Permanent residence for canadian and child in Cuba

hey there,
My wife is a Canadian citizen, my step son is canadian I am Cuban-Canadian(live mostly in Cuba).
Does anybody know if when I ask for my wifes permanent residence in CUba I can also ask for my step son?

thanks

What have the good people at the Cuban Consulate office in Canada told you?

Terry

Best to pay a visit to the embassy or one of the two consulates. I doubt there will be an issue but may require different paperwork. Depends how old the child is also. At a minimum, the biological father will have to give women permission for his son to travel and in this case, move outside the country.

Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that Cuba will give your spouse PR, let alone your stepson.

Also, it is not you that applies, it's your wife. The only contribution you can make is provide whatever documents Cuba requires of the Cuban spouse.

thank you for your replies,the cuban embassy doesnt reply to emails or calls,,
@greslogo i have never heard of a canadian being refused permanent residency in cuba as a spoure of a cuban so,that should go smooth.

I know at least one person that was refused. They have no idea why. Married to a Cubana. That was a few years ago, when the Canadian had to prove they were solvent. 5000 in a Cuban bank plus income, like a pension or annuity. That requirement has been removed.

Yes, they usually do not respond to calls. That is why i suggested you see them in person. I understand that it could be difficult, requiring time and expense, if you do not live close to Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal.

The best of luck.

PS. You can make the application in Cuba but, since it takes a few months, both you, spouse and stepson would have to be there for the duration.

greslogo is right, for the step-son anyways, unless she has full custody of him. In this case she would have to notify the father, and the 2 would sign an affidavit showing the father is okay with this.

Your wife would apply for the PR for her and her son and provide Cuban authorities with the documents required.

They will need their long form birth certificate. Translated and an affidavit of the Translator must be done. Once translated and with the affidavit, it all goes to Foreign Affairs in Ottawa to be authenticated. Once it comes back then it's ready to go to the Consulate to be legalized by Cuba for us in Cuba. Your wife has to do the Police Report (CPIC), it too has to be translated with the Affidavit done and then onto Foreign Affairs for authentication. Once done it's ready for the Consulate. You can do the medical in Cuba...this way no translation required, no legalization. Cost is between 90-110CUC depending which province and which hospital. She has to write a letter explaining why she wants to move to Cuba. The owner of the house she will be living in (if not you) will have to write a letter for her to give with her application, saying they are giving permission for her to live in the house. Once you guys have all this paperwork, you then go to Immigration in your province and submit the paperwork. PR's are running anywhere from 2-6 months right now.

You don't have to be there for the duration. You apply and then you go back once you have a reply, no reason to be there.

Once someone get permanent residence, he can pass that to any first degree family member, or so it was as of march 2015.

the last two replies have been really great!

last paragraph though @yorgos where dis you get that info?

You cannot pass on a PR to anyone. If neither your father or mother is Cuban you have to apply for PR and if you are a child where one or both biological parents are Cuban you have to apply for Citizenship similar to a naturalized citizenship. We are in the process of doing this right now. I am Canadian and our son was born here in Canada and my husband is Cuban. For our son, he has to reside in Cuba until his application is processed, most likely because his is a citizenship whereas I can apply for my PR and then come and go as I please until my application is processed, how eve r we are moving there permanently so I will be doing my medical in Cuba vs here in Canada and submitting my application here. You can't pass on your status in Cuba, anymore than a PR here in Canada can pass their status onto anyone, including their child. Everyone has to apply, the only difference is children don't have to do a medical.

Ya, that was somewhat ambiguous. Yorgos, please elaborate.

In my case, need to know, because i will be doing a PR application. At the end of next year, in Cuba.

Gres, nobody can pass a status onto anyone else, status has to be applied for. Yorgos said this was the process in 2015, much has changed, that is not the process as of right now.

When I say you can pass your PR to any first degree relative, I meant that those kind of relatives are eligible to apply. Obviously they have to apply, how else could it be?
>
For our son, he has to reside in Cuba until his application is processed, most likely because his is a citizenship whereas I can apply for my PR and then come and go as I please until my application is processed

That's exactly what I said. That a foreigner does not need to remain in the country while waiting for his PR; it takes so long anyway (nowadays... back in the time we used to get them in 45 days) that it would be illegal, as foreigners cannot reside for that long.

These days, it takes 2-3 months to get the application processed. Not a problem if you are a Canadian and want to wait white you are in Cuba.

We already have a house in Havana, yorgos. Looking for a bigger house. Will wait till we are in Cuba to buy it.

Between you and me.... You are invited to my niece's cuinse on Jan 2.... Looks like it will be in Cardenas. The next time we are in Cuba. Always wanted to meet you... Been many years.

In private.

Gres, nobody can pass a status onto anyone else, status has to be applied for. Yorgos said this was the process in 2015, much has changed, that is not the process as of right now.

I don't think this was ever the case..

Gres I know of SIX foreigners currently who have been waiting for their applications to be processed. None of them have any reply yet and their times range from 4 to 11 months... It has gotten really really slow given the sheer numbers of applications since PR have been allowed to buy property in Cuba, which is no wonder given how lucrative it is today to buy a house, fix it and rent it.

