{"id":106213,"date":"2017-10-28T18:12:30","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T22:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=106213"},"modified":"2018-09-07T13:23:50","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T17:23:50","slug":"the-u-s-government-closes-and-cuba-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/the-u-s-government-closes-and-cuba-opens\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe U.S. government closes and Cuba opens\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuban Foreign Bruno Rodr\u00edguez has just announced in Washington a package of measures that benefit the Cubans residing abroad.<\/p>\n

The changes, which will come into force starting January 1, 2018, are the following:<\/p>\n

1) eliminate the \u201cAuthorization\u201d on the passport for travel to Cuba by Cuban \u00e9migr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

2) authorize the entry to and exit from Cuba of Cuban residents abroad in recreation vessels through the Hemingway and Gaviota-Varadero International Tourist Marinas. Once the conditions are created, it would be gradually expanded to other marinas.<\/p>\n

3) allow the entry to Cuba of Cuban citizens who left the country illegally, except for those who did so through the U.S. Naval Base in Guant\u00e1namo.<\/p>\n

4) eliminate the requirement of resident so that the children of Cubans residing abroad, who have been born in other countries, can obtain Cuban citizenship and their identity document.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. government closes and Cuba opens,\u201d said the Cuban foreign minister at the end of the communiqu\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez announced these measures at the 4th Meeting of Cubans Resident in the United States, which is being held today in Washington.<\/p>\n

The different legal regulations that will accompany the implementation of these measures will be published son in the Gaceta Oficial and the population will also be given additional information about the procedures that will come into force.<\/p>\n

As was announced, the permit to enter Cuba for those who left the country illegally has only one exception \u2013 those who did so through the Guant\u00e1namo Naval Base. This supposes that the doctors, athletes and other professionals who left their missions abroad would be able to enter Cuba unhindered starting 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthorization\u201d and \u201cresidence\u201d<\/h3>\n

In relation to the so-called \u201cAuthorization\u201d stamped on the passport, its elimination responds to old demand by the Cuban diaspora that could benefit more than 800,000 \u00e9migr\u00e9s. In practice it means that starting January 1 the permit that the island\u2019s government demanded for all Cubans residing abroad to be able to enter the country will no longer be necessary. This does not commit the process of passport renewal, required every two years.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the \u201cresidence\u201d was a procedures included in the Immigration Law that demanded that the children of Cubans born abroad spend at least three months in Cuba to opt for citizenship. Its elimination make this intermediate step ineffectual and facilitates the conversion into citizens of the island for second generation Cubans.<\/p>\n

Progress measures<\/h3>\n

Hugo Cancio, president of Fuego Enterprises and general director of the OnCuba platform, considers that it is a \u201chuge step in the process of normalization of relations between Cuba \u2013 my country of origin \u2013 and the diaspora. This brings down a wall, an enormous barrier in these relations from the psychological point of view and especially of each Cuban citizen\u2019s right to return to his or her country of origin without having to ask for a permit. That is to say, the entries to and exits from Cuba are not a privilege: they are a right. There\u2019s still a long road ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n