The cuban passports currently in circulation will not be valid for 10 years, unlike those that are issued from next July 1, the date on which they will enter into force the announced changes this Tuesday by the island’s Chancellery.
When detailing the new migratory measures in the program Round tableand in response to numerous questions and doubts in this regard, the General Director of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Resident Abroad of the Minrex, Ernesto Soberón, explained that said measures will not be retroactive.
Therefore, already issued passports, which are valid for six years, will remain in circulation until the date previously established for their expiration.
Consequently, as of July both types of passports will coexist, which in the opinion of the diplomat is the most “realistic”, based on eliminating new procedures and costs.
The measure is not retroactive, a practical and realistic approach was adopted for its application, which benefits Cuban citizens, since passports valid for 6 years and those issued after 1 will coexist for a while. /07 with a validity of 10 years.
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) May 17, 2023
Soberón argued that it is not “practical” or “feasible” to establish alternatives such as the use of stickers to extend the validity of already active passports. This, he said, is due to the large volume of documents that would have to be updated, with the consequent waste of time and resources, in addition to the fact that the stickers are forgeable.
The diplomat also pointed out that the responsibility of calculating the validity date of Cuban passports that are already issued should not be transferred to the airlines and immigration authorities of other nations in the event that their circulation period is extended.
“Those authorities would have to start calculating when the passport was issued, if it is for a minor or an adult,” which, he considered, “would go against the agility of the immigration clearance process that exists internationally in airlines ”.
Regarding the extension of the documents currently in circulation, an issue that has also generated doubts among Cubans residing inside and outside the island, it was specified that the measure announced yesterday also applies to them. In other words, even if they are valid for a maximum of six years, as of July 1, these passports will not need to be extended either.
As of that same date, July 1, 2023, it will not be necessary to extend any passport, neither those that were already issued and in force, nor those that are issued after that date.
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) May 17, 2023
In addition, Soberón said that any Cuban, whether or not they reside in the country, can request the island’s authorities to issue a new passport as of July, even if theirs has not expired. In this sense, he recalled that in the case of procedures outside of Cuba, the new consular fee is 180 USD / Euros for those over 16 years of age and 140 USD / Euros for those under that age.
For his part, First Colonel Mario Méndez Mayedo, head of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Aliens of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), reaffirmed that the announced measures benefit all Cubans, and not only those residing abroad.
He also explained that in the case of passports issued in Cuba, these will not change their price or the currency in which they are paid as of July 1, so they will continue to cost 2,500 Cuban pesos (CUP).
In the same way, it asserted that the requirements and norms established for the cases of minors have not been modified either.
Méndez Mayedo explained that of the documents in circulation with the extension already expired, only those that will be used to enter or leave the country before July 1st should be extended. However, he said that the Cuban immigration authorities will analyze “case by case” and “with positive criteria” the situation of people who appear at the border with the passport without extending until June 30.
Regarding the other measures announced this Tuesday, Soberón assured that, with the establishment for emigrants before January 1, 1971 of the presentation of the Cuban passport to enter Cuba, no privilege is eliminated, but, on the contrary, it seeks to equalize their conditions to that of the rest of the Cubans permanently residing abroad.
With this, he said, the aim is to eliminate the requirement that a Cuban citizen who is in this situation, every time he travels to the island, need to request an entry permit at a Cuban consulate.
“This will eliminate a measure that could be considered in some way discrimination, because he was a national who had to request an entry permit for his country of origin,” he said.
In addition, he confirmed that these people will have facilities for a year, with the aim that they can “travel to Cuba as they do today, with their foreign passport, with their travel permit and, when they can be identified, they obtain their passport ( Cuban) and the other paperwork related to that process is eliminated”.
With his Cuban passport, the person could travel to Cuba whenever he wants, without the need to request any permit. A passport that, in addition, will be less expensive, with greater validity and without the need for an extension.
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) May 17, 2023
Regarding the equalization of the stay time in Cuba of Cubans residing abroad and their foreign relatives (spouses and children), during their stay in the country, Soberón explained that as of July 1 both of them will be able to stay up to one uninterrupted year on the island.
Until now, Cuban emigrants could stay that long in the country, but their relatives could only stay for a maximum of six months. Starting in July, on the other hand, “time is equated: the family, the father, the mother, and the children, may be in Cuba for as long as they wish, the same amount of time, which can be up to a year, without that represents a problem”, confirmed the diplomat.
Finally, Soberón reiterated that with these measures the process of rapprochement with the island’s emigrants that began in 1978 is maintained, and pointed out that, according to the reactions and comments received, the measures have had “a good level of acceptance” both in the population of the island and among residents abroad.
In addition, he reiterated that the “automatic and free” extension of stay abroad, beyond 24 months, announced in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remains in effect.
