Politics of Cuba


Constitution Law
Communist Party 8th term Congress Rules Central Committee (8th) First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura Politburo (8th) Secretariat (8th)
National Assembly 9th term President Esteban Lazo Hernández Vice President Ana María Marí Machado Secretary Homero Acosta Álvarez Council of State (9th) President Esteban Lazo Hernández Vice President Ana María Marí Machado Secretary Homero Acosta Álvarez Presidency (9th) President (list) Miguel Díaz-Canel Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa Council of Ministers (9th—list) Prime Minister (list) Manuel Marrero Cruz Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Menendéz Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca Inés María Chapman Waugh Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz Alejandro Gil Fernández Secretary José Amado Ricardo Guerra Judiciary People's Supreme Court (9th) President Ruben Remigio Ferro Vice President Maricela Sosa Ravelo Farah Saucedo Perez Yamir Rodriguez Tamayo Filiberto Caballero Tamayo Office of the Attorney General (9th) Attorney General Yamila Peña Ojeda Office of the Comptroller General (9th) Comptroller General Gladys María Bejerano Portela
Elections and referendums Recent elections Parliamentary: 2018 2023 Referendums: 2019 2022
Administrative divisions Provinces Municipalities Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla Diplomatic missions of / in Cuba Passports Visa requirements Visa policy
Related topics Human rights LGBT rights Foreign interventions Internationalism: Military Medical
Cuba portal Other countries
v t e

Visitors to Cuba must obtain a visa before travel or a tourist card from one of the Cuban diplomatic missions, travel agencies or authorized airlines unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.^[1]

All visitors, including those with Cuban nationality residing outside Cuba, must hold valid return tickets and proof of medical insurance. Non-Cuban passport holders must also provide proof of financial solvency of at least 50 USD per day.

Visitors from many countries are expected to hold a passport valid for at least 2 months from the arrival date.^[1]

Visa policy map

Cuban nationals

Persons who were born in Cuba must use their Cuban passports for travelling to Cuba, unless they have official documentation to prove that they no longer have Cuban nationality.^[1]

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following countries neither need a visa nor a tourist card to visit Cuba, for a stay up to the duration listed below:^[1]^[2]

Indefinite stay

Namibia

90 days

90 days within any 180 days

Russia

90 days within any 1 calendar year

Kenya

60 days

30 days

28 days

According to the original visa agreement between Benin and Cuba, Beninese students who hold a normal passport may enter Cuba without a visa, for a maximum stay of 90 days.^[2] However, this condition is not mentioned on Timatic, which states that all normal passport holders of Benin can enter Cuba without a visa, for a maximum stay of 90 days.^[1]

Date of visa changes
19 November 1965 or 28 May 1966: Yugoslavia - as per note from 19 April 2010, it applies to North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.^[3] 10 December 1981: Benin^[4] 19 January 1994: Namibia 29 July 1994: Russia^[5] 19 February 1996: Barbados 8 July 1997: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 30 March 1998: Saint Kitts and Nevis 26 May 1998: Malaysia 19 November 1998: Antigua and Barbuda 4 February 1999: Grenada 10 March 1999: Belarus 10 July 2000: Saint Lucia 23 October 2001: Dominica 7 November 2001: Mongolia 31 March 2016: Singapore 23 October 2018: Kenya 2019: United Arab Emirates There is no formal agreement behind the visa exemption with Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the agreement with former Yugoslavia does not apply to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cancelled: n/a: Liechtenstein and Switzerland^[6] n/a: Netherlands^[7] n/a: Belgium^[8] n/a: United Kingdom^[9] n/a: Bulgaria^[10] n/a: Finland^[11] n/a: Czech Republic and Slovakia (was applied from 22 Nov 1978 as Czechoslovakia)^[12] 1 December 2015: Ecuador (was applied from 25 Sep 2009)

Travelling on Duty

Citizens of the following countries who are holders of normal passports are exempt when travelling on duty:^[1]

Diplomatic and Service passports

Holders of diplomatic or various categories of service passports (official, service, special, public affairs) issued by the following countries are allowed to enter and remain in Cuba without a visa (allowed period of stay in brackets):^[1]^[14]

