Married to a Cuban and living in Cuba

So I’ve got a quick question—with this residency permit, do you also get a "libreta," free access to hospitals and a family doctor, etc., or is it just the right to stay in Cuba longer than with a tourist visa?

hey don diego!

With residency, you have all the rights and duties of a Cuban (in theory...). So yeah, you get the libreta, healthcare, etc... Just to be clear, I'm talking about permanent residency, not temporary residency, which I don’t know much about... If I’m not mistaken, Linaz, you had temporary residency, right? Laterrrrrrrrrr!

The question might seem totally silly coming from us since we know Cuba well, but we’ve never seen any family member use it... Is it because Cubans have some kind of desire not to show this system to foreigners, even family, or simply because we weren’t with them when they got products like that?

In everyday life, what products are bought in government stores using the libreta?

I’ve seen things bought in MN often, in free or street markets, purchases in foreign currency too, but the libreta—I’m stumped!!

Hey...

Well, you probably weren’t there at the time... Every day, there’s bread. Otherwise, depending on deliveries, it’s the usual stuff: red beans and/or other legumes (lentils, chickpeas, etc.), rice, sugar, salt, cigarettes, eggs, soy picadillo, oil, powdered milk for kids, etc... Some products are more or less well-stocked, and it also depends on the region... You can get oil on the *libreta*—if it doesn’t arrive, well, there just isn’t any!!! Later P.S.: Since you sometimes have to queue, and it’s even worse in Havana, some "well-off" families don’t always bother going...

Hi there, not at all, my friend—you only get to pay for the perks, ha ha ha ha! It’s not like back home where foreigners (legal ones) have access to all social services as soon as they get their residency card, including income without working. During my stay as a resident, I had to be hospitalized for 4 days, and the bill at discharge was over $1,000. If you don’t pay, say goodbye to your exit permit. Only Venezuelan nationals get that perk????????????? (Thanks, Chavez.) The only real advantage is being able to stay in the country.

Hi there, that’s totally correct regarding the temporary residency. For permanent residency, I’m not too sure, but I think at that point you’re in the same legal situation as a Cuban, meaning if you want to leave??????????????????????????????check all the procedures

I’ve seen people buying all kinds of products in MN left and right in free-trade shops without ever seeing the famous "libreta" in use, but it’s true that we live in Havana and in a rather privileged environment.

True, Cubans who 'have money' don’t always bother with the ration book (though I do find the bread tastier there! LOL)... but you can still get cigarettes, bread, beans, rice—especially rice—oil, and other stuff. Basically the essentials.

Conclusion: The "temporal" residency (residency you get when a foreign company sends you to work in Cuba, for example) means no *libreta* and no free healthcare. However, with permanent residency, you get the *libreta*, free healthcare, and prices in Cuban pesos (like for museums, *astro*, etc.), but to leave the country, you need to request an exit permit. (Still 150 CUC, though!).

Hello,

I’m a young Swiss woman—but Swiss-Canadian, blonde on top of that, and a dance fanatic... The temptation when I go to South America is always very strong. It’s so easy to meet someone, so easy to charm them (for all sorts of reasons, from my sense of humor to my pretty blue eyes... 😉 ). Plus, because of my passion for dance, I’m pretty sociable... I’ll admit I’ve had relationships (not 8,170,471 of them, don’t worry!) that I genuinely wanted to be serious with Latin men (even considering moving in together after 6 months of unofficial cohabitation, etc.), but after a while...

Someone smart (the Nicaraguan Consul in Switzerland, a Nicaraguan woman married to a Swiss man) pointed out to me that a European man with a Latina woman is always more manageable than a European woman with a Latino man—you see what I mean...?

And honestly, from my experience, she’s absolutely right... in terms of upbringing, values, etc. I don’t like generalizations, but let’s not kid ourselves: most Latina women are devoted to their husbands and children, they take care of the house, etc... Meanwhile, men tend to work a little and have a lot of fun (I lived in South America and rarely saw a man in the kitchen or doing housework). Not to mention the machismo and obsessive jealousy... Good luck to you, and as someone said earlier, I hope you meet that 5% (which is still a small number) who’s sincere with you and flexible enough to adapt to your upbringing and values (and vice versa, because you’ll have to make some serious efforts too for it to work!).

Result: I now just go to South America to see my friends and dance. I’m single, and it’s not so bad for me right now (at least for the moment... 😉 ).

Good luck!

Thanks, Syrius, I learned something today! It’s possible that instead of wasting time standing in endless lines to get supplies with the libreta, they buy from the free market in national currency—probably the explanation!

