Cuba permanent residence application

Applicants submit chest X-ray, serology and HIV test results, duly legalised and issued no more than six months before they are presented at the consulate. The tests may instead be done in Cuba at hospitals or clinics designated for the care of foreigners. They also submit a certificate of criminal records from the country of residence, legalised and issued no more than three months before submission by the official institution.

The file is completed with a letter setting out the reasons for the request, a passport-type photo, a photocopy of the passport certified against the original by the Cuban consular office, and the marriage certificate, children's birth certificates or other proof supporting the reasons, issued or recognised under Cuban law as appropriate.

The consular fee for the service must be paid in cash, by certified bank payment or by bank transfer, according to the rules of the consulate; some offices accept only bank transfers of the exact amount. The amount is not published on the consular pages, so ask the office before applying.

Applications for permanent residence are made by the foreigner at a Cuban consulate, normally the one that serves the applicant's place of residence. Contact the office in advance to confirm the documents and the appointment.

Where Cuba has more than one consular office in a country, each covers its own provinces or regions; the consular page of the mission lists them with their contact details.

For minor children of foreign citizens, add a notarial power of attorney from the father or mother and the child's birth certificate, each translated and legalised through the consulate. Documents must be translated by a sworn translator and legalised, original and translation, by the competent authorities and then by the Cuban consulate; alternatively, legalise the original with the competent authorities and have the translation and the legalisation of both made at the Cuban consulate.