Cuba: Update to CUB30740.E of 17 December 1998 on the penalties outlined in the amended Penal Code for Cubans who make a refugee claim or overstay an exit permit upon return to the country
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CUB32133.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Cuba: Update to CUB30740.E of 17 December 1998 on the penalties outlined in the amended Penal Code for Cubans who make a refugee claim or overstay an exit permit upon return to the country, 1 June 1999, CUB32133.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad2e4.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
An immigration counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Havana provided the following information in a 24 June 1999 letter sent to the Research Directorate. Please note that it is additional to that found in CUB31690.E of 14 June 1999.
Penalties according to the new or old Penal Code are known only by references given to us by people who have had [such] cases in the family or by prospective immigrants. The Cuban Government does not give any official information regarding these cases. For experiences concerning our prospective immigrants, close relatives of persons who left the country on an official trip sent by the Cuban Government are allowed to return to Cuba not before five years from the date of departure. Close relatives of those persons can join them not before three years after the relative left. These persons are considered deserters and each case is evaluated individually according to the type of work he used to do in Cuba. Persons not travelling on official trips might be able to return sooner but [these cases are] always evaluated on [an] individual basis. Cubans on private trips are allowed to stay outside of the country for eleven months. Usually exit permits for private visitors are given for one month but can be extended to eleven months if the monthly fee is paid.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Canadian Embassy, Havana, Cuba. 24 June 1999. Letter sent to the Research Directorate by an immigration counsellor.
