Moving to Cuba 2026, Step by Step

CUBA · HAVANA · EXPAT GUIDE

Moving to Cuba in 2026 means dealing with two governments. Washington decides whether an American may go to Cuba and spend money there, and Havana decides whether any foreigner may stay. For US citizens the first gate is the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the sanctions agency, which bans tourism in Cuba and tightened its rules again on 30 September.

For everyone else, the big change is in Cuba itself. A new Migration Law and a new Foreigners Law, approved by the National Assembly in July 2024 and published in the Official Gazette on 5 May 2026, replace laws from 1976 and take effect in early November.

This guide takes the steps in order, using the official texts: the US Cuban Assets Control Regulations, State Department guidance and Cuba's Gaceta Oficial. Cuban peso (CUP) amounts are converted at the Central Bank of Cuba's official Segment III rate of 695 pesos per US dollar in early October 2026.

What It Means for You

If you are a US citizen or green-card holder, US sanctions follow you. The State Department says OFAC rules cover “all U.S. citizens or residents (wherever located) and anyone in the United States”, and that travel to Cuba without an OFAC license is illegal. There is no general license for simply retiring or settling in Cuba.

The clearest legal path runs through an employer. A general license (31 CFR 515.573) lets certain US organizations, such as news bureaus, humanitarian and religious groups and some exporters, open an office in Cuba, and their US staff may live there. Any other stay that no general license covers needs a specific license from OFAC.

If you are British, Canadian, European or from another Visa Waiver country, US sanctions do not stop you, but a stay in Cuba has a US cost. With limited exceptions, anyone who has visited Cuba on or after 12 January 2021 can no longer use the ESTA visa waiver to visit the United States and must apply for a US visa, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

If you were born in Cuba, Cuba treats you as Cuban. It requires Cuban dual nationals to enter and leave on a Cuban passport, and the State Department warns that Cuba does not recognize the US citizenship of Cuban-born Americans who keep residency status there.

Step 1: Check Whether US Law Lets You Go

OFAC allows travel only for 12 kinds of activity. Its own list covers family visits, official government business, journalism, professional research, education, religious activities, public performances and amateur sport, support for the Cuban people, humanitarian projects, private foundations and research institutes, information materials, and certain authorized exports.

The list got shorter on 30 September 2026. To carry out a presidential memorandum on Cuba signed by President Donald Trump on 30 June 2025, OFAC removed the license for attending or organizing professional meetings and conferences in Cuba. It also removed group people-to-people educational trips and now requires educational travel that is not run by an accredited US college or university to take place under a US sponsor whose representative travels with the group.

Educational and group people-to-people trips may still go ahead under the old rules if the traveler made at least one booking, such as a flight or a room, before 30 September. People who were in Cuba for a professional meeting on that date must leave by Friday, 30 October 2026.

The “support for the Cuban people” category comes with conditions. You need a full-time schedule of activities with real contact with Cubans, without more free time than a full-time schedule allows. You may not stay at properties on the State Department's Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List. Since 30 September you are also barred from indirect, not only direct, payments to companies on the Cuba Restricted List, which names businesses tied to the Cuban military and security services.

Step 2: Choose Your Cuban Residence Class

Cuba's Migration Law, Law 171, splits foreigners into non-residents (visitors, diplomats and official guests) and residents. Residents fall into five classes, and you can hold only one at a time:

• Temporary resident: admitted for a set period to carry out an authorized activity, such as a job, study or a posting.
• Real-estate resident: owners or tenants of homes in real-estate complexes or buildings built for this purpose, and their foreign family living there. A lease can support residence for up to five years, extended every two years.
• Humanitarian resident: people cared for by the UN refugee agency in Havana, vulnerable people and those given temporary protection.
• Provisional resident: a compulsory trial stage before permanent residence, used to check what the law calls “adequate social integration”.
• Permanent resident: foreigners admitted to make Cuba their permanent home.

Permanent residence is now open on wider grounds than marriage. The law lists a marriage or registered partnership with a Cuban who lives in Cuba, being the parent of a Cuban-born citizen, more than five years as a resident, advanced professional qualifications or international standing, and “significant assets” abroad or in a Cuban bank. Qualified workers with the means to support themselves, and people with capital to invest in Cuba's development priorities, may also apply.

