File photo taken on on May 15, 2017 shows people protest U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Seattle, the U.S. state of Washington. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the third version of the Trump administration's travel ban to take effect, impacting citizens of eight countries from entering the United States.

The ruling lifted restrictions imposed by lower courts on the travel ban, which bars all citizens of Syria, Iran, Chad, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as certain officials from Venezuela from entering the United States.

"In light of its decision to consider the case on an expedited basis, we expect that the Court of Appeals will render its decision with appropriate dispatch," the Supreme Court said in the ruling.

The travel ban, released in September, was the third version by the Trump administration.

The Trump administration said the ban was needed to ensure national security, while critics said it was a form of religious discrimination as most of the countries impacted by the ban are Muslim majorities.