CUBA : Cuba announced on Tuesday steps to relax restrictions on its citizens who reside abroad as the communist-run country continues to struggle with an extraordinary influx of immigrants to the United States.
The foreign ministry said that passports for Cubans over the age of 16 would henceforth be valid for ten years rather than just six and that the cost of having them renewed off-island would be cut by more than half.
The ministry also eradicated the requirement of a tax that the citizens had to pay every two years, even before their passports ran out, to keep their status as active citizens.
Ernesto Soberon, director of consular affairs for the Cuban Foreign Ministry, announced that the new regulations take effect on July 1. He stated that the initiatives are “strengthening ties with the Cuban community abroad.”
For many years, the country restricted its citizens’ ability to emigrate, and many people who now reside overseas lament the bureaucratic hurdles and prohibitive costs associated with maintaining relations and updating travel permits with their home country.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures show that more than 300,000 Cubans crossed the border into the United States last year, a record-breaking exodus during an unheard-of economic catastrophe.
The migration from the island has further strained the nation’s economy, which was already on the verge of collapse, and has had a negative impact on the nation’s culture because many families have been shattered and dispersed around the globe.
Also Read: As Hurricane Ian Approaches, Cuba Orders Evacuation
