Visa policy of Cuba

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] Electronic visa is also available.

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

Cuba

Visa not required (unspecified period)

Visa not required (90 days)

Visa not required (60 days)

Visa not required (30 days)

Visa not required (28 days)

eVisa (90 days, extendable for 90 days)

Visa required

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 stays up to the duration listed:^[1]^[2]

Indefinite stay

Namibia

90 days

_{1 - No more than 90 days within any 1 calendar year}
_{2 - No more than 90 days within any 180 days}

60 days

Grenada

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

30 days

28 days

Barbados

Dominica

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. 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]^[2]

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 17 May 2024: China^[6] 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^[7] n/a: Netherlands^[8] n/a: Belgium^[9] n/a: United Kingdom^[10] n/a: Bulgaria^[11] n/a: Finland^[12] n/a: Czech Republic and Slovakia (was applied from 22 Nov 1978 as Czechoslovakia)^[13] 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

Cuba

Diplomatic and official / service passports

Diplomatic 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]^[15]

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 (30 days)
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 (30 days)
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 (30 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 (30 days)
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 (30 days)
Suriname ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Switzerland ^D ^O ^S (90 days)
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 (30 days)
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 (30 days)
Zambia ^D ^O ^S (undefined)
Zimbabwe ^D ^O ^S (undefined)

_{D - Diplomatic passports}
_{O - Official passports}
_{S - Service passports}
_{Sp - Special passports}
_{PA - Passports for public affairs}

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.^[16]

eVisa

Visitors may obtain an eVisa valid for 90 days, and extendable for another 90 days.^[17]

Tourist card

Cuban visa (tourist card) sample

Citizens of countries that are not visa exempt must purchase a Tourist Card (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]

Visa required

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

India¹
Iran
Iraq
Kenya
Nepal
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines

_{1 - nationals of other countries required tourist card travelling to Cuba from India also require a visa.^[18]}

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.
^ "古巴对中国公民短期来古免签政策正式生效". 中国驻古巴大使馆. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
^ "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 Archived 5 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
^ "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.
^ New electronic tourist visa platform available for Cuba
^ "Tourist visa" (PDF). Embassy of Cuba in India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

[tim-1] ^ ^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.

[:1-2] "Listado de acuerdos exención de visado | Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba". cubaminrex.cu.

[3] "PDF.js viewer". www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs.

[Benin-4] 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.

[5] 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.

[6] "古巴对中国公民短期来古免签政策正式生效". 中国驻古巴大使馆. Retrieved 18 May 2024.

[7] "Error". www.eda.admin.ch.

[8] 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.

[9] "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 1 January 1954" (PDF).

[10] 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 Archived 5 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine

[11] "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 30 August 1978" (PDF).

[12] "Was applied under visa exemption agreement from 5 December 1990" (PDF).

[13] "Vyhláška 16/1979 Zb. O Dohode medzi vládou Československej socialistickej republiky a vládou Kubánskej republiky o bezvízovom styku úplné a aktuálne znenie".

[14] Applies to students, fellows or persons in artistic, cultural, scientific, journalistic missions, or on an official mission.

[15] "Listado de acuerdos exención de visado".

[16] "Pakistan signs visa-free agreement with Cuba". Khaleej Times.

[17] New electronic tourist visa platform available for Cuba

[18] "Tourist visa" (PDF). Embassy of Cuba in India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

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[17]

[18]

Visa policy of Cuba

Contents

Visa policy map

Cuban nationals

Visa exemption

Travelling on Duty

Diplomatic and Service passports

eVisa

Tourist card

Visa required

Transit

Kosovo

See also

References