Two rules catch people out. A provisional resident who is refused permanent status must leave and wait two years before applying again. And residence is lost automatically after more than six months in a row outside Cuba, or a full year for permanent residents.

For Americans, the real-estate class is largely closed from the US side. OFAC says a person subject to US jurisdiction “is not authorized to purchase or lease real property in Cuba” unless OFAC authorizes it. Authorized travelers may rent accommodation only for the length of their trip.

Step 3: Get the Right Visa Before You Fly

Enter on the visa that matches why you are coming. Cuba's Foreign Ministry set new consular fees in Resolution 37/2026, in force since Thursday, 1 October 2026:

• Tourist visa: US$50 when sold to travelers, agencies or airlines in the United States; US$30 to individual travelers elsewhere, or US$25 through agencies and airlines. Cuba also sells tourist visas online through its eVisa platform.
• Other visas: US$30 to apply plus US$75 when the visa is issued. The tariff lists D visas for temporary residents (including business, journalism, technical and religious work), E visas for permanent residents, such as spouses or relatives of Cubans, and F visas for real-estate residents.
• Change of migration category at a consulate: US$90 to apply plus US$30 when granted.

Three other requirements apply at the border. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond arrival, with two blank pages. Every passenger must fill in the D'Viajeros online form from Cuba's Transport Ministry before boarding. And Cuba requires visitors to carry non-US medical insurance, which the State Department says is usually included in tickets on flights from the United States.

Step 4: Get Your Foreigner Identity Card

Approved residents receive the foreigner's identity card, the carné de identidad de extranjero, from the Interior Ministry's migration and foreigners directorate. Residents need both this card and a valid passport to enter or leave Cuba.

For temporary, humanitarian and real-estate residents, the regulation of the Foreigners Law (Decree 137) lists what to bring: the official application form, a valid passport, a work permit where one is needed, a copy of the decision granting residence, two passport photos and proof that the stamp duty is paid. Permanent residents get a card valid for up to five years; provisional and humanitarian residents get one valid for one year.

Under the current stamp-duty schedule, a foreigner's card costs CUP 250 (about US$0.36), paid in tax stamps, according to the Sancti Spíritus provincial government's guide to migration procedures.

Step 5: Sort Out Work, Housing and Money

Work. Under the Foreigners Law, Law 173, temporary and real-estate residents need a work permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Humanitarian residents need prior approval from the foreigners authority as well as the permit. Provisional and permanent residents need no authorization. Family members who came with a resident may not work without prior approval.

Housing. Most newcomers rent. Americans may rent only for the length of an authorized trip, unless they work for an organization covered by the office license, whose staff may lease or buy a home while based in Cuba.

Money. US credit and debit cards do not work in Cuba, so bring US dollars or euros in cash and declare amounts above the equivalent of US$5,000. Authorized US travelers may open a Cuban bank account to reach their money while in Cuba, OFAC says. The central bank publishes three official rates: 24 and 120 pesos per dollar for specific official operations, and the 695-peso Segment III rate, around which banks set the cash rates they offer individuals.

Step 6: Plan for Power Cuts and Safety

Cuba's power supply is unreliable. The State Department says there have been several nationwide blackouts since October 2024 and that cuts of up to 12 hours a day hit Havana, with longer ones outside the capital. Hotels and hospitals with generators can run short of fuel.

It advises keeping battery packs charged, flashlights, food and water at home, and a backup plan for medicines that need refrigeration. Free speech and peaceful assembly are not protected rights in Cuba, so avoid protests.

Help is limited. US Embassy staff must notify the Cuban government before travelling outside Havana, which can slow emergency assistance. The embassy is on Calzada between L and M streets in Vedado, Havana (+53 7 839-4100). Americans should enroll in the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

Cuban-Born Movers and the Investor Route

The new Migration Law ends the rule under which Cubans abroad lost their residence after 24 months away. Cubans now keep “effective residence” if they spent at least 180 days in Cuba, not necessarily in a row, in the previous year, or if they can prove ties such as family, a job, a home, bank accounts or tax payments, Colonel Mario Méndez Mayedo, head of the Interior Ministry's identification, immigration and foreigners directorate, told the state newspaper Granma.

