Travel to Cuba

April 19, 2007 4:18 AM

What's the latest on US citizens as tourists in Cuba? I would greatly appreciate fairly recent ( within the last six to twelve months ) experiences of a US citizen visiting Cuba. I am a Canadian. I visited Cuba in 1994. I would like to return soon, but I'd like to go with US citizen, departing from Toronto. There seems to be a lot of conflicting info out there. Any responses greatly appreciated. Thanks.
posted by GoodJob! to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

I can find out for you tonight. I know several activists for the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations With Cuba and can ask them. I did just hear a news story about a group of school students from NY that are getting the full treatment from OFAC regarding their trip to Cuba. The way the story is playing out, I think the government is still as bad as ever in regards to Americans traveling to Cuba.

Your friend might be better off traveling to Cuba from a Caribbean country rather than Canada. US Customs has a strong presence in Canada and will sniff him out relatively quickly.
posted by JJ86 at 5:42 AM on April 19, 2007

This thread has (what seems like) some good answers.
posted by inigo2 at 6:18 AM on April 19, 2007

Your friend might be better off traveling to Cuba from a Caribbean country rather than Canada. US Customs has a strong presence in Canada and will sniff him out relatively quickly.

Really? Does US customs wander around Canadian airports looking for American tourists leaving for, or returning from Cuba? This seems very strange to me. Or is it just that US customs has ties to Canadian customs, and so there's a good chance of information sharing there?
posted by antifuse at 6:20 AM on April 19, 2007

JJ86, thanks very much for your help. I look forward to having more info from you. I have taken many flights out of Toronto - not sure if US officials will be involved in the departure but since it's been 13 yrs since I visited Cuba
(and it was a charter flight) things may have changed. When we arrived in Santiago De Cuba, we were processed by Cuban officials ( no involvement by US officials on departure either ) anyway-- as you mentioned-- a departure from Caribbean island may be best. As I understand, the issue is a Trade Embargo, so if a US citizen arrives as no official capacity ( not a journalist, military officer, etc.....) but purely as a tourist, the Cuban officials will proceed accordingly- they will not stamp the passport, however they will will not turn them away. The US citizen is not permitted to spend money or make money there ( Trade Embargo) In other words this is not a tourism issue. I really need to be as close to 100% sure of this before we go. :-)
posted by GoodJob! at 6:21 AM on April 19, 2007

What I posted on the thread Inigo@ linked:

For good advice on Cuban travel, peruse the Lonely Planet Cuba Discussion board. The main things to remember as an American traveling illegally to Cuba are 1) don't bring anything back, 2) if confronted at the border, deny everything and sign nothing.
posted by LarryC at 6:22 AM on April 19, 2007

As far as Cuba goes, they welcome US tourists, and do not stamp US passports. Last time I was there, there were more Americans than I thought there would be. The only involvement with US customs would be when returning to the US, either by flying or driving. I've heard rumours that some Canadian airlines may share passenger lists with US authorities, but it may be that any US citizen flying home from Toronto in winter with a tan is pulled aside.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 6:42 AM on April 19, 2007

If you are set on doing this, I agree with those saying to go through the Caribbean. To minimize list-sharing paranoia (reasonable), you might want to go with a Cuban or other Caribbean carrier like Cubanacan (codeshares with Aeromex, I think).

US: still and increasingly persnickety about official travel to Cuba. Has been catching and penalizing a larger number of Americans coming back from Cuba. If your friend goes, he should not bring anything back. Is your friend living in Canada now? It could make things much easier, if he isn't going directly to the US...

Cuba: what Chuckles... said - Doesn't care if you're from the US, and as long as you deal with the tourist card or whatever, welcomes you and your foreign cash. They will not stamp in the passport unless you ask them to (and will look at you like you're nuts if you ask for it).

(I am a US citizen who spent the summer of 2003 living in Havana. Even with the OFAC approval and proper letters and permission, I got thoroughly gone over in Cleveland on the way back. Thanks, Cleveland!! Since then, no one's bugged me about the big MARTÍ stamp. Unlike Chuckles... I encountered very very few Americans except those affiliated with the University.)
posted by whatzit at 7:30 AM on April 19, 2007

Does US customs wander around Canadian airports looking for American tourists leaving for, or returning from Cuba?

US Customs is in Canada -- or at least it was when, ah, an American I know went to Cuba. It's unnerving to suddenly bump into US Customs at the start of your flight to the US.

They will not stamp in the passport unless you ask them to

This is not necessarily so. The same person mentioned above asked the Cuban official not to stamp her passport; he shook his finger at her and stamped it anyway.

But this was all in 2001, and the OP wanted more recent information.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:56 AM on April 19, 2007

US Customs is in Canada -- or at least it was when, ah, an American I know went to Cuba. It's unnerving to suddenly bump into US Customs at the start of your flight to the US.

Well, I was aware of that (I've made a few flights from YYZ to the states in my day) - but I guess I was just assuming that this American flying with the OP was living in Canada, not just transiting through the airport on their way back to the US. If they ARE transiting through a Canadian airport directly from Cuba to the US, yeah, I would totally go through somewhere else in the Caribbean.
posted by antifuse at 8:14 AM on April 19, 2007

antifuse: If they are transiting through, then it would be wiser to check your bags to Toronto and then check in for the ongoing flight to the US. It might seem like a hassle, but the connecting flight possibilities are probably better in Toronto than say Montego Bay.
posted by smcniven at 8:39 AM on April 19, 2007

For what it's worth, your friend should be sure s/he isn't going to be working for any government agencies anytime in the next 7 years. They'll run afoul of the US's retarded Cuba policy since every form regarding 'sensitive positions' - which I have had to fill out for even the most mundane projects for both NASA and the VA - ask this question

FOREIGN COUNTRIES YOU HAVE VISITED
List foreign countries you have visited, except on travel under official Government orders, beginning with the most current (#1) and working back 7 years. (Travel as a
dependent or contractor must be listed.)

Simply not having your passport stamped by the authorities won't help you in these cases. And you don't want to lie. "My statements on this form, and any attachments to it, are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and are
made in good faith. I understand that a knowing and willful false statement on this form can be punished by fine or imprisonment or both. (See section 1001 of title 18, United States Code)."
posted by phearlez at 9:31 AM on April 19, 2007

Really? Does US customs wander around Canadian airports looking for American tourists leaving for, or returning from Cuba?

Actually they do. Since as other posters have mentioned US customs are in many Canadian airports, they have always harassed people who look too suntanned for Canada if they don't have a damn good reason for it. Word has it that now, yes they actually do look for people exiting customs at a time when the Cubana flight lands to see if they then go to pre-clearance.
There's pre-clearance in the Bahamas so don't do that either. I don't know about Jamaica, I know there is *no* pre-clearance in Mexico.

You also run into the problem of having an exit stamp from a country, no entry or exit stamp from another one and then an entry stamp from the first country that you had an exit stamp from. OK So where did you go for those days and why is it not recorded? You had better have a good explanation for that. You can always "lose" your passport in Mexico and then shell out the extra bucks for a new emergency one.

Also note that the ban is not only on spending money, but "causing money to be spent." Thus your Canadian friend can't pay your way, even as a gift.

These restrictions are so stupid and strict that technically, if you go to Montreal, buy and smoke a Cuban cigar and *never bring anything Cuban back* you are violating the embargo.

Isn't it great living in the land of the free?
posted by xetere at 1:27 PM on April 19, 2007

I visited Cuba in 2001 from Costa Rica with absolutely no problems, and had a swell time. No stamps in my (U.S.) passport.

Of course, that was 2001. Sorry I don't have more recent information. Enjoy your trip!
posted by trip and a half at 7:18 PM on April 19, 2007

I checked with a friend who is a lawyer very active in the local Cuban group and he told this recent horror story about a woman with dual Canada-US citizenship flying to Cuba on her Canadian passport on a Canadian airline out of Toronto. On her return she was sidelined by US customs and thoroughly questioned for several hours. She was told she had to follow US rules or would forfeit her US citizenship.

US customs has a very strong hand in Canada. Any flight originating in Canada and flying through US airspace is subject to many regulations and scrutiny. A big telltale sign for customs agents to search for is an American citizen returning from Canada with a tan. That is a big red flag saying that they have been to Cuba. The best thing for your friend is to be careful especially if they fly out of Toronto. I have done so in the past without problems but I did have a license.
posted by JJ86 at 5:34 AM on April 20, 2007

A big telltale sign for customs agents to search for is an American citizen returning from Canada with a tan.

... presumably in winter, of course. :)
posted by antifuse at 7:05 AM on April 20, 2007