14ymedio, Madrid, 18 June 18, 2024 — Cubans abroad will retain their rights to residence and will not lose their properties regardless of how long they have been out of the country, according to the new Migration Law, whose preliminary draft was published this Monday on the Parliament’s page along with that of the Aliens Law. The law also proposes another outstanding novelty: the possibility of renouncing Cuban nationality and entering the Island with a passport that accredits a new citizenship.
Currently, Cubans who leave the country and do not return in 24 months lose their status as residents and, with it, many inherent rights, from medical care to owning properties. However, they were obliged to enter the Island with their Cuban passport, one of the most expensive in the world, at a cost of 180 dollars per year.
With the new law, the category of effective migratory residence is created, “a condition that affects Cuban citizens and resident foreigners, when they spend most of their time in the national territory, or through a combination of a period of permanence and other material evidence that demonstrates roots in the country.” Those who obtain this category have the rights that the Cuban Constitution reserves for nationals.
As for residents, they are divided into two: residents in the national territory (which can be temporary or permanent) and residents abroad
As for the residents, they are divided into two: residents in the national territory (which can be temporary or permanent) and residents abroad. In the latter are those who live outside Cuba, who before this law were considered emigrants. They will be able to apply for their new status, as well as investors and businessman who participate in the Cuban economic model.
Article 56.1 addresses the situation of those who renounce Cuban citizenship, to whom the immigration law would apply once such a waiver is recognized. The text says that these people “cannot identify themselves in Cuba as Cuban citizens, and for the purposes of entry and exit to the country they are subject to the presentation of the corresponding foreign passport, visa requirement and travel documents.” In the case that they have more than one citizenship, “they must identify and leave the country with the passport they used at the time of entrance to the national territory.”
The law also regulates the conditions of entry and exit, as well as the limitations, among which there are still the reasons of security and national interest and some other reasons of a discretionary nature, as well as others usual in international laws that include reasons of a criminal nature.
In the case of entries into the country, the fact of having a criminal record for terrorism and other internationally prosecuted crimes also appears as limiting, a section that can be a nod to Washington, which keeps the Island on the list of State sponsors of terrorism precisely because of the protection it has given to some people involved in this type of serious crime.
The law also regulates the conditions of entry and exit, as well as the limitations, among which are still reasons of security and national interest
The 65-page regulation also establishes legal frameworks for crimes related to migrant smuggling and human trafficking, as well as sanctions for non-compliance. According to the press release of the National Assembly, which received the preliminary draft after years of study, the publication is made with “the objective of promoting citizen participation in this legislative process and contributing to the legal culture of the population.” To that end, several emails have been enabled to which citizens can send their impressions.
However, the regulation must be in an almost final version, according to its own preamble, which emphasizes that in March it was presented to the Council of Ministers “and some other entities” that asked questions and made observations now resolved, “so there are no discrepancies on the project,” from which it is inferred that the Assembly will make few or no modifications.
The Migration Law – “aimed at achieving a regular, orderly and safe flow” – will repeal the current one, of 1970, as well as the subsequent decrees that modified aspects such as travel regulations, among the most important. The change will radically break with the model in force until now, which entailed the loss of a huge amount of rights, in addition to the properties, that Cubans were rushing to bequeath to their relatives to manage them.
The regime has been trying for several years to approach Cubans living abroad in order for them to invest in Cuba
The regime has been trying for several years to approach Cubans living abroad in order for them to invest in Cuba, something that the law prevented emigrants in the United States from doing until now, although sometimes it ended up being carried out on the margins. With this modification, and thanks to the maintenance of Cuban nationality, this situation is put to an end in an emergency context for the Island.
However, U.S. experts warn of the instability to which this situation could lead. “If a person is applying for asylum in the United States and is suddenly receiving an inheritance or intends to return, this can definitely be alarming for the U.S. authorities, because it means that there was fraud in that asylum,” immigration lawyer Gladys Carrederguas told Telemundo Miami last night.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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