Country-wide policy
Cuba Replaces Its Whole Migration System on 1 November 2026
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.
Topics it changes
- Visiting as a tourist
- Residency on passive income
- Residency as a retiree
- Residency through work
- Residency through investment
- Residency as a student
- Residency through ancestry
- Residency through marriage
- Residency under a regional treaty
- Becoming a citizen
- When you become a tax resident
- Opening a bank account
- Access to healthcare
What it requires
- Anything stated here about entry, stay, residence, work authorisation or citizenship describes the law from 1 November 2026
- The three laws were approved by the National Assembly on 19 July 2024 and published on 5 May 2026
- Ley 171 repeals Ley 1312 of 1976 and the decree-laws 302 of 2012 and 327 of 2015
- Ley 173 repeals Ley 1313 of 1976
- Ley 172 repeals Decreto-Ley 352 of 2017 and the Reglamento de Ciudadanía of 1944
- Applications already made and not concluded continue under the rules in force when they were made, and are to be resolved within a hundred and eighty days of publication
At a glance
- Published
- 5 May 2026, Gaceta Ordinaria 39
The six instruments carry the references GOC-2026-290-O39 to GOC-2026-295-O39.
- Approved by the National Assembly
- 19 July 2024
Which is why the laws are numbered 171/2024, 172/2024 and 173/2024 while their gazette reference is 2026.
- In force
- 180 days after publication
- Instruments commencing together
- Ley 171, Ley 172, Ley 173 and the regulations Decreto 136/2025 and Decreto 137/2025 and Resolución 24/2025
- Law in force until then
- Ley 1312 of 1976 and Ley 1313 of 1976
- Pending applications
- Resolved under the old rules within 180 days of publication
Why the date matters more here than it usually does
A commencement date is normally a footnote. Here it is the whole shape of the country's answer. A reader planning a move to Cuba in 2026 will find three brand-new laws published and freely downloadable, describing categories of residence, work permits, a citizenship examination and a thousand-dollar deposit - and none of it applies yet. The law that applies is from 1976. Anyone acting before 1 November 2026 is acting under Ley 1312 and Ley 1313; anyone planning for after it is planning under Ley 171 and Ley 173. This site describes the second, because it is what a person planning a move will meet, and says so on every page.
The 1976 laws are not published where the new ones are
The Gaceta Oficial's online archive begins in 1990 and its own keyword index for migration lists nothing earlier than 1999. Ley 1312, Ley 1313, Decreto-Ley 302 of 2012 and Decreto-Ley 327 of 2015 are not among the norms it indexes under that keyword. So the instruments in force today cannot be read at the publisher of record, while the instruments that replace them can. That is a fact about the archive, not about the law, and it is why nothing here quotes the 1976 texts.
One status was pulled forward
In April 2026 the Council of State created a migratory status of Investors and Business for Cuban citizens resident abroad, by decree-law effective on publication, and said plainly why: the measure had immediate effect, Ley 1312 does not provide for such a status, and Ley 171, which does, was still inside its hundred-and-eighty-day wait. It is the only piece of the new system that is already running, and it is not open to foreigners.
What the law says
«La presente Ley entra en vigor a los ciento ochenta días posteriores a su publicación en la Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba.»Our translation - not official
This Law enters into force one hundred and eighty days after its publication in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba.
The same words appear as the Fourth Final Provision of Ley 172 and of Ley 173, and in the final provisions of both regulations and of the Citizenship Register regulation.
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
«Derogar la Ley 1312 “Ley de Migración”, de 20 de septiembre de 1976, y los decretos-leyes 302, de 11 de octubre de 2012, y 327, de 31 de enero de 2015.»Our translation - not official
To repeal Ley 1312 "Migration Law", of 20 September 1976, and decree-laws 302, of 11 October 2012, and 327, of 31 January 2015.
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
«Derogar la Ley. 1313 “Ley de Extranjería”, de 20 de septiembre de 1976.»Our translation - not official
To repeal Ley 1313 "Foreigners Law", of 20 September 1976.
The stray full stop after "Ley" is the Gaceta's and is left 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
«Derogar el Decreto-Ley 352 “Sobre la adquisición de la ciudadanía cuba- na por nacimiento de los nacidos en el extranjero de padre o madre cubanos”, de 30 de di- ciembre de 2017, y el Decreto 358 “Reglamento de Ciudadanía”, de 4 de febrero de 1944.»Our translation - not official
To repeal Decreto-Ley 352 "On the acquisition of Cuban citizenship by birth for those born abroad to a Cuban father or mother", of 30 December 2017, and Decreto 358 "Citizenship Regulation", of 4 February 1944.
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
«Las solicitudes de trámites formuladas con anterioridad a la entrada en vigor de esta Ley que no hayan concluido, continúan su curso y se resuelven en un plazo de ciento ochenta días contados a partir de la publicación en la Gaceta Oficial de la Re- pública de Cuba, de acuerdo con las disposiciones normativas vigentes al momento de su solicitud.»Our translation - not official
Applications for formalities made before the entry into force of this Law which have not been concluded continue their course and are resolved within a period of one hundred and eighty days counted from the publication in the Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, in accordance with the legal provisions in force at the time of their application.
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 Ley 1312 “Ley de Migración”, de 20 de septiembre de 1976, aún en aplicación, no prevé la condición migratoria de Inversores y de Negocios enunciada en el Por Cuanto anterior.»Our translation - not official
Ley 1312 "Migration Law", of 20 September 1976, still in application, does not provide for the migratory status of Investors and Business stated in the preceding recital.
The Council of State saying, in April 2026, that the 1976 law is the one still being applied.
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
«finales establece un plazo de ciento ochenta (180) días posteriores a la publicación para su entrada en vigor.»Our translation - not official
its final provisions establish a period of one hundred and eighty (180) days after publication for its entry into force.
Quoted from after the page break; the sentence begins on the previous page with the reference to Ley 171.
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 180 days run from publication on 5 May 2026, which puts commencement at 1 November 2026. The instruments state the period, not the date; the date is arithmetic on the publication date printed on the gazette.
We could not read Ley 1312 of 1976, Ley 1313 of 1976, Decreto-Ley 302 of 2012 or Decreto-Ley 327 of 2015. They are not in the Gaceta Oficial's online archive, which begins in 1990, and they are not in its migration keyword index. Nothing on this site states what they provide.