US
CITIZEN IMPORTANT INFORMATION
There
is a common belief that U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens (Green
Card holders) are forbidden by law to travel to Cuba. This is not accurate.
The applicable legislation is the “Trading with the Enemy Act” under which
the restriction is not on travel but on spending US Dollars in Cuba
There
are exceptions to the ban on spending money in Cuba and these are permitted
by licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the
US Treasury Department. Those interested in reading the official policy
regarding travel by US citizens to Cuba can view the appropriate documents
at the websites of the Departments of State and Treasury. (http://travel.state.gov/cuba.html)
General licenses, not requiring individual permissions for visits, are issued by OFAC for certain categories of people, like journalists, employed by a recognized media organization. Others, who are "fully hosted" meaning that they are invited and their expenses are paid by a non-US host individual or organization, may also visit without an individual license. Some institutions also have licenses that cover anyone they authorize to use their license for travel in keeping with the terms of the license. Those not in the general license categories or not traveling under an institutional license must apply for a specific license and… expect a long waiting period. No one should expect to get a license to visit Cuba out of curiosity or for tourism, and there is no point in applying.
Each year hundreds of thousands of US citizens are disregarding this law and visiting Cuba without licenses. If you want to visit without a license, you will find information below that shows some of the ways people are using for visiting Cuba.
Cuba is a beautiful island with some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and Cuban Getaways encourages Americans to use our services to visit this beautiful and fascinating country. You will find that Cubans are hospitable and humble people, that they are probably more interested in Americans and American popular culture than any other nationality.
There are direct US-Cuba charter flights reserved for travelers coming with a license. These flights are to Havana from Miami, Los Angeles and New York. For unlicensed travelers, there are regular flights to Cuba from gateway cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Cancun, Mexico City, Nassau, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay. If you travel without a license, however, you will find that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to arrange your flight via a gateway city to Havana. This is where CubanGetaways can help you. We have a contract with Cubana Airlines to fly passengers from our gateway city Nassau to Havana. We will arrange your entire trip and pre-pay your ticket to Havana, and the cost will be part of our invoice to you. Our representative will assist you at Nassau airport and will also obtain a Cuban Tourist card (visa) for you.
We can also arrange for your roundtrip reservations from Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami to our gateway city Nassau. Your roundtrip airline ticket to Cuba will be purchased completely separately and can be discarded. Your return ticket to the US will have only your flight to Nassau and back to the US.
Americans who visit Cuba without licenses should know that US immigration forms for returning travelers may ask what countries you have visited. Since without a license you cannot come on direct US-Cuba charter flights, you will normally have to come via a gateway city. You should technically include Cuba as well as the transit country on the form, and if an immigration or customs officer directly asks if you visited Cuba, you must admit it as lying to a federal officer is an offense. Americans who admit to US officials that they visited Cuba without a license are not denied re-entry or arrested. Some officers may give a little lecture, some may say nothing, sometimes baggage may be closely inspected and your rum or cigars confiscated, and sometimes passports may be photocopied or some notes taken. It is really up to you what information you want to provide on the immigration form. You may decide not to mention Cuba at all. For more information, click here.
Travel to Cuba is really quite simple. Just fill out our form and let us know when you want to travel. We will book your most convenient onward flight to Cuba. You do need a valid US passport to get your Cuban tourist card at the departure airport of the gateway city. On your arrival in Cuba you do not have to have your passport stamped and you may wish to request the immigration inspector to stamp only your tourist card instead. On departure through Cuban immigration you simply return the tourist card, and your passport remains safe and secure and untouched. For more information, click here.
General licenses, not requiring individual permissions for visits, are issued by OFAC for certain categories of people, like journalists, employed by a recognized media organization. Others, who are "fully hosted" meaning that they are invited and their expenses are paid by a non-US host individual or organization, may also visit without an individual license. Some institutions also have licenses that cover anyone they authorize to use their license for travel in keeping with the terms of the license. Those not in the general license categories or not traveling under an institutional license must apply for a specific license and… expect a long waiting period. No one should expect to get a license to visit Cuba out of curiosity or for tourism, and there is no point in applying.
Each year hundreds of thousands of US citizens are disregarding this law and visiting Cuba without licenses. If you want to visit without a license, you will find information below that shows some of the ways people are using for visiting Cuba.
Cuba is a beautiful island with some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and Cuban Getaways encourages Americans to use our services to visit this beautiful and fascinating country. You will find that Cubans are hospitable and humble people, that they are probably more interested in Americans and American popular culture than any other nationality.
There are direct US-Cuba charter flights reserved for travelers coming with a license. These flights are to Havana from Miami, Los Angeles and New York. For unlicensed travelers, there are regular flights to Cuba from gateway cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Cancun, Mexico City, Nassau, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay. If you travel without a license, however, you will find that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to arrange your flight via a gateway city to Havana. This is where CubanGetaways can help you. We have a contract with Cubana Airlines to fly passengers from our gateway city Nassau to Havana. We will arrange your entire trip and pre-pay your ticket to Havana, and the cost will be part of our invoice to you. Our representative will assist you at Nassau airport and will also obtain a Cuban Tourist card (visa) for you.
We can also arrange for your roundtrip reservations from Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami to our gateway city Nassau. Your roundtrip airline ticket to Cuba will be purchased completely separately and can be discarded. Your return ticket to the US will have only your flight to Nassau and back to the US.
Americans who visit Cuba without licenses should know that US immigration forms for returning travelers may ask what countries you have visited. Since without a license you cannot come on direct US-Cuba charter flights, you will normally have to come via a gateway city. You should technically include Cuba as well as the transit country on the form, and if an immigration or customs officer directly asks if you visited Cuba, you must admit it as lying to a federal officer is an offense. Americans who admit to US officials that they visited Cuba without a license are not denied re-entry or arrested. Some officers may give a little lecture, some may say nothing, sometimes baggage may be closely inspected and your rum or cigars confiscated, and sometimes passports may be photocopied or some notes taken. It is really up to you what information you want to provide on the immigration form. You may decide not to mention Cuba at all. For more information, click here.
Travel to Cuba is really quite simple. Just fill out our form and let us know when you want to travel. We will book your most convenient onward flight to Cuba. You do need a valid US passport to get your Cuban tourist card at the departure airport of the gateway city. On your arrival in Cuba you do not have to have your passport stamped and you may wish to request the immigration inspector to stamp only your tourist card instead. On departure through Cuban immigration you simply return the tourist card, and your passport remains safe and secure and untouched. For more information, click here.
We encourage you to visit Cuba and get to find out for your self about this beautiful Island. We are located here in Nassau to help you enjoy your trip.
