Bringing Your Belongings
Household goods and personal effects of a person arriving in Cuba to reside permanently are exempt from customs duty, and so are the used personal objects any passenger carries. Everything else runs into two low ceilings that apply to everyone: a shipment may not exceed two hundred United States dollars in value and a passenger's accompanied baggage may not exceed a thousand. Exceeding either is not an excess-duty situation; the tariff makes it a ground for administrative confiscation, with an option to formalise the goods as a commercial import instead. Duty is calculated ad valorem on a value in United States dollars and paid in Cuban pesos, and for mixed consumer goods the customs service values by weight rather than by invoice.
At a glance
- Household goods on moving permanently
- Exempt from duty
- Used personal objects carried by a passenger
- Exempt from duty
- Value ceiling per shipment
- USD 200
Decreto-Ley 22 art. 12 writes it as "doscientos dólares estadounidenses (USD)". The Minister of Finance and Prices may authorise imports above it.
- Value ceiling for passenger baggage
- USD 1 000
Decreto-Ley 22 art. 13 writes it as "mil dólares estadounidenses (USD)" and applies it to the goods comprised in the baggage.
- Exceeding a ceiling
- Administrative confiscation, or formalise as a commercial import
- Duty basis
- Ad valorem on the import value in USD
- Duty paid in
- Cuban pesos
- Mixed consumer goods
- Valued by weight
- Foreign scholarship holders
- Goods for personal use exempt while the status lasts
- Repeated importing
- The right to import can be temporarily limited
Requirements
- Declaring everything to Customs, including goods that are exempt or enjoy a franchise
- For the household-goods exemption: arriving with the purpose of residing permanently, in accordance with the legislation in force
- Keeping each shipment under USD 200 in value
- Keeping accompanied baggage under USD 1 000 in value
- Nothing on the Minister of Finance and Prices' list of goods prohibited for non-commercial import
In detail
Two exemptions and two ceilings
The exemption that matters to anyone moving is article 7(c): household goods and personal effects of persons arriving in Cuba with the purpose of residing permanently. Article 7(b) separately exempts the used personal objects any passenger carries. Outside those, the tariff caps value rather than quantity, and the caps are low by any standard: two hundred dollars for a consignment and a thousand for accompanied baggage. The tariff does not say what evidence of the intention to reside permanently is required; it sends that to other legislation we did not read.
Over the limit is a confiscation, not a surcharge
Article 14(1)(d) lists excesses over articles 12 and 13 among the grounds for administrative confiscation, alongside prohibited goods and fraudulent declarations. The next paragraph offers a way out: the person may choose to formalise the goods as a commercial import on the terms the Minister of Finance and Prices lays down, paying the customs tax and the technical service tariffs in United States dollars. Article 15 adds a sanction that has no equivalent elsewhere in this set - where the customs authority finds repeated importation of an article, it can temporarily limit the person's right to import at all, admitting only their personal effects.
Clothes and shoes are weighed
Article 5 names four methods of valuation and then removes the choice for one category. Miscellaneous goods - footwear, clothing, food, personal and household hygiene articles, costume jewellery, perfumery and similar - are valued by the valorpeso method, by weight, on a scale the General Customs Office approves. An invoice for a cheap suitcase of clothes does not help, and the duty is a function of what the bag weighs.
Leaving is regulated too
Article 62 of the migration law makes a resident foreigner who is leaving definitively dispose of their movable and immovable property first, by gift, sale or by placing it with an authorised person to manage or sell, and says the Cuban State accepts no responsibility for it otherwise. There is no corresponding exemption for shipping household goods out.
Country-level policy
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.
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
«Todos los productos que se importen, inclusive aquellos que se encuentran exen- tos del pago de los derechos o que gocen de las franquicias establecidas en este Decreto-Ley, se declaran a la Aduana en la forma establecida, salvo las excepciones que exija la reciprocidad internacional.»Our translation - not official
All goods imported, including those exempt from the payment of duties or enjoying the franchises established in this Decree-Law, are declared to Customs in the manner established, save for the exceptions required by international reciprocity.
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 adeudo que se establece en el presente Arancel, aplicable a los productos importados por las personas naturales o jurídicas radicadas en el territorio nacional, se abona en pesos cubanos, calculado sobre el valor de importación en dólares estadouni- denses (USD) y tiene como base un derecho ad-valorem.»Our translation - not official
The duty established in this Tariff, applicable to goods imported by natural or legal persons established in the national territory, is paid in Cuban pesos, calculated on the import value in United States dollars (USD) and is based on an ad valorem duty.
As amended by Decreto-Ley 101 of 30 December 2024, as the concorded edition records beneath the article.
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 alternativa de valoración a utilizar cuando se trate de misceláneas es la de valorpeso, y se aplica de acuerdo con lo aprobado al efecto por la Aduana General de la República. Gaceta Oficial de la República 05/10/2026 GOC-2026-ES21 673 A los efectos de la aplicación de lo que en este Artículo se establece se entiende por misce- láneas, el calzado, las confecciones, alimentos, artículos de aseo personal y del hogar, bisutería, perfumería y similares.»Our translation - not official
The valuation alternative to be used in the case of miscellaneous goods is value-by-weight, and it is applied in accordance with what is approved for the purpose by the General Customs Office of the Republic. For the purposes of the application of what is established in this Article, miscellaneous goods are taken to mean footwear, clothing, food, articles of personal and household hygiene, costume jewellery, perfumery and similar items.
