Visa to Cuba for Russians: do you need it, necessary documents for entry

Cuba is a great place for an exotic vacation on the Caribbean coast. According to the 1993 agreement between the Russian Federation and Cuba, for trips up to 30 days for the purpose of tourism, a visa to Cuba for Russians is not needed. If you are traveling for the purpose of employment, long-term residence or business, you need to apply for an appropriate visa.

Citizens of which countries do not need a visa?

• Up to 30 days - for ordinary owners Russian passports traveling for tourism purposes.
• Up to 90 days - for persons holding ordinary passports of Malaysia and Namibia.
• Up to 30 days - for citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Belarus,, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia.
• Up to 90 days - citizens of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro.
• Up to 60 days - citizens of Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
• Up to 28 days - for citizens of Barbados and Dominica.

What documents are needed?

To enter Cuba without a visa you will need:

• Foreign passport / diplomatic / official / sailor's passport or temporary certificate from the consulate.
• Round-trip air tickets to ensure you make it back on time.
• in duplicate. It must be completed in English. One copy is given to the passport control officer, and the second remains with you until the end of the trip.
• A document confirming the availability of funds. Statement from a credit card, savings card or bank account. Calculate the amount of approximately $ 50 for each day. If you are flying to Cuba on a tour package from a travel company, then this item can be skipped.

To Cuba is not required, but by doing it, you can save a lot of money in case of illness. Moreover, it costs less than 1 thousand rubles.

There are no fees to pay upon entry, but an airport tax of 25 cookies is charged for each departure. The fact of payment will be considered the holographic sticker issued to you, which must be glued to the migration card.

Migration card

The migration card must be filled out in block letters. The same data is entered in 2 copies of the form for each person, including children.

sample of filling out a migration card

It indicates your last name and first name, gender, country and date of birth, citizenship and passport number, profession, purpose of travel, city of departure and arrival in Cuba, address of residence or hotel name, address of residence in the Russian Federation.

When transiting, point 10 (from where you arrived) is entered with the previous place of departure, and not the starting point.

The migration card can be filled out on the plane. When you enter, you will be stamped in it, and they will take it away at the exit - so you can’t lose it. The most important thing to know is the address of your residence in Cuba.

Entry with children

For children under 14 years of age, you must have a birth certificate and a passport with you, or they must be entered in the parents' passport. Children over 14 need to have their own passport.

If the child travels with a third party, you must have with you permission to leave from both parents with a notary stamp. If only with one of the parents, consent must be obtained from the second of them.

Extension of the visa-free regime

After the 30 days of the visa-free regime expire, it is possible to extend it for another 30 days. To do this, contact the local immigration office. In this case, you will need to buy stamps in the bank in the amount of 65 cookies (visa 40 + proroga 25) and be sure to have a certificate from the hotel or the cash desk of a legal private house about the place of residence, honey. monthly insurance.

The extension is confirmed by the presence of a visa with a proroga. Prorroga is a white label that sticks to a pink piece of paper (this is the visa). The yellow card issued upon arrival is taken away from you.

Then the visa can be extended for another third and fourth month, for this you will need to buy a new proroga for 25 cookies. At the same time, for 3 and 4 months you may be required to have good reasons for an extension.

Stamps can be purchased in advance. Do not leave the extension for the last day, as the migration service does not always work. You cannot extend your legal stay at the airport.

If necessary, you can cross the border on the nearest island or in Mexico (Cancun), and return the next day. The number of entries / exits is not limited.

Note! If you plan to travel more than 30 days to Cuba without a visa (to extend your stay), the return ticket must be within the first 30 days of your stay (you can buy a return ticket with an open date).

Visa application

If you are going to Cuba to visit relatives or friends, for business and work visits, study, you must obtain a visa. This can be done at the Cuban embassy in Russia.

A visa to Cuba consists of two parts: the first will be taken from you at the border, and the second must be left until the end of the trip.

What does a Cuban visa look like?

Note! During transit, there will be an additional inspection, so some of the things may be confiscated, in particular, purchases from Duty Free from the previous airport.

List of documents

• Completed form.
• Passport valid for the entire period of stay and 1 blank page and a copy of all pages.
• A copy and original of the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.
• Two photos 3*4.
• Printout of round-trip tickets.
• An invitation from a company or a private person, or a hotel reservation.
• Insurance.

Cost and terms

Registration of documents takes no more than 5 days. When submitting documents to the consular department, the fee will be $30. Usually a visa is issued for a period of one month, but is valid for six months.

When traveling to Cuba, do not take money in dollars with you, as the exchange rate is very unfavorable there, and you will lose 10-20%. It is best to take euros or Canadian dollars with you.

Conclusion

If you have a Cuban entry mark in your passport, then there may be problems with obtaining citizenship or. However, most often such a mark is put only at your request, and in the passport it will simply be seen that you traveled abroad (without specifying the country) and returned.