Becoming a Cuban Citizen
Five years of permanent residence, or two for the spouse or parent of a Cuban by birth, and then a citizenship examination the law requires and no published instrument describes. The application opens with a notarial declaration of intention to become Cuban and is ratified by a second notarial act a year later, during which the authorities watch how the applicant is settling into the community where they intend to live. Two Cubans by birth who have been effectively resident for more than five years, who are not relatives and who have known the applicant for at least three years, must vouch for them before a notary. Acquiring another nationality does not cost a Cuban their citizenship, but inside Cuba the other one has no effect at all, and acts done there under a foreign nationality are void without any process to annul them.
At a glance
- Permanent residence required
- 5 years or more
- Spouse or parent of a Cuban by birth
- 2 years or more
- Citizenship examination
- Required; not described in any instrument read
- Declaration of intention
- Notarial, ratified after 1 year
- Community observation period
- 1 natural year from the application
- Character references
- 2 Cubans by birth, resident over 5 continuous years, known to the applicant 3 years
- Renunciation of your existing nationality
- Not required
- Effect of another nationality inside Cuba
- None; acts done under it are void
- Naturalised Cubans abroad must ratify
- Within 3 years of leaving, and every 3 years
- Recovery of Cuban citizenship
- Once only, after up to 5 years
- Naturalisation, document tax
- CUP 500.00
Annex 4 of Ley 113, row 22(g), which calls it "ciudadanía por nacionalización" where the citizenship law says naturalisation. The same figure appears in both of the annex's columns.
Requirements
- Being of full age
- The migratory classification of permanent resident for five years or more, or two years or more for the spouse, mother or father of a Cuban by birth
- Suitable social insertion and carrying on or maintaining an authorised economic activity, where of working age
- No criminal record abroad or in Cuba for terrorism, trafficking in persons or migrants, drugs, money laundering, illegal weapons, or offences against humanity, human dignity or collective health
- Passing the citizenship examination
- A notarial Act of Declaration of Intention to obtain Cuban citizenship, ratified by a second notarial act a year later
- Criminal record certificates from the country of origin or previous residence and from Cuba
- Two notarised letters from Cubans by birth with more than five continuous years of effective residence, not relatives, who have known the applicant for at least three natural years
- A notarial authorisation to be domiciled in a dwelling, or a Property Register certificate
- Foreign certificates translated into Spanish and legalised at the Cuban consulate
How the process runs
- Step 1
Reach five years of permanent residence
Or two, if you are the spouse, mother or father of a Cuban by birth. Permanent residence itself is preceded by a year of provisional residence, so the shortest honest count from first arrival is longer than the headline.
- Step 2
Declare the intention before a notary
An Act of Declaration of Intention to obtain Cuban citizenship, recording the undertaking to comply with the Constitution, the laws and the decisions of the authorities. It is filed with the application.
- Step 3
The file is checked and the observation year begins
Oficina de Trámites del Ministerio del Interior
Once the Ministry of the Interior formalities office confirms the documentation is complete, a year of attention to the applicant's relationship with the community where they intend to settle begins. The authority may summon the applicant to explain their social life, family integration and the material conditions they have for living in the country.
- Step 4
Ratify the declaration after a year
A second notarial act, the Act of Ratification of the Declaration of Intention.
- Step 5
Decision
The file goes to the competent Citizenship Authority with a proposal, and a presidential decree or a resolution is issued. The President decides the exceptional cases; the Minister of the Interior the rest.
- Step 6
The solemn ceremony and the identity card
The Certificate of Cuban Citizenship is handed over at a solemn ceremony, and the certificate is then presented at the Ministry of the Interior formalities office to obtain the identity card.
In detail
An examination the law requires and nothing describes
Article 36(1)(f) makes passing the citizenship examination a requirement of naturalisation. That is the only sentence about it. Ley 172 does not say what it covers, who sets it, what counts as a pass or whether it may be retaken, and neither does the Reglamento del Registro de Ciudadanía published in the same gazette. The law empowers the Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Finance and Prices to issue the regulations its application requires, so the examination is presumably to be defined by one of them. None had been published when this was read.
Dual nationality is kept and simultaneously disregarded
Cuba does not ask a naturalising foreigner to give up their existing nationality, and the Constitution and the citizenship law both say acquiring another nationality does not cost a Cuban theirs. What they then do is remove its effect. Inside Cuba a Cuban may not make use of a foreign citizenship; acts done there under one are void, and the law adds that no annulment process is needed to make them so. A dual national entering, staying and leaving does it as a Cuban, on a Cuban passport, and the foreign one buys nothing. Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama have rules in the same family and every one of them runs the other way: they ask a naturalising foreigner to renounce, where Cuba lets you keep what it will not recognise.
