Madrid/Doubts have loomed since the drafts of the Immigration, Immigration and Citizenship laws were published in the last week. In the absence of its approval in the National Assembly and the subsequent regulations that specify more specific issues, the Cuban authorities submitted themselves this Wednesday to the scrutiny of the international media, before whom they made clear issues such as the end of the loss of properties.
“Because they are residents abroad, no one loses their home, no one loses their car, no one loses property. The law does not say that and we confirm that no one loses it. We are categorical about that,” said First Colonel Mario Méndez Mayedo, head of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Immigration, of the Ministry of the Interior.
The future Immigration Law, published on June 17, indicates that Cubans residing abroad will retain their rights as Cuban citizens – as long as they do not renounce their nationality -, which means that they would not lose their property, as until now, if they had been out of the country for more than 24 months without returning.
Some people had expressed their doubts regarding, for example, real estate, as it allegedly contradicted the current Housing Law, but yesterday Menéndez wanted to settle the issue. “All the people who have maintained their residence in the country since 2013, although they also live abroad, are favored by this law and do not lose any property rights,” he insisted.
“All persons who have maintained their residence in the country since 2013, even though they also live abroad, are benefited by this law and do not lose any property rights”
The meeting, which was intended to explain the rules, which will likely be implemented in 2025 after their approval next July – during the session of the National Assembly of People’s Power – also addressed an issue that has sparked heated reactions in recent days: the deprivation of Cuban nationality. The law attributes to the President of the Republic and the Minister of the Interior the authority in matters of citizenship, making them competent to resolve the administrative files of acquisition, loss, deprivation, renunciation and recovery.
This attribution had generated among public opinion the perception that both are entitled to an arbitrary withdrawal of citizenship, something that, on paper, is not the case. Both are ultimately responsible for a file initiated by the Prosecutor’s Office and which, at least in theory, must comply with the law.
However, the authorities retain the power in extremis where it is more possible for arbitrariness to occur, since it is expected that “the requirements and formalities in the processing of the file” can be skipped if it is necessary to withdraw the citizenship of someone who tries to cause “serious harm to the country in relation to national security.” , endangers the stability of the State, international relations or the general health of the population.”
It is “extraordinarily exceptional,” the officer stressed, “and we have only applied it exceptionally to the invaders of Girón,” he said to downplay its importance. In general terms, for the deprivation of citizenship the causes are “enlisting in any type of armed organization with the objective of attacking the territorial integrity of the Cuban State, its citizens and other people residing in the country, or carrying out acts from abroad. contrary to the high political, economic and social interests of the Republic of Cuba.”
“The Law specifies that it is to enlist in any type of armed organization with the objective of attacking the territorial integrity of the Cuban State”
That reason is not applicable to the Cubans fighting in Russia against Ukraine, the official settled in response to the clever question of a France Presse correspondent. “The Law specifies that it is to enlist in any type of armed organization with the objective of attacking the territorial integrity of the Cuban State,” he explained, making it clear that, even in the case of those who are considered mercenaries according to Cuban legislation, fighting on the Russian side does not affect national interests.
The Associated Press also questioned the official about possible arbitrary actions that could be committed by taking advantage of legal loopholes and other subterfuges. “The regulations will be consistent with what is established by law. There is no suspicion,” he concluded.
The Citizenship Law leaves the thorny issue of statelessness in the air, since the draft is clear when specifying that Cuban nationality cannot be renounced if it is not proven to have another (article 46) and Méndez elaborated on this. . “We do not accept cases of stateless persons. “No one can renounce Cuban citizenship if they do not have another one,” he noted.
However, this specification does not appear when talking about cases of loss or deprivation of Cuban citizenship. The first occurs in case of fraudulent acquisition or non-ratification in accordance with article 25 (you must go to a consulate within a period of three years from leaving the country or a similar period from the last ratification to express your will. to maintain it). In no case is it mentioned that having another citizenship is necessary to avoid loss.
As for deprivation, the issue seems even clearer. Article 55.2 indicates that the file to remove citizenship only concludes when the causes are verified “in an undoubted manner, the person in question has another citizenship or does not effectively reside in Cuba, and the decree is issued.” This makes it clear that the mere fact of being in a foreign country, with or without residence, abroad is enough, without it being essential to have another nationality.
This makes it clear that the mere fact of being in a foreign country, with or without residence, abroad is enough, without it being essential to have another nationality.
All of this contravenes the 1961 Convention to Reduce Cases of Statelessness, to which 64 countries – among which Cuba and the United States are not included – are adhered in order to prohibit the dispossession of nationality, due to the lack of protection that the lack of protection entails. Nationality. In 2020, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) issued new guidelines to renew this and other international agreements of its kind and recalled that there should be “very limited exceptions to this rule, including when nationality has been acquired through misrepresentation or fraud”.
Another issue that worries part of the population, as seen in the press conference, is the possibility of entering the country with a foreign passport as a Cuban. “To enter and leave the country a Cuban passport is required, that is not negotiable. It is a constitutional and sovereign decision,” said Méndez, who added that in Cuba “all acts carried out with other citizens are null and void to take effect in our country.”
Therefore, those who acquired another citizenship – US and Spanish being the most common among those who have dual nationality – must keep their passport in order and enter with it unless they have processed the renunciation of the Cuban one.
The changes in the Immigration Law will affect, the authorities estimate, 1.3 million Cubans, although the set of regulations (which includes five laws, those mentioned and two more that are not yet known) involves the entire society, including the foreigners. “Immigration regulations are incorporated that respond to the challenges of determining the residence of Cubans in Cuba and abroad, and in turn the exercise of rights related to the availability of the heritage of the national territory,” Méndez concluded.
