How Do I Get a Tourist Visa for Cuba?

Cuba is a beautiful country and it also becomes more popular as a destination that tourists are choosing for their vacation. When it comes to traveling there, they have different rules for different countries, and the period the travelers need to stay there.

The condition to get a visa to travel there is to provide a proof for your purpose, and a minimum value of money, so you can assure the authorities you are not trying to move there for work. The minimum requirement is $50 per day, for every day you are willing to stay.

There are so many countries in the world that can travel there without a visa, but also many of them who need to have it in order to get in Cuba. In general, for touristic purposes the travelers need a Cuban Tourist Card, which is also known as Tarjeta de Tourismo, that is not attached to your passport. With this document, you, as a tourist, can move from one place to another during the allowed stay, without having any problem with the authorities.

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Some countries are not allowed to enter the country with a regular tourist card, and they need to apply for a tourist visa in the nearest consulate or embassy, and according to visagov.com, now you can do it online, and get the allowance in three days.

You need to check with your Ministry of foreign affairs and local consulates are you able to visit Cuba and what documents do you need for that. But, in this article, we will try to help you with that, by listing some of the countries that are allowed to use only a card and those who must obtain a visa so they can enter Cuba.

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Countries that don’t have a visa regime with Cuba

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There are 19 countries in different corners of the world who can enter the country without a visa, but of course, they need the tourist card.

For example, countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia (the official name of the country was changed to North Macedonia in 2018), Kenya, Malaysia, Montenegro, but also Russia, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates can stay up to 90 days with their card.

Citizens from Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines can use their card to stay up to 60 days in Cuba. Six countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belarus, Singapore, Mongolia, and Saint Lucia, can let their citizens travel to Cuba with a tourist card that allows them to stay there for 30 days.

People from Barbados and Dominica can stay up to 28 days, and Namibia citizens have an undisclosed period with their card. Also, students from Benin can enter the country without these documents, and they only need proof of their studies there.

Of course, there are exceptions, when the holder owns a diplomatic or service category passport, and they don’t need additional documents to enter the country.

Which citizens must own a visa for traveling to Cuba?

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People that come from these 20 countries should always apply for a visa before traveling there (alphabetical order): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

They need to follow the consulates’ instructions or apply online through the verified channels and platforms, so they can get their documents and start their vacation in this beautiful country. There are no exceptions from this when it comes to tourism. The diplomatic documents have different rules and allowed periods of stay.

Some rules and exceptions

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Cuba has some specific rules and exceptions. If the passenger is transiting through the country, they shouldn’t stay more than 72 hours. If they need to stay longer than that, they should have a valid visa or tourist card, depending on the country they come from. Another thing that is important to mention is that for now, citizens from Kosovo are not allowed to enter the country, no matter what type of document they own.

All the countries that aren’t mentioned should have their card in advance, so they can travel to Cuba. Some of them are of course the USA and Canada, South American countries, Mexico, Scandinavian Countries, Turkey, Greece, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, almost the whole Europe (except the countries we mentioned before), and most of the African countries. You must check with your nearest Cuban consulate so you can know how many days you are allowed to stay with your travel card.

Also, most of the licensed travel agencies who organize the tours to this country, also are allowed to provide you the document you need, when you make your reservation. Depending on which country you are coming from, their agents can apply for the needed documents, especially when it comes to touristic cards. The visa procedure may be longer and more time-consuming, since you may need to visit the consulate or embassy, or apply online scanning a lot of required documents, so you can get it.

Cuba during the global pandemic

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When it comes to a pandemic, you may be interested in how this country is handling this unpleasant situation. Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, there were a little more than 4,300 cases registered, by the time this article was written, with 101 deaths, and 2,354 people already recovered. The first cases were registered in March this year, and it’s confirmed that the virus was spread by a few Italian tourists. Most of the active cases are concentrated in the capital city, but there are in other cities and places too.

All the governments in the world are recommending to avoid traveling, especially over the ocean. It can really wait a year or two until all these confusing things become more clear. Also, you must check with your local Ministry of foreign affairs are you allowed to leave your country during the pandemic, and what do you need to do if you want to travel for some purpose.

Hopefully, everything will be fine soon, and we hope the citizens who are allowed to travel free to Cuba will put it on their bucket list for their first vacation after the pandemic.