Uganda and Taiwan have been drawn into a fresh diplomatic dispute after Ugandan immigration officials reportedly withheld the passports of three Taiwanese nationals who arrived at Entebbe International Airport.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the three travellers arrived at Entebbe at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Although they were allowed into Uganda, immigration officials reportedly declined to return their Taiwanese passports and instead asked them to provide Chinese passports for entry stamps, citing Uganda’s adherence to the One China principle.
Taiwanese authorities suspect the action could be linked to Taiwan’s June 2 decision to suspend visa issuance and entry for Ugandan nationals following Uganda’s Ebola outbreak.
The latest incident reportedly follows two earlier cases involving Taiwanese travellers whose passports were also withheld at Entebbe. In one case, a traveller was denied entry and repatriated.
Taiwan’s representative office in Somaliland, which handles matters concerning Uganda, together with the Taiwanese business community in Uganda, reportedly intervened to assist the affected travellers.
Yen Chia-liang, head of Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry Department of West Asian and African Affairs, said authorities could not rule out the possibility that Uganda’s actions were retaliation for Taiwan’s restrictions.
Uganda, however, has not formally announced any new entry or visa requirements specifically targeting Taiwanese nationals, and the government had not publicly responded to Taiwan’s latest accusations by Thursday evening.
The dispute comes after Uganda officially declared itself free of Ebola on July 28, following 42 days without a new confirmed infection. The last confirmed patient was discharged on June 16.
Ugandan officials have previously criticised blanket travel restrictions imposed by other countries over the Ebola outbreak, arguing that such measures unfairly affect Ugandan travellers and the economy.
Taiwan has now advised its citizens to reconsider non-essential travel to Uganda while it seeks clarification from Kampala.
The diplomatic tension also comes amid growing calls from some Ugandan stakeholders for reciprocal measures against countries that continue to impose restrictions on Ugandan travellers.