Citizenship by naturalisation has to be kept alive from abroad
Article 25 puts an obligation on naturalised Cubans that does not apply to Cubans by birth: attend the Cuban consulate to ratify the intention of retaining Cuban citizenship within three years of leaving the country, and within three years of each ratification after that. Article 52(b) makes failure to do so a ground for losing the citizenship. Someone who naturalises and then takes a job abroad is on a three-year clock.
Recovery is a one-time right
A person who renounced, lost or was deprived of Cuban citizenship may seek it back once and once only, with up to five years having to elapse from the decision, and must show the cause has gone, produce a health certificate, a certificate of economic solvency and means of life, prospects of social reintegration, criminal record certificates and evidence of the objective conditions they have for living in Cuba.
Country-level policy
Cuba keeps dual nationality and denies it effect. Acquiring another citizenship does not cost a Cuban theirs - the Constitution says so and the citizenship law repeats it - but a Cuban in the national territory is governed by that status alone and may not make use of a foreign citizenship. Acts done in Cuba under a foreign nationality are void, and the law adds that no annulment process is needed to make them so. A Cuban must identify as Cuban on entering, staying, transiting and leaving, and in legal acts done in Cuba or before a Cuban consulate. The practical shape is that a dual national travels to Cuba on a Cuban passport, and the consular protection of the other state is not available to them there.
On 5 May 2026 the Gaceta Oficial published, in a single ordinary edition, three laws and three subordinate instruments that replace Cuban migration, foreigners and citizenship law entirely: Ley 171 de Migración, Ley 172 de Ciudadanía, Ley 173 de Extranjería, their two regulations and the Citizenship Register regulation. Every one of them states that it enters into force one hundred and eighty days after publication, which is 1 November 2026. Until that day the law in force is Ley 1312 of 1976 as amended, Ley 1313 of 1976 and Decreto-Ley 352 of 2017, all of which the new laws repeal. This is not an inference: a decree-law of April 2026 says in its own recitals that Ley 1312 is still in application and that Ley 171's commencement is a hundred and eighty days away, which is why it had to legislate separately.
Cuba publishes in a single official gazette and an instrument carries the gazette's identifier as part of its name: GOC-2026-290-O39 is the Migration Law, and the O39 is edition thirty-nine of the ordinary series. There are three series. An edición ordinaria is the regular run; an edición extraordinaria is used when something cannot wait, and the two series number separately, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 both appeared on 5 May 2026. The third series is what makes consolidated Cuban law readable at all: an edición especial reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada, with the amendments worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. That is where a consolidation date comes from here - the day the special edition was published - and never from the name of the edition.
Cuban migration law has a concept with no equivalent in the other countries covered here, and almost every rule about foreigners touches it. Effective migratory residence is the condition of having accumulated, over the preceding year, most of your time in the national territory; the migration directorate determines it on its own motion at more than a hundred and eighty natural days. Someone short of that can apply to have it recognised instead, on more than a hundred and twenty days of physical presence plus other acts showing an intention to live there - a Cuban spouse, paid work, an investment, a home, a regularly operated Cuban bank account, tax compliance. It decides whether a Cuban spouse can support a residence application, whether five years of residence count towards permanent residence, whether permanent residence survives, and who the character references for naturalisation may be.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«Los extranjeros que solicitan la ciudadanía cubana por naturalización cumplen los requisitos siguientes: a) Ser mayor de edad; b) poseer la clasificación migratoria de residente permanente por un período de cinco años o más; c) ser cónyuge, madre o padre, de ciudadano cubano por nacimiento, siempre que po- sea la clasificación migratoria de residente permanente por un período de dos años o más anteriores a la solicitud; d) observar una adecuada inserción social y desarrollar o mantener una actividad econó- mica autorizada en el territorio nacional, siempre que se encuentre en edad laboral;»Our translation - not official
Foreigners applying for Cuban citizenship by naturalisation must meet the following requirements: a) being of full age; b) holding the migratory classification of permanent resident for a period of five years or more; c) being the spouse, mother or father of a Cuban citizen by birth, provided they hold the migratory classification of permanent resident for a period of two years or more preceding the application; d) observing suitable social insertion and carrying on or maintaining an authorised economic activity in the national territory, provided they are of working age;
Quoted to the foot of the gazette page. The remaining two requirements are quoted separately. Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«e) no poseer antecedentes penales en el exterior ni en Cuba por actos de terrorismo, trata de personas y tráfico ilícito de migrantes, tráfico de drogas o sustancias de efectos similares, lavado de activos, portación y tenencia ilegal de armas, por actos lesivos contra la humanidad, la dignidad humana, la salud colectiva, o perseguibles en virtud de tratados internacionales de los que Cuba es Parte; y f) aprobar el examen de ciudadanía.»Our translation - not official
e) having no criminal record abroad or in Cuba for acts of terrorism, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, trafficking in drugs or substances of similar effect, money laundering, carrying and unlawful possession of weapons, acts injurious to humanity, to human dignity or to collective health, or prosecutable under international treaties to which Cuba is a party; and f) passing the citizenship examination.
