Possibility of acquiring Cuban citizenship for a Palestinian married to a Cuban citizen, possibility of Palestinian returning to Cuba after renouncing his permanent residency in that country and possibility of receiving permanent residence in Cuba for a Palestinian who has renounced his membership in the PLO - Cuba

The Cuban Constitution, article 30, [ Constitutions of the Countries of the World: Cuba, (New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1979), p. 30.] states acquisition of Cuban citizenship for foreigners is regulated by law (section a), and can be granted by virtue of an express agreement of the Council of State to those arbitrarily deprived of their original citizenship (section c). The IRBDC cannot speculate on the possibility of the Council of State granting citizenship for any particular case. Please find attached a copy of pages 12-14 of the Constitution of Cuba, as published by Constitution of the Countries of the World. The Cuban Embassy, as communicated by telephone to the IRBDC on 25 May 1990, stated that Cuba has a new Constitution of which a copy is not yet available to the IRBDC, although it is based largely on the previous one and may be regarded as an amended version. However, the source was not aware of any changes to the Constitution's section on citizenship. A copy of the Cuban Constitution may be consulted personally at the diplomatic representations of Cuba, including the Cuban Consulate in Montreal.

According to the Cuban Fundamental Law of 1959, article 16, the foreigner who marries a Cuban retains his/her nationality, but has the option of acquiring Cuban nationality by naturalization if there are children born within the marriage or the couple has resided in Cuba for two continuous years after marrying. [ Ethel Groffier, Mariages et Regimes Matrimoniaux Etrangers, (Montreal: Editions Claude Ananou, 1987), p. 31.] Although this statement implies a foreigner married to a Cuban citizen might reside in Cuba, it is not clear whether a permanent or temporary residence can be obtained.

According to the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa, as communicated by telephone to the IRBDC on 25 May 1990, Cuba is not currently accepting immigrants, although individual cases would be taken into consideration and reviewed by Cuban authorities. If someone marries a Cuban citizen, the case would also be reviewed by Cuban authorities before granting a resident's visa. After two years' residence in Cuba while married to a Cuban citizen, acquisition of Cuban citizenship should be, according to the source, a fairly quick procedure. Those who already have a resident visa may be able to leave Cuba and return, depending on the circumstances of each particular case. There are "definitive exit" permits, "temporary exit" permits, permits for temporary residence abroad, leave extensions and special permits. Each case is dealt with in an individual basis by the Immigration Directorate (Dirección de Inmigración) of the Ministry of the Interior.

Information on the particular case of Palestinians who have renounced their membership to the PLO could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC.