Given the economic, political and social crisis that Cuba is experiencing, migration rates are reaching frightening figures every year. Thousands of Cuban citizens leave the country every year, either legally or illegally. This has increased the number of procedures to obtain a Cuban passport.
In the current situation -favoured by the Spanish Grandchildren Law and the Humanitarian Parole approved last January by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden – the chance to travel legally to other countries, makes many of them take the safest routes or allow them to provide benefits in some cases to their closest family members.
However, this situation becomes even more complex when the potential migrants are minors. Here the law takes on a decisive importance and in all circumstances, the best interests of the minor must be taken into account and the approval of both parents or guardians must be secured. The recently published Official Gazette No. 28 Extraordinary of 2023 refers to the granting of the travel document to minors. Using this document, the Supreme Court publishes Instruction 279, which constitutes the procedure to be followed in these cases.
Changes to this Document on the Cuban Passport
According to the instruction “in summary proceedings in which claims related to the non-joint exercise of parental responsibility are established or when there are discrepancies for that reason, whenever authorization is requested to obtain a passport in favour of minors and/or their departure from the national territory, the court adopts the necessary measures to provide special protection to the children and adolescents concerned”.
The text of the gazette also specifies the legal documents to be submitted to the Directorates of Identification, Immigration and Alien Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint) when applying for a Cuban passport for a minor.
The holders of parental custody must explain to a court the reasons for their position to allow or deny the child to leave the country. Then, the court will decide.
The function of Key Aspects of the Cuban Passport for Minors
- The address of the residence where the minor and the adult to whom the authorization is granted will be staying.
- The destination of the minor’s trip and the period in which he/she must return to the national territory if it is a temporary departure.
- The right of the minor to keep contact with grandmothers, grandfathers and other relatives or persons with whom he/she has an affective bond.
Afterwards, the court itself issues a circular to the Ministry of the Interior informing whether or not it is possible to issue the passport to the minor, by the final court decision.
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