Castro: Cuba to gradually change migration policy

Cuban leader Raul Castro reiterated government’s firm willingness to introduce amendments easing the country’s migration policy, but added that the process “should be gradual.” The Cuban authorities have been sharply criticized both by citizens and immigrants for making visa issue formalities extremely complex and expensive. “Many believe that this [migration] policy must be immediately revised, but they forget about the exceptional conditions that Cuba is surrounded by, which is a demolishing United States policy of intervention, aimed to achieve ‘well-known aims’ at any cost,” Castro said addressing the country’s parliament. He said the authorities are currently working on a set of amendments to existing laws that would ease traveling procedure formalities in the future. Cuban citizens, willing to travel abroad, are under a number of strict requirements. For instance, a Cuban university graduate, willing to travel abroad, needs permission signed personally by a head of a proper educational department. Issuing a foreign passport in Cuba for a local resident totals some $55, plus a collected sum of $150 that officially grants a permit to leave the country. An average salary in Cuba stands at below $20 per month, according to recent international business estimates.