Cuba unveils new migration policies to boost ties with Cubans abroad

A woman holds her Cuban passport in Havana on May 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

HAVANA – Cuba announced on Tuesday measures that ease restrictions on its citizens living abroad to strengthen ties with Cubans abroad.

The foreign ministry said passports would be valid for 10 years, instead of six, for Cubans over 16 years of age, and cut by more than half the costs associated with renewing the travel documents off-island.

The ministry also eliminated a requirement that Cubans pay a fee every two years, even before their passports expired, to maintain their active status.

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Director of Consular Affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry Ernesto Soberon Guzman speaks during a press conference in Havana on May 16, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

The new rules take effect on July 1, said Ernesto Soberon, director of Consular Affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry. He said the measures are focused on "the strengthening of ties with the Cuban community abroad."

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More than 300,000 Cubans arrived at the US border last year, according to US Customs and Border Patrol data.

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