Entry Requirements

Passports

All travelers to Cuba must possess a valid passport, a return ticket, and a visa or tourist visa. Unlicensed U.S. citizens may be allowed a stay of up to 90 days upon entry. British citizens are granted 30 days upon entry. This can be extended for another 30 days only within Cuba. Canadian citizens are granted a visa for 90 days. This can be extended for 90 days only.

Visas

Tourist visas are generally issued by the ticketing airline or travel agent. (If you book a flight with Air Canada, the visa is included in the price.) In a worst-case scenario, the visa can usually be bought on the spot upon clearing Customs. Tourist visas cost between CUC$22 (US$24/£12) and CUC$35 (US$38/£19), depending upon the issuing agent, and are good for up to 90 days for U.S. and Canadian citizens, although Customs agents will sometimes issue them for just 30 days, or until the date of your return flight, unless you request otherwise. They can be extended for another 30 days (90 days for Canadians) once you arrive in Cuba for an additional minimum CUC$25 (US$27/£14) fee. In order to extend your tourist visa, you must personally go to any immigration office in the country. An additional 90-day extension for Canadians can be granted once at any immigration office for a cost of approximately CUC$22 (US$24/£12). For further information in Canada, contact the Cuban Embassy at www.embacubacanada.net; or the Cuban consulate in Toronto at cubacon1@on.aibn.com; or the Cuba tourist board in Canada at www.gocuba.ca.

In the U.K., if you buy a ticket for an independent flight, you will need to purchase a separate tourist visa. Some travel companies are charging exorbitant costs for this (up to £50). While the visa is also available from the Cuban Embassy in London for £15 plus postage (www.cubaldn.com), the cheapest, most efficient and reliable place is directly from www.visacuba.co.uk. U.K. citizens are granted entry for 30 days. This can be extended once at any immigration office for an additional 30 days for CUC$25 (£14).

Note that when seeking a tourist visa extension, you need to purchase bank stamps for the value of the extension you need. To avoid making unnecessary journeys, ask your hotel or casa particular (the Cuban version of a simple bed-and-breakfast) to call the local immigration office and ask the price of the extension for your nationality before heading to a bank authorized to sell the stamps.

In the event you need a specific work visa, or if your travel agent or airline will not provide you with the tourist visa, you should contact the Cuban consulate or embassy in your home country.

For Residents of the United States -- While it is not illegal for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, most are prohibited from spending any money in Cuba. This, in effect, is the "travel ban." The complicated prohibition, which allows for various exceptions, is governed by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Further information can be found at www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac.

The Treasury Department grants certain licenses. Some of these licenses are implicit, such as those for full-time journalists and government workers on official business. Other licenses must be applied for on a case-by-case basis with the U.S. Treasury Department, including Cuban-American citizens making humanitarian visits to close family. Licenses granted for educational travel and certain humanitarian trips, particularly those organized by religious groups, used to be a major route for legal travel to Cuba, but these were severely curtailed by the Bush administration in 2004, with even tighter restrictions placed on licensed travel in 2005 and 2006.

Travel arrangements for licensed travelers can be made by an authorized Travel Service Provider (TSP), and travel can be made directly from U.S. gateway cities on regular charter flights. There are hundreds of authorized TSPs. A couple of the most dependable are ABC Charters (tel. 305/263-6829; www.abc-charters.com) and Tico Travel (tel. 800/493-8426 in the U.S. or Canada, or 954/493-8426; www.destinationcuba.com).

Be careful about signing on for a "fully hosted" trip. According to the regulations, a U.S. citizen can travel to Cuba without violating the Treasury ban provided he or she does not pay for any goods or services, including food and lodging, or provide any services to Cuba or a Cuban national while in the country. This provision had been widely used by U.S. citizens to buy packages from Canadian, Mexican, or Bahamian tour agencies. However, the Treasury Department has caught on to this tactic and has declared any "fully hosted" trip that is clearly for pleasure or tourism is in violation of the regulations.

Failure to comply with Department of Treasury regulations may result in civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States. For more information, contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Treasury Annex, Washington, DC 20220 (tel. 800/540-6322, or 202/622-2490; www.treas.gov/ofac).

As far as Cuba is concerned, U.S. travelers are welcomed with open arms. In fact, as an aid to those seeking to circumvent the Treasury ban, in most cases, Cuban immigration does not actually stamp U.S. passports, or any for that matter (but you should ask the officer to be sure). For current information on Cuban entry and Customs requirements, you can contact the Cuban Interests Section (tel. 202/797-8518).

Unlicensed Travel -- It is estimated that as many as 200,000 U.S. citizens travel to Cuba each year without a Treasury Department license. The vast majority of travelers use third-country gateway cities like Toronto, Montreal, Cancún, Mexico City, Nassau, George Town on Grand Cayman, or Kingston in Jamaica, and are never questioned or bothered by U.S. authorities upon return. However, the Bush administration has cracked down on unlicensed travelers, and reports of tourists being caught have increased dramatically.

What to Do if You Get Busted -- Officially, U.S. citizens who violate the ban face up to 10 years in prison, $250,000 in criminal fines, and $55,000 in civil fines, but according to the Treasury, penalties range from $3,000 to $7,500. Just 21 people were penalized in 2006. If you are stopped upon returning from an unlicensed trip to Cuba and directly asked by the Customs and Immigration agents, you should give as little information as possible. United States citizens cannot be compelled to provide self-incriminating information. Furthermore, you cannot be denied reentry into the U.S. for traveling to Cuba. You will likely face a long and uncomfortable search and questioning session, and be sent on your way. This will probably be followed by the receipt of a pre-penalty notice from the OFAC. The letter will request specific information to prove or disprove your alleged travel to Cuba, and to threaten the various fines and penalties. At this point, you should contact the Center for Constitutional Rights (tel. 212/614-6470; www.ccr-ny.org), which runs the Cuba Travel Project and works in conjunction with the National Lawyers Guild (www.nlg.org/cuba) to provide legal assistance to U.S. citizens facing prosecution for traveling to Cuba. Typically, after the initial pre-penalty letter, the OFAC offers to settle the case for a reduced fine in the neighborhood of $1,500 to $2,500. Many travelers have opted to go this route. A very, very small number of cases have ever fully gone to trial.

Pick Your Poison -- Some operators and guidebooks recommend lying if asked whether or not you were in Cuba. If you lie, you then place yourself at risk for perjury charges, which in the end are easier for the United States government to prosecute and are potentially more serious. I recommend you say little or nothing about your travel to Cuba, but I don't recommend that you lie. Remember, under U.S. law you have the right to refuse to incriminate yourself.

For Cuban Nationals -- The Cuban government doesn't recognize dual nationality of travelers from other countries who are Cuban-born or are the children of Cuban parents, particularly those who chose exile in the United States. The Cuban government requires some individuals whom it considers to be Cuban to enter and depart Cuba using a Cuban passport. Using a Cuban passport for this purpose does not jeopardize one's foreign citizenship; however, you will probably have to use your home country's passport to exit and enter that country. Other Cuban nationals and exiles just need a visa, but acquiring this visa is more complicated than acquiring the simple tourist visa used by most other travelers.

If you are Cuban-born or the child of Cuban-born parents, you should check with the Cuban embassy or consulate in your country of residence, as well as your local immigration authorities. In Canada, contact the Cuban Embassy, 388 Main St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 1E3 (tel. 613/563-0141; www.embacubacanada.net); there are also consulates in Montreal and Toronto. In the U.K., contact the Cuban Embassy, 167 High Holborn, London, WC1 6PA (tel. 0207/240-2488; www.cubaldn.com). In the U.S., contact the Cuban Interests Section, 2630 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202/797-8518).

Medical Requirements

It is suggested that you have all the vaccines recommended for international travel. These are tetanus, polio, diptheria, hepatitis A, and cholera. Vaccinations for yellow fever and cholera are not required unless you are arriving from a country where they are prevalent.