Clothing and shoes are not valued on what they cost. They are valued by weight. 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
«los objetos personales usados, que traigan consigo los pasajeros en general y los cubanos tripulantes de buques y aeronaves y trabajadores del mar;»Our translation - not official
used personal objects brought with them by passengers in general and Cuban crew of ships and aircraft and seafarers;
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 menajes de casa y efectos personales de las personas que arriben a Cuba con el propósito de residir permanentemente, conforme a lo establecido en la legislación vigente;»Our translation - not official
household goods and personal effects of persons arriving in Cuba with the purpose of residing permanently, in accordance with what is established in the legislation in force;
The exemption is tied to arriving in order to reside permanently. The tariff does not state what proof is required and sends the question to other legislation.
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
«los productos para el uso personal de los becarios extranjeros residentes en Cuba, mientras mantengan esa condición y según las regulaciones que dicta el ministro de Finanzas y Precios; y»Our translation - not official
goods for the personal use of foreign scholarship holders resident in Cuba, while they retain that status and in accordance with the regulations issued by the Minister of Finance and Prices; and
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
«Se admiten libres de derechos y gravámenes los productos, que como importa- ción temporal, traen los extranjeros en su condición de artistas, deportistas, especialistas, cien- tíficos, periodistas y cineastas, los pasajeros en tránsito y aquellas personas que arriban al país en circunstancias especiales.»Our translation - not official
Goods brought as a temporary importation by foreigners in their capacity as artists, sportspeople, specialists, scientists, journalists and film-makers, by passengers in transit and by persons arriving in the country in special circumstances, are admitted free of duties and charges.
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 valor total de los productos comprendidos en cada envío no puede exceder de doscientos dólares estadounidenses (USD).»Our translation - not official
The total value of the goods comprised in each consignment may not exceed two hundred United States dollars (USD).
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 caso de los productos pertenecientes a pasajeros, el valor de los productos comprendidos en el equipaje, no puede exceder de mil dólares estadounidenses (USD).»Our translation - not official
In the case of goods belonging to passengers, the value of the goods comprised in the baggage may not exceed one thousand United States dollars (USD).
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
«Sin perjuicio de la responsabilidad penal en que pudiera haber- se incurrido, la Aduana realiza, según el procedimiento establecido, el decomiso administrativo de los productos importados en los casos siguientes: a) Cuando su entrada en el territorio nacional está prohibida; b) cuando la naturaleza y funciones de un artículo, la reiteración de las importaciones realizadas, o las cantidades de un mismo producto sean tales, que a juicio de la au- toridad aduanera tengan carácter comercial; c) cuando los productos sean traídos o enviados mediante declaración fraudulenta; d) los excesos de lo establecido en los artículos 12 y 13, así como los límites que se establezcan en las disposiciones complementarias a este Decreto Ley; e) cuando los productos son traídos o enviados con infracción de lo establecido en la legislación vigente.»Our translation - not official
Without prejudice to any criminal liability incurred, Customs carries out, in accordance with the established procedure, the administrative confiscation of imported goods in the following cases: a) where their entry into the national territory is prohibited; b) where the nature and functions of an article, the repetition of the importations made, or the quantities of a single product are such that, in the judgement of the customs authority, they are of a commercial character; c) where the goods are brought or sent by fraudulent declaration; d) amounts in excess of what is established in articles 12 and 13, as well as the limits established in the provisions supplementing this Decree-Law; e) where the goods are brought or sent in breach of what is established in the legislation in force.
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
«Sin perjuicio de la responsabilidad penal en que pudiera haberse incurrido, cuando la autoridad aduanera determine la existencia de importación reiterada de un ar- tículo o miscelánea puede limitar temporalmente el derecho a importar, admitiendo solo los efectos personales del infractor, realizando el decomiso administrativo del resto de los produc- tos, según lo legalmente establecido.»Our translation - not official
Without prejudice to any criminal liability incurred, where the customs authority determines the repeated importation of an article or miscellaneous goods, it may temporarily limit the right to import, admitting only the infringer's personal effects and administratively confiscating the rest of the goods, in accordance with what is legally established.
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 extranjeros que residen en Cuba bajo alguna de las clasificaciones migratorias que autoriza la presente Ley y su Reglamento, antes de salir definitivamente del país, están obligados a disponer el destino de sus bienes muebles e inmuebles a favor de las personas que determinen, a enajenarlos o dejarlos bajo la atención de una persona natural o jurídica autorizada para gestionarlos o venderlos; el Estado cubano no se res- ponsabiliza con la protección o cuidado de estos bienes.»Our translation - not official
Foreigners residing in Cuba under any of the migratory classifications authorised by this Law and its Regulation are obliged, before leaving the country definitively, to dispose of their movable and immovable property in favour of the persons they determine, to sell it or to leave it in the care of a natural or legal person authorised to manage or sell it; the Cuban State accepts no responsibility for the protection or care of this property.
The exit side of the same question. There is no provision for taking household goods out again.
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 text used is the Gaceta's own annotated and concorded edition of Decreto-Ley 22, Edición Especial 21 of 5 October 2026, published to fulfil a mandate in Decreto-Ley 132 of 19 August 2026 and incorporating the amendments made by Decreto-Ley 101 of 30 December 2024. The summary page of that edition prints the instrument as "Decreto-Ley 22/2021" while the body of the edition and the decree itself are dated 24 November 2020.
The Minister of Finance and Prices sets the list of goods prohibited for non-commercial import, may authorise imports above the value ceilings and may vary the tariff scales. We read none of those complementary provisions, so the ceilings quoted here are the statutory ones and may be relaxed by a resolution we have not seen.
The General Customs Office's own site, www.aduana.gob.cu, refused every connection we attempted on 6 October 2026. Nothing on this page comes from it.
- issuesGaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, Edición Especial No. 21 de 5 de octubre de 2026 - Decreto-Ley 22 Arancel de aduanas para las importaciones sin carácter comercial (anotada y concordada)
Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba - Ministerio de Justicia · consolidated to 2026-10-05
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 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