Jan 2 will probably be busy, extremely high season but I'd love to meet you and the family and if I'm lucky i may be working in Varadero on that date, so may be able to escape and bring some feta cheese and Greek olive oil or something even cheezier, lol.

I speak of personal experience. I was given the chance to pass my status to parents and sisters if I wanted to since they changed immigration laws in 2013. Not sure if they've changed them again since, but yes this was absolutely possible and very fast (less than 30 days).

Yorgos....i am speaking about applications for PR that were done in Cuba and not through a Cuban embassy abroad... Not people i know, personally. Processing took less than 3 months. This year.

You are always welcomed, especially if you are bringing goodies....jeje

We will take this offline, the closer we get to Jan 2.

Yes, i know, could not have picked a more busy time but it is not my niece's fault...lol

I was at the hospital, in Matanzas, the day she was born. Everybody thought i was the father.... Lol...Had complete access to the hospital, and the natal care section. She was premature, about 4 lbs. Didn't seem to hold her back. First in her class on every subject and a star athlete. Very proud of her.

Yorgos....i am speaking about applications for PR that were done in Cuba and not through a Cuban embassy abroad... Not people i know, personally. Processing took less than 3 months. This year.

Everyone I know applied in Cuba and still no response. I am shocked by the experience of your acqauitances!

Ya, i am confused also. Conflicting information.

Always wanted to meet you... Been many years.

Man, you guys have known each other for a long time!

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-cuba/cuba/miscellaneous-info

and some other familiar folks in that thread as well.

When I say you can pass your PR to any first degree relative, I meant that those kind of relatives are eligible to apply. Obviously they have to apply, how else could it be?
>
For our son, he has to reside in Cuba until his application is processed, most likely because his is a citizenship whereas I can apply for my PR and then come and go as I please until my application is processed

That's exactly what I said. That a foreigner does not need to remain in the country while waiting for his PR; it takes so long anyway (nowadays... back in the time we used to get them in 45 days) that it would be illegal, as foreigners cannot reside for that long.

Thank you for clarifying what you meant.

Once we get our papers approved, I'll post again with the timeline. We are moving in 2 months and will submit our paperwork right away when we arrive.

That would be interesting, thank you.

does anybody know if canadian PRs are checked through the aduana the same way as cuban citizens?
when i come to cuba(cuban) i was get pulled aside to weigh and check my luggage while my wife(canadian) is never bothered. Will this change when she becomes a PR?

First of all, a canadian PR is no different than a Brazilian PR or a Chinese PR.

Who gets pulled over and who doesn't in theory has nothing to do with your passport or ID, but depends on
a) random checks
b) how many times you have been in and out of the country
c) the length of your stay abroad (going fo a day to miami will raise eyebrows)

In practice, the more suspicious you look for bringing in products over the customs limits, the bigger the chances. Usually tourists, or those who look like them, don't work as mules, so they are less often checked.

all cubans get checked, wheather you look suspicious or not...tourists, very rare.

Not every Cuban get checked... I'd say not even half of them, I travel tens of times every year, often accompanied by Cubans, most of the times nobody gets checked.
Every tourist that looks suspicious can expect to be stopped. Try being a tourist and enter with an aircon or baggage in huge balls well covered by plastic.

i look very suspicious with only my carry on then :p

I don't think there's a yes or no to this question, it all depends on which airport you land in, who's working that day and what mood they're in. My husband gets stopped every time he does his once a year CUP trip. Any other trip he does just his 30kg and there's never an issue.

Once your wife has her PR, she is entitled to the same once a year CUP entry and she will most likely get checked during those trips, first to make sure nothing is coming in that's on the list of do not's and as well to make sure she's not over her CUP limit.

Ya, that was somewhat ambiguous. Yorgos, please elaborate.

In my case, need to know, because i will be doing a PR application. At the end of next year, in Cuba.

I'll let you know how mine goes gres, it may be busier for Habana than for Holguin but it's anyone's guess. Even a year ago, a girlfriend of mine did her PR, in Holguin, and it was only 2 months for approval and the other 3 recent ones I mentioned on the other forum, were all outside Habana. However, that's considering when they submit their paperwork in their respective provinces, everything has to be sent to Habana for processing anyways.

True.

Yorgos.... My wife always has her stuff put on a scale. My wife also has a PRE. She had yet to pay anything but that's because i am strict with the amount of baggage she brings. I'm not paying 10cuc per kilo.

We almost always fly into varadero.

They did try to scam her, once, on having insurance. We are covered by my companies insurance, including Cuba. They tried to scam her into buying Assistur. The agent said, i can do that for you...$300cuc.... For one week.... Lol
I got worried when the lights in the arrival area were turned off and she was not out of the airport. She basically told them, i am not paying it. You want to spend the night arguing, I'm game...lol

My mother in law and niece were here last summer. All returned way over the weight limit, including a bicycle. They were checked but we're not assessed any duty. Reason given... My MIL is retired, my niece is a minor. Not going to argue....lol

My MIL was back here this winter. Same thing, no duty on her return. 50 kilos.

