Cuba: Whether Cuban citizens who have been granted permission to emigrate to the United States of America (USA) as permanent residents of the USA are subject to prosecution on return to Cuba for violation of Cuban laws against illegal sojourn abroad; whether it makes any difference if such persons are convicted of criminal offences in the USA; whether relatives of such legal migrants to the USA are subject to confiscation of residential housing or other reprisals because their family members have chosen to emigrate lawfully (2003-August 2004)

On 5 August 2004, a counsellor at the Embassy of Cuba provided the following information during a telephone interview with the Research Directorate:

Cuban nationals who return to Cuba after having been granted permanent resident status by the United States are not prosecuted on return to Cuba. However, Cuban law generally forbids such a person from taking up residence in Cuba, a right that s/he forfeited upon immigrating to the United States. Normally, Cubans who wish to reside abroad must obtain a special permit from the Cuban government in order to do so. There are some exceptions to this rule, for example for persons over 50 years of age, but each case must be dealt with on an individual basis by Cuban authorities. Despite not being permitted to reside in Cuba, Cuban nationals who immigrate to the United States usually have the right to visit Cuba for a limited period.

Regarding Cuban nationals who were convicted of criminal offences in the United States, the counsellor stated that the exact nature of the crime would have to be known in order to determine whether or not such a person would be allowed to enter Cuba, and that there are certain cases in which such a person would not be eligible to enter Cuba.

The counsellor concluded by stating that a family of Cubans who have lawfully immigrated to the United States are not subject to confiscation of residential property or other reprisals, either by the government or by society at large. Although Cubans who leave the country for more than a certain length of time risk losing their property to the government, which then transfers it to needy families, the government has no right to confiscate property from those who remain in Cuba once their relatives have immigrated to the United States. This information was corroborated, during a telephone interview on 4 August 2002, by another official at the Embassy of Cuba, who said that he was aware of cases of Cuban nationals who immigrated to the United States whose relatives, still resident in Cuba, suffered no reprisals.

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 for refugee protection.

References

Embassy of Cuba in Ottawa. 5 August 2004. Telephone interview with cousellor.

_____. 4 August 2004. Telephone interview with official.