Afghanistan ^D ^O ^S (30 days)
Albania ^D ^S (90 days)
Algeria ^D ^S (3 months)
Angola ^D ^S (90 days)
Antigua and Barbuda ^All (30 days)
Argentina ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Armenia ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Azerbaijan ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Bahamas ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Barbados ^D ^O (28 days)
Belarus ^D ^S (30 days)
Belize ^D ^O (30 days)
Benin ^D ^S (3 months)
Bolivia ^D ^O (undefined)
Bosnia and Herzegovina ^D ^O (90 days)
Botswana ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Brazil ^D (180 days)
Burkina Faso ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Chad ^D ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Cambodia ^D ^S (undefined)
Cape Verde ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
China ^D ^S ^PA (undefined)
Colombia ^D ^O (undefined / 6 months)
Congo ^D ^S (undefined)
Costa Rica ^D ^O (30 days)
Croatia ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Cyprus ^D ^S (undefined)
Djibouti ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Dominica ^All (28 days)
Dominican Republic ^D ^O (90 days)
Ecuador ^D ^O (undefined / 90 days)
Egypt ^D ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Equatorial Guinea ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
El Salvador ^D ^O (90 days)
Gabon ^D ^O ^S (90 days)

Gambia ^D ^S (undefined)
Georgia ^D ^S
Ghana ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Grenada ^All (60 days)
Guatemala ^D ^O ^S (3 months)
Guinea ^D ^O ^S (3 months)
Guinea-Bissau ^D ^O ^S (3 months)
Guyana ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Haiti ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Honduras ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Hungary ^D ^S (90 days)
India ^D (90 days)
Iran ^D ^S (90 days)
Jamaica ^D ^O (undefined)
Jordan ^D (30 days)
Kazakhstan ^D ^S (30 days)
Kenya ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Kuwait ^D ^Sp (90 days)
Laos ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Lebanon ^D ^O ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Malaysia ^D ^O (3 months)
Mali ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Mexico ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Moldova ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Mongolia ^D ^O (30 days)
Montenegro ^D ^O (90 days)
Morocco ^D ^O ^S ^Sp (3 months)
Mozambique ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Namibia ^DO (undefined)
Nicaragua ^D (undefined)
Niger ^D ^S (3 months)
Nigeria ^D ^O (90 days)
North Korea ^D ^S (30 days)
North Macedonia ^D ^O (90 days)
Panama ^D ^O ^S ^Sp (undefined)

Paraguay ^D ^O (3 months)
Peru ^D (90 days)
Philippines ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Qatar ^D ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Romania ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Russia ^D ^S (undefined)
Saint Kitts and Nevis ^All (30 days)
Saint Lucia ^All (30 days)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ^All (60 days)
Sao Tome and Principe ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Serbia ^D ^S (90 days)
Seychelles ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Singapore ^D ^O ^S (30 days)
Slovakia ^D (90 days)
Slovenia ^D ^S (3 months)
South Africa ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Sri Lanka ^D (undefined)
Suriname ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Switzerland ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Syria ^D ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Tanzania ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Timor-Leste ^D ^S (90 days)
Togo ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Trinidad and Tobago ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Tunisia ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Turkey ^D ^S ^Sp (90 days)
Uganda ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Ukraine ^D ^S (undefined)
United Arab Emirates ^D ^Sp (90 days)
Uruguay ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Venezuela ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
Vietnam ^D ^O ^S ^PA (30 days)
Yemen ^D ^O ^S ^Sp (undefined)
Zambia ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Zimbabwe ^D ^O ^S (undefined)

_{D - Diplomatic passports}
_{O - Official passports}
_{S - Service passports}
_{Sp - Special passports}
_{PA - Public affairs passports}

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Armenia and Moldova are not applying bilateral agreements in practice.

Agreement with Indonesia signed on 26 March 2003 was applied from 17 March 2005 to 17 March 2015.

Visa-free agreement for holders of diplomatic and official passport was signed with Pakistan in October 2019 and it is yet to be ratified.^[15]

Future changes

Cuba has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:

Country	Passports	Agreement signed on
Kazakhstan^[16]	Ordinary	31 August 2023

Tourist card required

Citizens of all other countries must purchase a Visa / Tourist Card (Visa - Tarjeta de Turista) before arrival, which can be acquired from Cuban missions, travel agencies, airlines, or licensed online retailers. A tourist card used to grant a maximum stay of 90 days as of 1st November 2022 for most nationalities. It can be extended once for the same period in Cuba.^[1]

Those who fly to Cuba from US airports must purchase a "Pink Tourist Card" which is mainly available in the United States and fill an Affidavit form, airlines in the US will be able to provide more information about how to purchase the Pink Tourist Card. These Pink Tourist Cards are needed for everyone flying from the US to Cuba on a direct route.

For those traveling from or via the United States with an ESTA, it will not be sufficient to travel via or from the United States to Cuba. The travelor will need to apply for a full United States tourist visa before travelling on this route.

Those who enter Cuba from non-US airports must purchase a Green Tourist Card, which is often less expensive. Travelors must also fill in an Advanced Passenger information form, within two days before arrival in Cuba.

Visa required

Citizens of the following 20 countries are ineligible to obtain a tourist card and must obtain a Cuban visa:^[1]

_{1 - nationals of other countries required tourist card travelling to Cuba from India also require a visa.^[17]}

However, they are eligible to travel to Cuba with a tourist card if they also hold a valid visa or permanent residence permit issued by Canada, the United States or an EU member state.^[1]

Transit

Passengers in transit are exempt from visa or tourist card requirements if their transit time does not exceed 72 hours. They are allowed to enter Cuba.^[1]

Kosovo

Entry and transit is refused to Kosovo nationals, even if not leaving the aircraft and proceeding by the same flight.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Listado de acuerdos exención de visado | Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba". cubaminrex.cu.
^ "PDF.js viewer". www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs.
^ Original visa agreement indicates that visa exemption for normal passport holders of Benin only applies to Beninese students; however this condition is not mentioned on Timatic, which states that all normal passport holders of Benin can enter Cuba without a visa. It is not known if amendments to the agreement were subsequently made.
^ Previous visa-free agreements under different terms were applied between 1981-1985 and 1985-1994 (as the Soviet Union until 1991). Amendments to the visa agreement have been in force since 21 December 2018.
^ "Error". www.eda.admin.ch.
^ Zaken, Ministerie van Buitenlandse. "Exchange of Notes between the Government of the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Government of Cuba concerning the abolition of visas". treatydatabase.overheid.nl.
^ "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 1 January 1954" (PDF).
^ Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 17 March 1951. Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Cuba for the Abolition of Visas
^ "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 30 August 1978" (PDF).
^ "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 5 December 1990" (PDF).
^ "Vyhláška 16/1979 Zb. O Dohode medzi vládou Československej socialistickej republiky a vládou Kubánskej republiky o bezvízovom styku úplné a aktuálne znenie".
^ Applies to students, fellows or persons in artistic, cultural, scientific, journalistic missions, or on an official mission.
^ "Listado de acuerdos exención de visado".
^ "Pakistan signs visa-free agreement with Cuba". Khaleej Times.
^ "Kazakhstan, Cuba sign the agreement on visa-free trips".
^ "Tourist visa" (PDF). Embassy of Cuba in India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

v t e Visa policy by country
Visa Passport Travel document
Africa	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros DR Congo Djibouti Egypt⁶ Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria R Congo Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha¹ São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland³ South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Americas	Anguilla¹ Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda¹ Bolivia Brazil British Virgin Islands¹ Canada Cayman Islands¹ Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten) Ecuador El Salvador Falkland Islands¹ Greenland⁵ Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Montserrat¹ Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands¹ Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands¹ United States Puerto Rico⁴ Virgin Islands⁴ Uruguay Venezuela
Asia	Abkhazia² ³ Afghanistan Akrotiri and Dhekelia¹ ² Armenia² Azerbaijan² Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Hong Kong Macau Cyprus² East Timor Egypt⁶ Georgia² India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan² Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Northern Cyprus² ³ Oman Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Russia² Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea South Ossetia² Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan (Republic of China)³ Tajikistan Thailand Turkey² Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
Europe	Abkhazia² ³ Akrotiri and Dhekelia¹ ² Albania Andorra Armenia² Austria Azerbaijan² Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Cyprus² Denmark Faroe Islands Greenland Estonia Finland France Overseas Georgia² Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan² Kosovo³ Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Overseas North Macedonia Northern Cyprus² ³ Norway Svalbard Poland Portugal Romania Russia² San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Ossetia² ³ Spain Sweden Switzerland Transnistria³ Turkey² Ukraine United Kingdom Overseas Vatican City
Oceania	American Samoa⁴ Australia Cook Islands Fiji Guam⁴ Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Niue Northern Mariana Islands⁴ Palau Papua New Guinea Pitcairn Islands¹ Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Historical	Artsakh² Russia²
¹ British Overseas Territories. ² These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. ³ Partially recognized. ⁴ Unincorporated territory of the United States. ⁵ Part of the Kingdom of Denmark. ⁶ Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.

