Some media outlets and several communicators have interpreted that if the immigration bill—published on the official website of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP)—is approved, Cubans could renounce Cuban citizenship and enter the country. with a foreign passport if you have another citizenship.
The statement is misleading.
Although the immigration law project announces that the Cuban Government is thinking about the possibility of regulating the process of renunciation of Cuban citizenship, the truth is that if the project is approved (and even after it comes into force) the possibility would not be available immediately.
The project ensures that Cubans who renounce Cuban citizenship, once the renunciation is approved, will be “considered foreigners” and will not be able to “identify in Cuba as Cuban citizens.” Likewise, it considers that for the purposes of “entry and exit to the country [estarán] subject to the presentation of the corresponding foreign passport, visa requirements and the corresponding travel documents.
The draft only mentions the possibility of renunciation of Cuban citizenship to define who will be considered foreigners after the project becomes law. But it does not imply that the future immigration law or its regulations may be used as a legal argument to promote citizenship renunciation processes before the relevant authorities.
In order to promote processes of renunciation of Cuban citizenship, the promulgation of a different norm will be required, the citizenship law.
The 2019 Constitution recognizes in article 38 that the “law establishes the procedure to follow for the formalization of the loss and renunciation of citizenship and the authorities empowered to decide it.” However, to date no regulations have been issued that define when, how and by whom a Cuban can be deprived or renounce citizenship. The citizenship law and not the immigration law is the one that should—according to the logic defended by the Cuban regime—establish the procedures that have not existed until today.
For years, Cuban authorities have assured that they are working on a citizenship law that regulates the ways to acquire and renounce Cuban citizenship.
However, they have delayed the rule as much as possible because they have preferred to use deregulation (absence of a law) to support the practice of considering Cuban citizenship an institution that does not guarantee rights, but that does generate obligations (acquiring and entering to Cuba with the Cuban passport, considered one of the most expensive in the world).
According to Legislative Schedule Approved by the ANPP for 2024, the citizenship law must be approved in July together with the migration, immigration and business laws. However, of the previous regulations, the only project that has not been published is the citizenship law, which suggests that it will not be approved on the scheduled date.
If you are interested in legal topics, you can visit our project elTOQUE Jurídico, in which you will find analysis and debates about the laws, rights and legal processes in Cuba.
Also follow us on Twitter: @eltoquejuridico