In the slightly run-down shops where Cubans pay in national currency, there’s admittedly not much, but some of those items are available without a queue.

Another question...

Has anyone managed to get the A2 visa without being married? I’ve been told it’s possible—it all depends on the embassy you go to and whether you can turn on the charm! :P Still, it’s the Cuban embassy, and if the officer is a man...!! Just kidding!

Thanks!

But be careful viajecuba, in the so-called "parallel" markets (free in MN), prices are 4 to 10 times higher than those of products supplied by the state via the libreta. In reality, everyone uses the libreta products, and to make meals more appealing, vary them, or increase the quantity, they go to the parallel market to add extras. But no one with a libreta ignores it.

It also has an "official" status indicating your residential address, which can come into play in legal procedures: for example, if you're registered in the libreta with someone's address for more than 2 years, it can serve as proof of residence to inherit that person's house/apartment in case of death.

Additionally, when there are children attending school registered under their parents' libreta, it’s also used to buy school uniforms.

It’s something that’s part of every Cuban’s daily life, and that’s probably why they don’t talk about it—because "everyone knows"!

Hey syrius! How's it going? 😉 If I understand correctly, when "permanent" residency is granted, you become "almost" Cuban, but I guess you don’t get citizenship (right?). If not, there must be some differences compared to Cubans, aside from the ease of getting an exit permit (?). Any privileges or drawbacks? No?

Hey Zorro!!! Well, I'm good, how about you!

Okay, I don’t know all the ins and outs of permanent residency, but I did a bit of digging—you’d expect that, right? In theory, I don’t see any difference compared to Cubans...

Actually, I have no idea if a foreigner can get citizenship or under what conditions... Plus, it seems like Cuba doesn’t accept dual citizenship—would you have to give up your original nationality? Not sure about that!

Why do I get the feeling you’re really interested? You thinking of moving there 😉??? Tchao!!!

Anyone living in Cuba, regardless of their original nationality and/or place of birth, who acquires Cuban nationality by descent or choice becomes Cuban because Cuba does not recognize dual nationality (we have this case in the family). As a result, they are subject to multiple exit permits whenever they want to travel abroad....

for a foreigner, this is ESPECIALLY not a good idea....

Even if you're married to a Cuban and have a dispute with them, there’s a risk you won’t be allowed to leave...

Hello, let's not get carried away. To add to what zorro rightly says—who, as a foreigner, knows Cuba very well in my opinion— the Cubans who don’t use the *libreta* are the privileged ones. I seem to remember (no offense intended) that the family of *viagecuba* (at least part of it) holds a medical management position. Indeed, directors, politicians, athletes, and musicians in Cuba are very privileged compared to the general population and often don’t absolutely need to use the *libreta*. We should also add *jineteros* (hustlers) and *negocios* (thieves). On the other hand, Cubans who don’t belong to these categories all use the *libreta*, because for them, it’s their way of life—better said, their means of survival.

For info, it’s been a long time since oil was no longer included with the *libreta*.

Do you know anyone who’s taken Cuban citizenship? And therefore given up their own nationality? It’s kind of a weird idea... What proves you’re renouncing your nationality? What are the requirements for getting Cuban citizenship? Just to be clear, we’re talking about citizenship, not permanent residency, right??? Later!

The *libreta* worked really well during the 70s-80s, during what you could call "the golden age of Cuban communism." You could buy oil, meat, etc., and there were so many things that people didn’t even take everything they were entitled to... things have changed a lot since then...

Otherwise, I can confirm that everyone—even people well-placed in the government—uses the *libreta*. It was once the target of an attack: the U.S. (CIA) poisoned an entire supermarket (the one where someone in the government shopped) in an attempt to eliminate them. The result? Hundreds of seriously ill people who alerted the authorities before it turned into a genocide. And I’m sure if *viajecuba* asks their family in Cuba’s "medical" sector, they also use the *libreta* at least for rice, beans, and coffee.

After that, it’s possible that some young athletes or others, out of "snobbery," might deny using it or look down on it. But if you don’t pick up your *libreta*—even if you don’t use it—you’re sometimes seen as an expat and can lose your rights as a Cuban (free healthcare, housing, etc.).

Hey syrius, I'll be in Cuba soon (next month), so that works... If you fancy grabbing a drink, you know how to reach me! 😉 No worries at all!

Otherwise, I'm just curious about it since I've never faced the issue or know anyone who's mentioned it... To move to Cuba, I'd need what Liniaz suggested: a job as an expat. That'd be cool, but as Liniaz said, it's really rare and hard to get...