General questions
What is a visa for Cuba?
The Cuba visa is a green paper card, which consists of two parts. On both the left and right part you enter your nationality, first name, last name, date of birth and the passport number. After arrival in Cuba, one part is torn off and taken. The other part is taken when leaving the country. Therefore, make sure that you keep the visa with your passport in your hand luggage during your trip. Do not stick the visa in your passport, but keep it loose. When the two parts get seperated for whichever reason before your arrival in Cuba, you must obtain a new visa since the current one will no longer be valid.
Do I need a visa for Cuba?
If you are going on vacation or on business to Cuba, you need a visa. This applies to all residents of the European Union, including Dutch and Belgians. Minors also have to have their own visa Cuba. If it concerns a tourist trip, the application can be submitted completely online via the application form on our website.
Do I need different visas for a tourist or business trip?
Yes, for your holiday you can request a tourist card, a business visa is required for a business trip.
Please note, to apply for a business visa for Cuba, the traveler must do this in person at the Cuban Embassy in The Hague. Traveldocs can assist you with this. Ask us for the conditions and rates.
Do children need to have their own visa?
If you travel with underage children, you have to take into account a number of extra rules. Children must have their own travel document and may no longer be included in the parents’ passport. This means that children also need to have their own Cuba visa. In addition, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee carries out extensive checks to prevent possible international child abductions. Are you traveling abroad with a child over which you have joint custody or over which you do not have custody? You can use this form to demonstrate that you have permission from the persons who have custody of the child to travel abroad with the child. More information can be found on the website of the national government.
Is it possible to obtain a business visa for Cuba?
It is possible to obtain a business visa for Cuba. It concerns a different visa type than the tourist card. A business visa is a regular visa, which you must apply for in advance at the consulate of Cuba. With a business visa you have to travel to Cuba within 30 days after receiving the visa and it allows you to stay in Cuba up to 30 days. It is possible to extend the visa locally, however we cannot guarantee that the extension will be granted.
For this you must provide:
- A Spanish or English guarantee letter from your employer,
- Copy of airline tickets (return) in name,
- Two passport photos, your passport,
- A copy of your health insurance plus a statement stating that you have coverage in Cuba during your entire stay
- An official invitation letter.*
* This invitation letter must be approved by the Cuban Ministry. The visa will therefore only be issued once the Cuban consulate in Rotterdam has received confirmation from the Cuban Ministry. The inviting party must take care of this. Without a confirmation from the Cuban Ministry it is not possible to obtain a business visa. Traveldocs can assist you with a regular business visa application for Cuba. Please contact us for the possibilities and pricing.
How long am I allowed to stay in Cuba?
The Tourist Card for Cuba allows the traveler to stay in Cuba up to 30 consecutive days. It is possible to extend this visa locally in Cuba for 30 days extra. You can apply for this visa up to a year in advance.
The Business Visa is a regular visa, which have to be obtained at the consulate of Cuba in Rotterdam. After obtaining the visa the traveler will have 30 days to enter Cuba. This differs from the Tourist Card. After entering the country you will have up to 30 days of consecutive stay and can also be extended locally for an extra 30 days.
Traveldocs cannot guarantee that the extenstion will be granted.
How much does the Cuban visa cost?
The costs for the visa for Cuba for the tourist visa are € 39,95.
For the business single-entry visa € 150,37
This includes processing costs, consular costs, transaction costs (with iDeal / bancontact payment) and VAT.
You can also use an urgent procedure where a surcharge of € 10,00 will be charged.
Is it possible to extend the visa?
Both tourist and business visas can be extended locally in Cuba for an extra 30 days. This allows the traveler to stay in Cuba for a total of 60 consecutive days. However we cannot guarantee that the extension will be granted, due to the fact that the local Cuban authorities always maintain the right to refuse your extension request without providing any information or reason for doing so.
Does it matter how I travel to Cuba with the provided visa?
No matter how you enter Cuba, whether traveling by boat or plane to Cuba, your visa is valid at any border control.
ATTENTION! If you travel to Cuba via America, you must have a pink tourist card instead of the standard green one. On our website you can request this entirely online at an additional cost.
Application related questions
How do I apply for the Cuban visa?
Submit your application for the tourist visa online and receive the Cuba visa by post. Applications can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The visa will be sent by post within four working days. The shipping costs are included in the total amount at € 39,95 per person. After receipt, you can easily fill in the visa card yourself. When filling in the form, be careful and copy the passport data without errors. Because the Cuba visa does not have an arrival date, it can be applied for long before departure.
You can also apply for the business visa online, after having filled in all the details of the traveler (s) concerned, the application can be paid very simply. That is possible with iDeal, Bancontact, Paypal or with Credit Card. When the payment of € 150,37 has been completed you will receive (within a maximum of 1 hour) an email from us with instructions on how to provide the necessary documents. To deliver these documents, you can choose to drop them off at our office, send them by registered mail or courier, and you can also use our secure collection service. After granting the visa, you will receive the passport with the visa for Cuba back from us. You can select the method of return in the application form, namely; Registered mail, DHL courier, personal collection from our office or ready at Schiphol.
How long in advance do I have to order a Cuban visa?
After receipt, you can easily fill in the visa card yourself. When filling in the form, be careful and copy the passport data without errors. Because the Cuba visa does not have an arrival date, it can be applied for long before departure.
