Cuba Visa & Travel Requirements Checker

For investors: US persons (citizens, green-card holders, US-organised entities) must travel under one of the 12 OFAC general-license categories and must avoid all transactions with entities on the State Department's Cuba Restricted List (31 CFR § 515.209) — that includes a long list of GAESA-owned hotels (Meliá, Iberostar properties under Gaviota title, NH Capri, etc.), marinas, and rum/cigar houses. Maintain a written 'full-time schedule' record of Cuban-people-supporting activities and retain it for 5 years (the OFAC recordkeeping window). Cuba's classification as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (re-listed January 2021) also forecloses the ESTA visa-waiver route for any non-citizen who has visited Cuba on or after January 12, 2021 — they need a full B1/B2 US visa, not ESTA.

For investors: British citizens need a Tourist Card and comprehensive travel insurance (mandatory under Cuban law — proof may be asked at immigration). The UK does not enforce the US embargo; UK companies operate freely under EU/UK blocking regulations against Helms-Burton extraterritoriality. The British Embassy in Havana provides full consular services, including notarial services for UK investors.

For investors: Canada is Cuba's largest single-source tourism market and Sherritt International is the largest publicly-traded foreign investor on the island (Moa nickel/cobalt joint venture). Canadian citizens enter under the most generous Tourist Card terms (90+90 days), and the Canadian Embassy in Havana provides full consular and trade-promotion services. Helms-Burton Title III lawsuits remain a residual exposure for any Canadian entity holding Cuban assets that were originally expropriated from US persons.

For investors: Mexico hosts the largest concentration of Cuban-American and Cuban-diaspora business intermediation outside Florida, and Mexican companies (CEMEX historically, Grupo BMV, tourism conglomerates) have long-running joint ventures with Cuban state entities. Mérida and Cancún are the default lateral routing points for US-origin shipments to Cuba that need to avoid the embargo's direct-shipment prohibition.

For investors: Spain is Cuba's third-largest trading partner and the single largest source of European foreign direct investment. Spanish hotel groups — Meliá, Iberostar, Barceló, NH — operate the bulk of Cuba's branded tourism inventory under joint-venture agreements with Cubanacán and Gaviota. The Spanish Embassy in Havana is the largest European mission and a key consular point for Cuban-Spanish dual nationals (a sizeable cohort under Spain's 'Ley de Memoria Democrática' descent rights).

For investors: EU citizens travel under standard Tourist Card terms. The EU does not enforce the US embargo and the EU Blocking Statute (Council Regulation 2271/96) explicitly protects EU companies from Helms-Burton Title III claims. France, Italy, and the Netherlands maintain active investment promotion offices in Havana. Cuba's EU-funded agriculture and renewable-energy projects are concentrated in Pinar del Río, Matanzas, and Holguín.

For investors: China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner after Venezuela and the largest creditor on the island. Chinese infrastructure investment is concentrated in telecommunications (Huawei is ETECSA's primary network vendor), the Mariel ZED port and logistics zone, and renewable energy. State-to-state arrangements smooth FX repatriation friction for Chinese SOEs that would be unworkable for Western investors operating under the embargo.

For investors: Russia is a strategic but secondary economic partner — active in oil supply (since 2023, partially replacing lapsed Venezuelan crude shipments), sovereign-debt rescheduling, and military-technical cooperation. Secondary-sanctions risk for any non-Russian co-investor is acute given OFAC's expanded Russia-program enforcement since 2022.

For investors: Dubai has emerged as a meaningful intermediation hub for Cuba-related trade structuring, particularly for remittance corridors and dual-currency settlements that would face correspondent-banking friction in USD or EUR. DP World operates the Mariel container terminal under a long-term concession with the Cuban government.

For investors: Always confirm visa status, validity, and the current published advisory level with both the Cuban diplomatic mission in your country and your home country's foreign affairs ministry before booking travel. All travellers — every nationality — must also complete the free online D'Viajeros customs and health declaration within the 72 hours before arrival in Cuba.