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
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]
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]
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.
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]
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
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]
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]
^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.
1British Overseas Territories.
2 These countries span the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.
3 Partially recognized.
4Unincorporated territory of the United States.
5 Part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
6Egypt spans the boundary between Africa and Asia.