We recommend that you apply for the business visa at least 15 days before departure as documents still need to be submitted and the Cuban Embassy wants to check whether it is for things that are legal in Cuba.
Is there an urgent procedure available?
Are you already traveling to Cuba in the short term? Urgent requests that are submitted and paid before 12:00 on a working day will be processed the same day and sent by post. An urgent application can be submitted using the normal online application form. Tick the option “urgent” in the form. A surcharge of € 10,00 per person will be charged for urgent deliveries. In addition, it is possible to book a courier for the next working day for € 44,77. The courier will then deliver your visa to your home or work address the next working day before 17:00. Attention! If you do not check this option, the visa will be sent by regular mail, unless it is a business visa and is containing your passport. These costs are additional to the € 10,00 per person for the urgent procedure.
How do I send the passport and documents?
Tourist applicants can provide all the information and details online.
Business travellers have to send their passport and documents to us. There are a number of delivery methods, namely; deliver at our office in Hoofddorp, send it yourself (registered by post or by courier), have it picked up by us (the next day or in case of emergency the same day).
Sometimes our pick-up service can be used the same day. The possibility and costs depend on the pick-up location, the time and the crowds at our courier service. The costs for the next day’s pick-up also depend on the pick-up location.
You can contact us by phone for the possibilities of our collection service.
How do I send my passport and documents?
Applying for the E-visa is completely digital, after submitting your application and completing the payment, your application will be processed and we will send you an email (within a maximum of 1 hour).
In this e-mail you will find all instructions on how and which documents you should upload.
When and how do I need to pay for the visa?
After submitting the online application form, you must make the payment. You can do this with: iDeal, Paypal, Bancontact or credit card. If a surcharge is charged for the collection and / or shipping method you have chosen, this will be added directly to the total amount.
If you use a custom courier (for collection and/or return), the costs will be invoiced afterwards.
Required documents
Which documents do I have to provide in order to obtain a Cuban visa?
You do not have to provide anything for the tourist visa, you only need to fill in the online application form.
After submitting the online business visa application for Cuba, you will receive a personal email from us with instructions on how to provide the necessary documents for your situation.
Which conditions apply to my passport?
The passport must be valid for at least seven months after each entry. The passport must contain at least one blank page.
Which conditions apply to my photographs?
The passport photo must be hardcopy (on paper and not digital), taken in the last 3 months in the format 35x45mm. to be delivered. The passport photo must be of high quality and in color with a white background. Headwear is only allowed in the passport photo if this is for religious reasons: The visibility of the entire face is then a requirement.
The passport photo must be loose (so not attached to the application form in any way) and free of any glue / staple remnants.
Attention! You must provide two passport photos for the business visa.
Does my passport state the letter O or number 0?
Document numbers in the Netherlands never contain the letter “O”, but they can contain the number “0”. Even though it seems that there is a letter O in your passport, it will be the number 0. It is also important to know that document numbers in the Netherlands are 9 characters long.
Belgian document numbers may include the letter (s) “O” and / or the number “0”. Belgian document numbers are 8 characters long and always start with 2 letters followed by 6 numbers.
Which conditions apply to the guarantee letter?
A guarantee letter is only required if a business visa for Cuba applies. After completing the online form you will receive a sample by e-mail, which only needs to be completed and signed by your employer.
Do I have to book a flight and hotel in advance?
Tourist travelers do not have to provide confirmations of flight nor hotel. However, business travelers have to provide both along with the rest of their documents and passport.
Which conditions apply to the invitation letter?
An invitation letter is required if you are traveling to Cuba on business, this letter must be written on the corporate paper of the inviting party in Cuba (a copy is allowed). This letter must be approved by the Cuban Ministry and confirmed to the Consulate of Cuba in Rotterdam. Without this confirmation it is not possible to obtain a business visa. The inviting party in Cuba must ensure this approval.
Changing or cancelling an existing application
Is it possible to cancel my application?
Cancellation is only possible before payment is completed. As soon as we have received the payment of your eVisitor visa application, we will process it immediately and refund of your payment is no longer possible from that moment.
If you made a mistake with the application, you can submit a new application. Costs for this new application are entirely at your own expense.
Can I get my money back if I don't use my visa?
If your application is approved, you will never receive your money back. Even if you decide not to use the Cuban visa, it is not possible to get the money back, since we have to order these visas per person from the consulate.
I made an error on my application/Tourist Card. Is it possible to correct this?
If you have made a mistake while filling in the tourist card, it is not possible to correct this. You must obtain a new visa with the proper information and cancel the existing one. If you have made a mistake on the online application form, please contact us as soon as possible to indicate what is not in order. Whether your visa application can still be corrected depends on the nature of the error and the status of your application.
Additional questions
Can I get help with my application?
Always try to find your question on this page first, in almost all cases you will find the answer to your question about your visa application here.
In the unlikely event that you find no or insufficient answer to your question, we will of course be happy to help you, click here to contact us
How do you handle my personal data?
We will only use your data to process your visa application. In doing so, we respect the privacy of every user of our site and will ensure that all personal information you provide to us will be treated confidentially. We strongly inform you that your data will not be sold or used for any other commercial purposes.
If you have any further questions about your privacy, please view our privacy policy or contact us.