays for the quarantine or the vaccination ¹.
• A traveller who does not agree to these measures is refused entry ¹.

Countries on the yellow fever list

The traveller page reproduces a World Health Organization list and says it may change ¹. In Africa it names Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo and Uganda ¹.

In South America it names Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela ¹. Three of Rwanda's four neighbours, Burundi, DR Congo and Uganda, are on the list. Tanzania is not ¹.

Ebola entry measures since May 2026

On 17 May 2026 the Ministry of Health said it had reinforced screening and vigilance at points of entry along the border with DR Congo as a precaution. It said there was no Ebola case in Rwanda ².

Rwanda closed the Rusizi I and Rusizi II border posts with DR Congo on 18 May 2026, a day after it suspended operations at crossings in Rubavu District, as reported by Davis Mugume in KT Press ⁷. Students, humanitarian workers, food transporters and returning residents could still cross under health screening, according to the same report ⁷.

A notice dated 22 May 2026 set further measures ³. It said foreign nationals who travelled to or through DR Congo in the previous 30 days would be denied entry ³. Rwandan nationals and foreign residents with valid proof of residency may enter. Those who were in DR Congo in that period must undergo mandatory quarantine ³. The notice reinforced screening at land entry points on the DR Congo border and set enhanced entry controls at Kigali International Airport ³. It said tourism, business and other activities in Rwanda continued as usual ³.

A Ministry of Health update of 16 June 2026 said there were no cases in Rwanda and no active cases in areas bordering Rwanda. It does not mention the entry measures ⁴. The Ministry of Health news page viewed on 24 October 2026 lists no later Ebola update ⁸. Status: in force as of the 22 May 2026 notice. This page could not confirm whether the measures have been lifted ^3,8.

Marburg outbreak in 2024

The Ministry of Health declared the end of a Marburg virus disease outbreak on 20 December 2024, after 42 consecutive days with no new cases ⁵. The outbreak began in mid-September 2024. The ministry reported 66 cases, 15 deaths and 51 recoveries ⁵. The announcement does not describe border or airport screening ⁵. Status: historical.

COVID-19 rules and other checks

The traveller page says no COVID-19 test or passenger locator form is needed before departure, and no extra test is needed on arrival at Kigali International Airport ¹. Masks are not mandatory but are encouraged in enclosed public spaces ¹. Rwandan travellers aged 12 and over must show proof of full vaccination before flying out, according to the same page ¹.

DGIE border rules include one more health-related document. A person who accompanies a deceased person across the border must show a death certificate to an immigration officer ⁶. The Rwanda Biomedical Centre hotline for health information and symptom reports is 114 ^1,3.