A separate Investor and Business status for Cubans living abroad has applied since 5 May 2026 under Decree-Law 117. Applicants file a written request with a backing letter from the Cuban state body or company they do business with. Consulates forward complete files within three working days, and the migration authority decides within 30 working days. The application costs CUP 3,500 (about US$5.04).

Cuban-Americans should check the US side first. A backing letter implies dealings with Cuban state entities, and US law now bars direct and indirect payments to any company on the Cuba Restricted List.

What Prediction Markets Say

As of 1:09 a.m. ET on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, bets on Polymarket put the chance of a US strike on Cuba by 31 December at 12.5%, on a question with about US$5.4 million traded. A US invasion of Cuba in 2026 stood at 4.5%, with about US$3.5 million traded.

The chance that Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba's president and head of its ruling Communist Party, is out as leader by 31 December was 9.5%, down about seven points in a week, with about US$732,000 traded.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What Is Not Known

• The start date. The laws take effect 180 days after publication on 5 May, which by the calendar is Sunday, 1 November 2026. The Rio Times found no separate official announcement of the date.
• Fees. The Rio Times found no published fee schedule for the new residence classes, and the law sets no minimum for “significant assets”.
• How Cuba will treat US applicants under the new classes, given that US rules bar most of the transactions a move involves.
• Further US measures. OFAC also issued rules on 30 September for a 1 May 2026 executive order sanctioning people it holds responsible for repression in Cuba. More changes are possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a US citizen legally move to Cuba in 2026?

Not as a tourist or retiree. US rules allow travel to Cuba only under 12 categories licensed by the Treasury, and there is no general license for settling there. Staff of US organizations licensed to keep an office in Cuba may live there; other long stays need a specific license from OFAC.

Can Americans buy or rent a home in Cuba?

Generally no. OFAC says people subject to US jurisdiction may not buy or lease property in Cuba unless it authorizes them. Authorized travelers may rent accommodation only for the length of their trip, and staff of licensed US organizations may lease or buy a home while based there.

What residence classes does Cuba’s new law create?

Law 171 sets five classes of foreign resident: temporary, real-estate, humanitarian, provisional and permanent. Provisional residence is a compulsory stage before permanent residence. The laws were published on 5 May 2026 and take effect 180 days later, in early November.

How much does a Cuban visa cost in 2026?

Under Cuba’s consular fees in force since 1 October 2026, a tourist visa costs US$50 when sold in the United States and US$30 elsewhere. A non-tourist visa costs US$30 to apply and US$75 when issued.

Will living in Cuba affect my ESTA for the United States?

Yes, if you are not a US citizen. US Customs and Border Protection says that, with limited exceptions, anyone who has visited Cuba on or after 12 January 2021 cannot use ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program and must apply for a US visa instead.

Sources: US Federal Register, OFAC amendment to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 30 September 2026, OFAC, Cuba sanctions FAQs, updated 29 September 2026, OFAC FAQ 1275 on professional meetings, OFAC recent actions, 29 September 2026, US State Department, Cuba travel advisory, 7 May 2025, US State Department, Cuba country information, US Customs and Border Protection, Visa Waiver Program FAQ, Gaceta Oficial de Cuba No. 39 Ordinaria, 5 May 2026 (Laws 171, 172 and 173; Decrees 136 and 137), Gaceta Oficial de Cuba No. 60 Extraordinaria, 5 May 2026 (Decree-Law 117, Decree 150, Resolution 93), Cuban Foreign Ministry, Resolution 37/2026 on consular fees, Cuban Foreign Ministry, eVisa platform, Cuban Transport Ministry, D'Viajeros form, Sancti Spíritus provincial government, migration procedures, Banco Central de Cuba, official exchange rates, Granma, new migration laws, 6 May 2026. Prediction-market prices: Polymarket, 7 October 2026. All retrieved 7 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief