Imagine this – you’ve had a wonderful month in Cuba and decide to stick around for a little longer. What should you do?

First and foremost, you need to know that if you have entered Cuba with a visitor visa your stay on the island country can be extended only twice. For example, if your initial stay is 1 month you can extend it by one more month. You can decide to extend your stay once more and have a three-month stay in total and depart at the end of the third month. Every extension procedure, however, requires you to pay a particular tax and submit the following documents:

  1. Travel insurance is valid up until the end of the extended period. You can issue one on the spot – ask the Immigration Department for assistance.
  2. A flight ticket confirming the date of your departure from Cuba, which has to be the same as the ending date of your extended stay on the Island of Freedom.
  3. A document that confirms that you have paid the tax of 25 Peso Convertible. Firstly, you will need to go to a bank and buy sellos /stamps/ for the sum of 25 Peso Convertible. Find out more about the currencies in Cuba here.
  4. A document from your guesthouse/hotel confirming your current place of residence.

    Next, you need to submit this package of documents to the Foreigners Immigration Department responsible for the particular area of the city where you are located. For example, if you are in Vedado, Havana the Immigration Department is at the address: J y 17 Street.

Keep in mind that there are always queues in front of the Immigration Departments, so be patient, as patience is one of the Cuban national traits. 🙂

Finally, they will stick a note on your visa with its new expiration date and you will be good to go. 🙂