- A little about the country
- Where to begin?
- Legal ways to move to Cuba for permanent residence
- All works are good
- You will be declared husband and wife
- Think for yourself, decide for yourself
All travelers who have visited Cuba on a tourist trip are usually divided into two groups. Some promise never to return to socialist devastation and poverty, while others are looking for an answer to the question of how to move to Cuba and stay forever on a fabulous tropical island.
Cuba's economy can hardly be called advanced. Rather, it consistently lags behind even other underdeveloped Latin American countries. But Cubans are optimists, and their belief in a brighter future can only be envied.
A little about the country
The island of Cuba has been persistently building communism over the past 70 years. The bright future is not yet too close, but some of its signs on the Cuban horizon are clearly marked. For example, in the country, free medical education is available to everyone, and its level is quite high. All Cuban citizens undergo annual compulsory preventive examinations, children are vaccinated, and therefore the incidence rates of dangerous infections are much lower than the average in the region.
The level of education in Cuban universities can be compared with that of Europe. The faculty is highly experienced and well trained. Many teachers were trained in higher educational institutions of the USSR and keep the high bar set there.
Social security for Cuban citizens is also quite stable, but its level may seem too primitive to a European. Cubans receive food stamps, which, in the context of an underdeveloped local economy, allows them, literally, to survive. Unemployment benefits and pensions on Liberty Island are paid regularly, but their size may seem beggarly even to seasoned Russian citizens.
In Cuba, most of its inhabitants survive as best they can, engaging in both legal and not-too-legal small businesses. Such entrepreneurship is becoming the only way for Cubans to exist at least slightly beyond the edge of poverty.
There are no immigration programs for foreigners in Cuba. Liberty Island is distinguished by a closed migration policy and it is almost impossible to obtain local citizenship.
Where to begin?
The procedure for crossing the Cuban border for Russian citizens for tourist purposes has been simplified to the limit. If you fly to Liberty Island for no more than 30 days, you will not need to open a visa. Longer stays will require an entry permit, which can be obtained from the Cuban consulate or embassy. Long-term visas are open to guests visiting relatives, students or entrepreneurs traveling to Cuba on a business visit.
After crossing the Cuban border with a long-term visa, a potential immigrant is required to apply for a residence permit. A temporary one is issued immediately, and in order to obtain permanent resident status, you will have to live in Cuba with a temporary residence permit for several years.
Legal ways to move to Cuba for permanent residence
The lack of immigration programs does not become an obstacle for those who dream of moving to Cuba and becoming a resident of the Island of Liberty. The grounds for obtaining a residence permit can be:
- Conclusion of marriage with a local resident or citizen of the country.
- Educational exchange programs. Russia and Cuba have an agreement on the exchange of students and studying in Cuba can become a legal reason for obtaining a temporary residence permit.
- Working on Liberty Island gives you the opportunity to become the owner of a residence permit, and in the future - and resident status. It is not so easy to find a job in Cuba, but if a foreigner has a demanded specialty and wants to work on Cuban soil, he has every chance to conclude a contract.
- Volunteering. A not too wealthy country, Cuba welcomes foreigners' willingness to help in the agricultural sector. For seasonal work, foreigners are often invited, who, while working on a volunteer basis, manage to find a way to stay on Freedom Island for a long time.
Business immigration is still a new topic for Cuba and each case is considered by the government separately. The amount of investment in the country's economy required to obtain a residence permit has not yet been strictly indicated.
All works are good
Obtaining a Cuban residence permit through employment is not an easy task. Despite the special mentality of local residents, who can hardly be called workaholics, foreigners who want to work by the sweat of their brow are also not held in high esteem in Cuba. Only immigrants with a rare or demanded specialty will be able to find a good job on the island.
The search for work in Cuba should be conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applicants leave applications and they are informed in writing about the employer's interest in a foreign person. The law states that two refusals from the job offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs become a reason to exclude the applicant from the list of those wishing to find a job.
Do not count on freelancing, which is so popular nowadays among free artists wintering in tropical countries. The Internet on Liberty Island is an exceptional phenomenon, and it is technically impossible to work remotely while sitting on the beach in Varadero.
You will be declared husband and wife
The creation of a family with a citizen or a citizen of Cuba guarantees the foreigner a temporary residence permit. The document is subject to regular renewal. Having lived in marriage for five years and flawlessly fulfilling all the requirements of the authorities, a foreign spouse can apply for a Cuban passport. Marrying a Cuban is almost the only way to be guaranteed to obtain the coveted citizenship of the Island of Liberty.
Think for yourself, decide for yourself
Holders of a Cuban Temporary Residence Permit are not allowed to do business or buy real estate. The authorities provide such an opportunity only to permanent residents of the Island of Liberty.
Cuban citizenship is automatically granted to children born on its territory. At the same time, their parents may be foreign nationals. A child born anywhere in the world is also recognized as a citizen if his mother or father is a Cuban citizen.
If in spite of everything you manage to get a Cuban passport, be prepared to give up your existing citizenship. Liberty Island does not recognize dual citizenship.
However, not so many compatriots seek to obtain a Cuban passport at any cost. The presence of a small stable income at home and the ability to regularly renew the status of a temporary resident allow Russian citizens to live on Liberty Island for a long time on a legal basis, and the tropical climate and Cuban hospitality contribute to this in every possible way.