Article 36(1)(f) is the only mention of the citizenship examination anywhere in Ley 172 or in the Reglamento del Registro de Ciudadanía published with it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«Solicitar la adquisición de la ciudadanía cubana, a la que se acompaña Acta de De- claratoria de Intención de obtener la ciudadanía cubana, formalizada ante notario público, donde haga constar el compromiso de cumplir la Constitución de la Repú- blica de Cuba, las leyes y acatar las decisiones de las autoridades de la República de Cuba;»Our translation - not official
To apply for the acquisition of Cuban citizenship, accompanied by an Act of Declaration of Intention to obtain Cuban citizenship, formalised before a notary public, recording the undertaking to comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, with the laws and to abide by the decisions of the authorities of the Republic of Cuba;
Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«presentar dos cartas de ciudadanos cubanos por nacimiento que ostenten residen- cia efectiva en el territorio nacional por un plazo superior a cinco años continuos, autenticadas ante notario público, donde se avale la conducta e inserción social del interesado, con los cuales no tenga lazos familiares y lo conozcan al menos durante los últimos tres años naturales;»Our translation - not official
to present two letters from Cuban citizens by birth who hold effective residence in the national territory for a period of more than five continuous years, authenticated before a notary public, endorsing the applicant's conduct and social insertion, with whom they have no family ties and who have known them for at least the last three natural years;
Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«Transcurrido un año de presentada la solicitud, el interesado debe aportar el Acta de Ratificación de la Declaratoria de Intención de obtener la ciudadanía cubana, formalizada ante notario público, a que se refiere el inciso a) del apartado anterior.»Our translation - not official
Once a year has passed from the making of the application, the person concerned must produce the Act of Ratification of the Declaration of Intention to obtain Cuban citizenship, formalised before a notary public, referred to in subparagraph a) of the preceding paragraph.
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«En el supuesto de que el expediente presentado cuente con la documentación esta- blecida y que en esta se acrediten los requerimientos y formalidades de rigor, se procede a iniciar la etapa de atención al interesado en su relación con la comunidad donde pre- tende establecerse, que comprende un año natural contado a partir de la solicitud y hasta la entrega del Acta Notarial de Ratificación de la Declaratoria de Intención de obtener la ciudadanía cubana.»Our translation - not official
Where the file presented contains the documentation required and establishes the requisite formalities, the stage of attention to the person concerned in their relationship with the community where they intend to settle is begun, comprising one natural year counted from the application until the delivery of the Notarial Act of Ratification of the Declaration of Intention to obtain Cuban citizenship.
Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«El Presidente de la República aprueba la adquisición de la ciudadanía cubana por naturalización a los extranjeros que se encuentran comprendidos en los casos siguientes: a) Resultar perseguidos por sus ideales o luchas por la liberación nacional, el socialis- mo y la paz, los derechos democráticos o actividades progresistas; b) los que alcancen méritos excepcionales en la defensa y apoyo a la Revolución y al Estado socialista cubano encontrándose en el exterior; c) los que, siendo fieles y leales a los principios y valores reconocidos en la Constitu- ción, presten un servicio distinguido a la República de Cuba; y d) otros que considere por su trascendencia social, económica y política.»Our translation - not official
The President of the Republic approves the acquisition of Cuban citizenship by naturalisation for foreigners falling within the following cases: a) being persecuted for their ideals or struggles for national liberation, socialism and peace, democratic rights or progressive activities; b) those who achieve exceptional merits in the defence of and support for the Revolution and the Cuban socialist State while abroad; c) those who, being faithful and loyal to the principles and values recognised in the Constitution, render distinguished service to the Republic of Cuba; and d) others whom he considers on account of their social, economic and political significance.
A presidential route alongside the ordinary one, which the next paragraph of the article allows to be approved summarily without meeting the ordinary requirements.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«La adquisición de otra ciudadanía no implica la pérdida de la ciudadanía cubana; los ciudadanos cubanos, mientras se encuentren en el territorio nacional, se rigen por esa condición en los términos establecidos en la presente Ley y no pueden hacer uso de una ciudadanía extranjera.»Our translation - not official
The acquisition of another citizenship does not entail the loss of Cuban citizenship; Cuban citizens, while in the national territory, are governed by that status on the terms established in this Law and may not make use of a foreign citizenship.
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«Son nulos los actos realizados por ciudadanos cubanos mediante el uso de otra ciudadanía para surtir efectos en el territorio nacional, sin necesidad de iniciar proceso alguno de nulidad.»Our translation - not official
Acts performed by Cuban citizens through the use of another citizenship so as to take effect in the national territory are void, without any annulment process being required.
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«Los ciudadanos cubanos por naturalización deben concurrir a la oficina consu- lar cubana correspondiente, a fin de ratificar su intención de mantener la ciudadanía cubana, en un plazo de tres años desde su salida del país o en similar plazo a partir de la última ratificación.»Our translation - not official
Cuban citizens by naturalisation must attend the relevant Cuban consular office in order to ratify their intention to retain Cuban citizenship, within a period of three years from their departure from the country or within a similar period from the last ratification.
Failure to ratify is a ground of loss of citizenship under article 52(b). Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«La ciudadanía cubana puede recuperarse, por única vez, previo cumpli- miento de los requisitos y formalidades que se establecen en la presente Ley.»Our translation - not official
Cuban citizenship may be recovered, once only, subject to compliance with the requirements and formalities established in this Law.
Words broken across a line in the Gaceta's PDF keep their hyphen here. The quotation is not tidied.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«transcurrir hasta cinco años desde la fecha en que se aprobó la renuncia, privación o la pérdida de la ciudadanía cubana.»Our translation - not official
up to five years having elapsed from the date on which the renunciation, deprivation or loss of Cuban citizenship was approved.
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«La adquisición de otra ciudadanía no implica la pérdida de la ciudadanía cubana. Los ciudadanos cubanos, mientras se encuentren en el territorio nacional, se rigen por esa condición, en los términos establecidos en la ley y no pueden hacer uso de una ciudadanía extranjera.»Our translation - not official
The acquisition of another citizenship does not entail the loss of Cuban citizenship. Cuban citizens, while in the national territory, are governed by that status, on the terms established by law, and may not make use of a foreign citizenship.
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
«Trámite de ciudadanía por nacionalización - Adquisición 500.00 500.00»Our translation - not official
Citizenship formality by naturalisation - Acquisition 500.00 500.00
The annex prints "nacionalización" where the law speaks of naturalisation. The row is quoted as printed.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The citizenship examination is a requirement with no published content. We state that it exists and that no instrument we read describes it, rather than guessing at it.
Ley 172 comes into force on 1 November 2026 and repeals Decreto-Ley 352 of 2017 and the Reglamento de Ciudadanía of 1944. We have not read either, so nothing here says how the naturalisation conditions differ from those applying until that date.
The two character references must be Cubans by birth with more than five continuous years of effective residence in Cuba, unrelated to the applicant, who have known them for at least three natural years. Both conditions are in the instrument and both are easy to miss.
- issuesGaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, Edición Ordinaria No. 39 de 5 de mayo de 2026
Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba - Ministerio de Justicia
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
- issuesGaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, Edición Extraordinaria No. 5 de 10 de abril de 2019 - Constitución de la República
Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba - Ministerio de Justicia
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source
- issuesGaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, Edición Especial No. 1 de 12 de enero de 2026 - Ley 113 Del Sistema Tributario (concordada)
Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba - Ministerio de Justicia · consolidated to 2026-01-12
About this source
Cuba's single official gazette, run by the Ministry of Justice. An instrument's identity includes its gazette reference - Ley 171/2024 is GOC-2026-290-O39 - and there is no competing publisher of record. Three series: ordinaria, the regular run; extraordinaria, numbered separately and used for what must take effect on publication, so Ordinaria 39 and Extraordinaria 60 share the date 5 May 2026; and especial, which reprints a single instrument anotada y concordada with every amendment worked in and a footnote under each amended article naming the instrument that changed it. The special editions are the only consolidated Cuban law there is, and they are good: each states in its opening note the decree-law that ordered it and lists every amendment incorporated.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Its online archive begins in 1990, which for migration means the law actually in force until 1 November 2026 - Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976 and the decrees-law 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015 - cannot be read at the publisher of record while the laws replacing them can. Its own migration keyword index lists nothing earlier than 1999. It cannot be cited for consolidated law outside the especial series: an ordinaria or extraordinaria edition prints acts as made, and an amending decree-law there amends by instruction rather than by reprinting. A consolidation date must come from the masthead of the special edition and never from the name of the law or from the last amendment incorporated. Its PDFs break words across lines with a hyphen that survives into any verbatim quotation, and its summary pages are not always reliable - the customs special edition's contents page names the instrument Decreto-Ley 22/2021 while the decree printed two pages later is dated 24 November 2020. Nothing here is available through the extraction service in usable form; every reading was taken with pdftotext.
We re-read it every 21 days. More about this source