Me, 2 minor experiences.... Didn't pay anything after all was said and done. Didn't even need to bribe anyone...lol

All cases I have mentioned are in Havana.
As for customs, I'm flying in tomorrow and there will be several Cubans flying with me, will keep an eye for other Cubans as well and will report on what % will be stopped.

even if canadians bring (import) stuff and the aduana checks them and sees it very rarely a canadian will have to pay anything...(the reason why i always give the important gifts to my wife to bring in her luggage lol)

on another hand...for those living in cuba for more than 4 months...how much are you spending here? (provided you live in your own house not a casa particular) and how do you deal with the lack of services and amenities we have in canada?

How much one spends can vary considerably. It depends on YOU. No way i could give you a meaningful ballpark.

If you don't mind me asking.... You don't know ? You said you are Cuban and spend most of your time in Cuba. A pretty stupid question, based on what you have already said.

Conclusion.... You are not Cuban and have spent precious little time, if any, outside of a resort. If true, nothing to be ashamed of. Just don't bs.

Flew in today from south America into Havana after four days abroad. None of my Cuban co- travelers were stopped by customs, nor any passenger who didn't have huge boxes to import. I will kindly repeat that some blanket comments here are just generalisations of individual experience and should not be taken literally.

There is no right and wrong answer, everyone posts their personal experience and the experiences of those they know or talked to...that's the thing about Cuba, nothing ever goes the same way from one traveller to the next. EVERYTHING that gets posted is subjective to that person's relative experience. The whole point of posting is for others to be AWARE of these different experiences, not that they WILL happen but they CAN happen, it's simply a matter of being prepared. One person always gets stopped and checked and another never does, doesn't make one person's experience any less valid than the other.

Every Cuban forum I've ever been on over the last 17 years seems to project some sort of "competition" as to who's information is right vs wrong or who knows more about Cuba. Cuba is a place with many hypocrasies and rules that change day to day, week to week, month to month depending on where in Cuba you go, who you deal with, what mood they're in that day. The best ANY of us can do is to put our experiences out there so that people are aware of what CAN happen.

Just the other day it was about timelines to get a PR...one poster put that there are long processing times. I posted that I know of 3 people recently who got their PR in under 3 months...well another person recently got notice that their PR was approved and it was just under 4 months. Again, there is no definitive timeframe, immigration in Cuba will tell you 3-12 months, so it can be 2-3 months or it can be 12 and anywhere in between, those are the facts.

All posts are subjective, and we would all do well to remember that.

I agree with the post totally. That's why I am saying we should all be more careful with blanket comments. You can't say "all Cubans get stopped all the times", it is a generalisation that just creates wrong impressions about a country with such particularities.

There are many realities in Cuba.

Yes, but who gets stopped and who doesn't get checked by aduana, is not one of them...lol

I imagine a returning Cuban with just a carry-on would pass right through. It's when they think you're over the 'free,' weight limit. If the weight is within the limits or close, you're good to go or, in the case of my mother in law and niece, they didn't charge them anything, even though they each had 50-55 kilos.

Flying into varadero.

As I like to say, your mileage may vary.

Completely agree gres, I have yet to see a Cuban enter with tons of stuff and make it through without being stopped, questioned and their bags searched through.

I agree to this too. But "Cubans entering with tons of stuff" are not "every single Cuban gets stopped".

Completely agree gres, I have yet to see a Cuban enter with tons of stuff and make it through without being stopped, questioned and their bags searched through.

I returned to Havana last week on a flight from Moscow with a Cubana. She insisted it was no problem that we exit together. Between us we had 3 large shrink wrapped duffel bags, the kind everyone uses to transport clothing purchased in Russia weighing 19.9 kilos each, her large stuffed roller suitcase, my large roller suitcase, her large overstuffed purse, and my camera bag. We simply walked through Aduana and out the door without much inspection or comment. I think it is like everything else in Cuba where the situation is variable.

Just playing the devils advocate. If all this was on a baggage cart, they could have just as well thought most of it was yours.

I do admit that my wife had been clearing customs much faster than just a few years ago. Could be the increased flights and lack of staff.... Move people out of the airport much faster.

I never leave with my wife.... We don't know each other the moment we exit the plane....lol

Had a few occasions where aduena asked her, are you alone... No, with my husband... Oh, where is he.... Outside having a beer.... That seemed to annoy them..lol...

No plans on changing how we deal with clearing the airport.

Just playing the devils advocate. If all this was on a baggage cart, they could have just as well thought most of it was yours.

Actually it took two full baggage carts. We simply followed the recommendations of a Cuban couple living in Moscow in an apartment next to the huge market where every Cuban shops. That market must be between 2 and 3 million square feet on two floors and is full of Cubans buying for resale. The Cuban couple has a large apartment in Moscow with 16 beds in 2 rooms serving normal Cuban meals. totally set up with scales for weighting packages, duffle bags for sale, shrink wrap, airport transportation, and everything a visiting Cuban shopper in Moscow needs. My Cubana, being on her first trip back and able to pay import duty in CUP if necessary, was the queen. We were compensated for carrying back bags which people met us at Jose Marti to pick up.

Lol.... Good for you.

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