The Cuban government has decided to eliminate the every two-year extension of the Cuban passport and extend the validity of the document to 10 years, as noted on Tuesday on his Twitter account by the Director General of Consular Affairs and for Cuban Residents Abroad. Reported by. of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Soberon Guzmán.
In addition, the measure reduces the cost of fees for procedures associated with obtaining a passport abroad.
Renewal of a Cuban passport in the United States costs approximately $400. Now the cost of renewing the document is $180 for people over the age of 16 and $140 for minors, according to the statement.
The official said the measure comes “as part of the continued strengthening of Cuba’s relations with its citizens abroad” and will go into effect on July 1.
The official also said that according to a constitution approved in a popular referendum in 2019, Cubans who immigrated before January 1, 1971 must enter their country of origin with their Cuban passports.
Official Cuban media reiterated the information.
What are the measures announced on Tuesday?
Extending the validity of passports to 10 years for those over the age of 1-16 and 5 years for minors; Eliminate the need for extensions and reduce the cost of passports at consulates, setting the price at $180/euro for people over the age of 16 and $140/euro for minors.
2-Equalize the length of stay of Cubans living abroad and their foreign relatives (spouses and children) in Cuba.
3-Establish for expatriates who used Cuban passports to enter Cuba before January 1, 1971, according to the new constitution.
The extension of stay abroad beyond 3-24 months, automatic and free of charge, announced in March 2020, also aims to support Cubans living abroad during a critical period of COVID-19.
The official said the measures are aimed at increasing Cubans’ travel abroad, their return to Cuba and their participation in the political, economic and social life of their country of origin.
He announced that more information about these diaspora-consular measures would be announced in the next few hours through local media and on the digital pages of the Ministry of the Interior and Cuban consulates.
In what context is this announcement made?
The move comes amid an unprecedented exodus in the United States and other countries.
Soberón Guzmán once again blamed the dispute between Cuba and the US for the exodus and the all-encompassing crisis the island’s government has been facing for decades.
“These measures have been adopted in the context of the difficult conditions of strengthening the blockade and the hostility of the United States government (…), they harm the standard of living of the Cuban population,” the official said.
More than 300,000 Cubans arrived at the US border from Mexico last year, according to official figures from that country, a historic record amid the Cuban economic crisis.
The scope of the measures was unclear, but Cuban officials said they wanted to strengthen ties with Cubans living abroad.
