The Cuban Health System has its own mechanisms for verifying documents intended for use abroad. Unlike other areas, the Health Ministry acts as the central regulator of the training activity and, therefore, of the movement of its professionals within and outside Cuban territory.
All degrees in higher education, technical training and other activities in the health sector are issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) and can be obtained, certified and legalized through the legal services authorized for this activity.
What are the entities that are authorized to provide these services?
The civil companies of legal services and their branches are the entities you can contact to perform your procedure. Some of these representations are:
- Bufete Especializado de Servicios (BES), belonging to the National Organization of Collective Law Firms.
- Consultoría Jurídica Internacional.
- Servicios Legales S.A.
- Bufete Internacional S.A.
- Consultores y Abogados Internacionales, CONABI.
- TRANSCONSUL S.A. Legal Consultancy.
How do I sign up for these services?
In order to obtain, certify or legalize documents of the Cuban health system, the interested party must first contact a lawyer who will represent him/her before the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health and also before the educational centre where he/she is receiving or has received academic training.
The interested party must go to the office with his/her identity card and present the following documents to carry out the procedure before MINSAP
- Stamping (for the value corresponding to the transaction)
- Cash Fee (for the value corresponding to the procedure performed)
- Title or photocopy of document
If you do not have the document to be legalized, you can request it. Please provide us with as much information as possible:
- Volume and Folio of the title
- Municipality and province where the Health Education Center is located
- Name of Health Teaching Center
- College
- Field of study
- Study start date
- Date of graduation
How long do these procedures take in relation to the health care system in Cuba?
There are several stages to the legalization of a document, and each stage has different resolution times. Unfortunately, since 2022, the legalization of documents for use abroad has taken longer than expected. This is due to the backlog of requests.
As a result, it is not possible to provide an estimated time frame for any of the procedures. However, the following is the official workday breakdown for each management level.
- Preparation and delivery of the document by the lawyer to the central state administration bodies: 45 days.
- Certification of the document submitted to the central state administration bodies: 5 days
- Legalization of document before the Foreign Ministry: 10 days
On the other hand, there is a category containing academic study documents from Ministry of Health training centers. These titles or credentials cover a broader range of academic and professional experience and therefore require different procedures to be effective abroad.
In this category of procedures you can manage the acquisition, certification and legalization of teaching documents, certification of working hours, work experience, social service, etc.
What are the requirements for the legalization of these documents abroad?
The requirements to apply for the acquisition, certification and legalization of these documents for their use in foreign countries are as follows:
- Submit an application signed by the legal representative.
- A copy of the legal services agreement entered into between the interested party and the authorized entity.
- Document to be processed
If you are applying to certify work hours, work experience, or community service, you will also need to provide:
- Copy of degrees (only for professionals and technicians)
- Summary of the employment file with the signature of the human resources department and the work center manager. The provincial health director, national subdivision directors or representatives must also endorse it.
In this case resolution timesalso vary due to the persistent backlog of cases.
Thewait timeestablishedis up to 45 working days, which is handled as follows:
- Receipt of applications by the Agency’s Legal Department and subsequent referral to the Director of Human Resources: 5 working days.
- Human Resources of the Ministry of Public Health delivers the result by certification: 30 business days from the date of Step 1.
- Legalization of documents issued by the Ministry of Health by the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health: 10 working days.
Processing of health system certificates in Cuba
The documents prepared and certified by the training centers of the Ministry of Health will be processed in the following way:
- The University of Medical Sciences will process the request of the Legal Services Entities for the Educational Centers subordinated to it: 5 working days.
- Receipt of the applications by the educational centers for their preparation and delivery to the appropriate University of Medical Sciences: 15 working days.
- The University of Medical Sciences prepares and certifies the documents prepared by the educational institutions for subsequent delivery to the legal services entity that requested the process: 25 working days.
Regarding the Regulation of Health Care Professionals
As established by MINSAP, specialists or residents in their last year of any specialty in the health sector will be allowed to travel abroad temporarily or permanently, provided they are engaged in activities vital to the country’s health services. This does not include those trained in general comprehensive medicine (with rare exceptions), nurses, stomatologists, psychologists, or health technology graduates.
About Us
Opapeleo is your agency for procedures 100% online or telephone. We are in Washington DC 150 meters away from the Cuban Consulate. We provide services for the Extension and Renewal of Cuban Passport, Legalisations, Powers of attorney on all kinds, Authorisations for minors to leave the country, DVT, Visas to Cuba, Top-ups, applications for Cuban certificates, delivery of official documents and all kinds of procedures related to Cuba.