v t e Visa requirements by citizenship
Visa Passport Travel document
Africa	Algerian Angolan Beninese Botswana Burkinabe Burundian Cameroonian Cape Verdean Central African Chadian Comorian Congolese (Democratic Republic) Congolese (Republic) Djiboutian Egyptian⁴ Equatorial Guinean Eritrean Ethiopian Gabonese Gambian Ghanaian Guinea-Bissauan Guinean Ivorian Kenyan Lesothan Liberian Libyan Malagasy Malawian Malian Mauritanian Mauritian Moroccan Mozambican Namibian Nigerian Nigerien Rwandan Saint Helena¹ Santomean Senegalese Seychellois Sierra Leonean Somali (Somaliland) South African South Sudanese Sudanese Swazi Tanzanian Togolese Tunisian Ugandan Zambian Zimbabwean
Americas	Anguillan¹ Antigua and Barbuda Argentine Bahamian Barbadian Belizean Bermudian¹ Bolivian Brazilian British Virgin Islands¹ Canadian Caymanian¹ Chilean Colombian Costa Rican Cuban Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuadorian Greenlandic Grenadian Guatemalan Guyanese Haitian Honduran Jamaican Mexican Montserratian¹ Nicaraguan Panamanian Paraguayan Peruvian Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucian Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Salvadoran Surinamese Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands¹ United States Uruguayan Venezuelan
Asia	Abkhaz² ⁵ Afghan Armenian³ Azerbaijani² Bahraini Bangladeshi Bhutanese Bruneian Cambodian Chinese Hong Kongese Macanese Cypriot³ East Timorese Egyptian⁴ Emirati Georgian² Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Israeli Japanese Jordanian Kazakhstani² Kuwaiti Kyrgyz Laotian Lebanese Malaysian Maldivian Mongolian Myanmar Nepalese North Korean Northern Cypriot³ ⁵ Omani Pakistani Palestinian Philippine Qatari Russian² Saudi Singaporean South Korean South Ossetian² ⁵ Sri Lankan Syrian Taiwanese⁵ Tajik Thai Turkish² Turkmen Uzbekistani Vietnamese Yemeni
Europe	Abkhaz² ⁵ Albanian Andorran Armenian³ Austrian Azerbaijani² Belarusian Belgian Bosnian and Herzegovinian British (BOTC · BN(O) · BOC) Bulgarian Croatian Cypriot³ Czech Danish Faroese Greenlandic Dutch Estonian (Non-citizens) Finnish French Georgian² German Greek Hungarian Icelandic Irish Italian Kazakhstani² Kosovar⁵ Latvian (Non-citizens) Liechtenstein Lithuanian Luxembourg Maltese Moldovan Montenegrin Monégasque North Macedonian Northern Cypriot³ ⁵ Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian⁹ San Marino Serbian Slovak Slovenian South Ossetian² ⁵ Spanish Swedish Swiss Transnistrian⁵ Turkish² Ukrainian Vatican City
Oceania	Australian Fijian Kiribati Marshallese Micronesian Nauruan New Zealand Palauan Papua New Guinean Pitcairn Islands¹ Samoan Solomon Islands Tongan Tuvaluan Vanuatuan
Other	Crew members Sovereign Military Order of Malta Green Card
¹ British Overseas Territories. ² Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia and the partially recognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia each span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. ³ Cyprus, Armenia, and the partially recognised republic of Northern Cyprus are entirely in Western Asia but have socio-political connections with Europe. ⁴ Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia. ⁵ Partially recognized. Immigration law