The discussion of the new Immigration and Immigration Law, proposed by the Cuban government for the month of July, keeps Cubans in Miami and the rest of the exile in tension, for fear of the loss of their properties in Cuba.
A recent report by the Miami television station, Telemundo 51, reflected the concern among the Cuban diaspora in South Florida, where hundreds of thousands of Cubans live, about the new Immigration Law and its impact on their properties on the island.
Although the bill has not yet been discussed in the Cuban parliament, it has raised misgivings and doubts about the future of their properties on the island, generating a climate of uncertainty and concern among the Cuban community abroad. Not only from Miami, but from the rest of the United States, Europe and Latin America.
Official Cuban television has clarified that the new immigration law does not have a direct impact on the ability of Cubans residing abroad to maintain or inherit property on the island. However, uncertainty persists among Cubans in Miami, because there are many loose ends regarding the loss of property.
New immigration law: How does it affect Cubans’ properties in Miami or abroad?
The new immigration law has not yet been approved in its entirety and some aspects, such as the exact requirements for “effective immigration residence,” have not yet been clearly defined. And although the loss of property for Cubans residing abroad, such as in Miami or other cities, is not said literally, in the Housing Law that is in force, there are clear contradictions.
The Housing Law establishes that only permanent residents in Cuba can keep properties in the country. But, the new immigration law introduces the category of “effective immigration residence,” which requires that people spend most of their time in Cuba or demonstrate significant roots in the country.
Those who do not meet these requirements and become residents abroad could lose the right to their properties under the General Housing Law, unless the latter is also modified. Therefore, fear is latent and rightly so, for Cubans living abroad.
According to specialists, Cubans residing abroad will have a period of 189 days to make a crucial decision after the approval of the law next July.
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