ravellers shall be in the obligation to declare to Customs the items importation of which is regulated or those items intended to be permanently imported. Travellers shall not be allowed to introduce into the country articles the importation of which is expressly prohibited. Tourists and Travellers have the right to import: Personal belongings which are to be admitted into the country with total relief of Customs duties.

Casa Albertina Budget Accommodation in Vedado, Havana

Hotel Nacional Recomended Hotel in Havana

In general it is understood that the term personal belongings includes items - wether new or used - that a traveller could reasonably require for personal use for the duration of the trip taking into consideration all the circumstances of the voyage and its intermediate stops. It excludes any goods imported or exported with commercial or definitive purposes. Except for the underaged - new or used articles which are not part of his/her personal belongings and valued up to a total of $250.00 (two hundred) Cuban Pesos.

• On arrival - import all or part of his/her personal belongings as non accompanied luggage;
• With relief from the payment of duties and taxes - import up to 10 kg of medicines in original packagings and readily identifiable;
• Import up to one hundred (100.00) Cuban pesos in national currency, and up to two hundred (200.00) Pesos of the instrument of payment designated Convertible Peso;
• Import without limit any amount of free convertible currency in cash, bankers orders, cheques, drafts or other means of payment. However, in the case of Non-Residents in the country, should the import exceed the amount of five thousand dollars (US$ 5000.00) and under the intention of subsequently exporting a higher amount than the said five thousand dollars, the traveler should lodge a Declaration of Values at the Customs Office of the point of entry in order to justify the amount intended to export on departure;
• Import jewels and other objects made of precious metals and stones. However, in the case of Non-Residents in the country, should the overall value of the imported items exceeds five thousand dollars (US$ 5000.00) and under the intention of subsequently exporting a higher amount than the said five thousand dollars, the traveler should lodge a Declaration of Values at the Customs Office of the point of entry in order to justify the value intended to export on departure.

Tourists:

Persons arriving in Cuba as tourists shall be subject to the same general regulations applicable to the rest of travelers.

Cuba is a signatory country to the Convention on Customs Facilities for Tourism and Cuban national legislation complies with stipulations of the said Convention. For Customs purposes the term "Tourist" applies to persons not permanently residing in the country, regardless of their nastionality, who enter the national territory for purposes of pleasure, business, health, pilgrimage, sports, etc., for a period of over 24 hours and under 6 months.

Tourists are entitled to import as personal belongings items described as such in the text of the afore mentioned Convention on Customs Facilities for Tourism, which will be admitted into the country as a "temporary admission" with total relief of the payment of Customs taxes. This items must be re-exported on departure of the tourist. Tourists are entitled to temporarily import a light motor vehicle for a period of up to 30 days and extendable for another 30 days on request.

Tourists are also entitled to definitively import - apart from their personal belongings - new or used articles with an overall value of $250.00 (two hundred and fifty) Pesos. Up to an amount of $ 50.00 (fifty) Pesos, the said items shall not be subject to the payment of Customs taxes. The remaining value - up to the stablished limit of $250.00 (two hundred and fifty) - shall be subject to the payment of Customs taxes equal to 100% (one hundred percent) of their value.

Permanent Residents:

Permanet residents in the country shall be subject to the same general regulations applicable to the rest of travelers and must declare regulated or prohibited articles they carry or are part of their personal belongings.

In adittion to the personal belongings temporarily exported when they departed the country, permanent residents shall be entitled to definitively import - on one ocassion in every natural year - new or used articles with a maximun overall value of $250.00 (two hundred and fifty) Pesos. Up to an amount of $ 50.00 (fifty) Pesos, the said items shall not be subject to the payment of Customs taxes. The remaining value - up to the stablished limit of $250.00 (two hundred and fifty) - shall be subject to the payment of Customs taxes equal to 100% (one hundred percent) of their value.

Permanent residents in the country returning after the fulfillment of an official assignment abroad for a period of more than 2 (two) years shall be entitled to import their ménage.

Persons arriving in order to permanently reside in the contry:

Persons arriving in Cuba with an authorization to permanently reside in the country shall be subject to the same general stipulations than the rest of the travelers, and must declare regulated or prohibited articles they carry or are part of their personal belongings.

However, these persons are authorized to import their ménages (furnitures, household appliances, etc.) and for this purpose they shall have to produce in Customs the document - issued by the Direction of Inmigration and Foreigners Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior - stating their migration condition.

Persons arriving in order to temporarily reside in the country:

Persons arriving in Cuba with authorization to temporarily reside in the country shall be subject to the same general stipulations than the rest of the travelers, and must declare regulated or prohibited articles they carry or are part of their personal belongings.

Depending on the motives for their stay in Cuba they could - in some cases - be entitled to import one light automotive vehicle.

These persons shall be entitled to import their ménage as long in the event of their having leased or bought a real estate from any of the Real-Estate Agencies authorized to operate in the country.

Upon departure from Cuba all travellers:

• can export all or part of their personal belongings as non-accompanied luggage;
• shall declare in Customs any export-regulated items being transported with themselves or as part of their luggage;
• can export up to one hundred (100.00) Pesos in national currency and up to two hundred (200.00) of the payment instrument designated as Convertible Peso;

Items intended to export shall not have, in the opinion of Customs, a commercial character.

Travellers not residing in Cuba can re-export the items they had temporarily imported and, in addition, they can export new or used items purchased in the country with an overall value of one thousand (1,000.00) Pesos. However, the following illustrates cases when this limit in value could be higher.

Cigars:

• It shall be possible to to export an amount of up to 23 (twenty three) units of rolled cigars, in individual units, without producing any relevant purchase document.
• If you exceed that amount, you will be obliged to claim the official purchace receipt and a copy of it at the shop, and hand a copy in at the Customs Office at the exit point where you'll be leaving with the cigars, wich must be contained in the original cases with all official seals, incluiding the new holographic seal

Any failure to abide by the basic requirement of a legal purchase, the product will be seized by Cuba's Customs Office.

Art items (paintings, engravings, handcraft items, etc.) not being patrimonial objects:

Such items can only be exported under express authorization issued by the National Registry of Cultural Goods. The value of the items can exceed the authorized amount of one thousand (1,000.00) Pesos.

Museum-valuable and National heritage objects or items:

It shall only be possible to re-export museum-valuable items or objects previously imported and to this purpose it shall be required to produce the Declaration that Customs certified while being introduced into the country.

Currency and other valuables:

It shall only be permitted to export convertible currency and other valuables exceeding an amount of five thousand (5,000.00) US Dollars if:

the amount had been previously imported. To this purpose it shall be necessary to produce the Declaration of Value filled and certified on entering the country;
the amount was lawfully acquired in the country, which shall be proven through presentation of the relevant bank document.

Books and publications:

It is not authorized to export books and other publications with editions dated more than 50 years back, nor the ones marked as belonging to "Ediciones R" or bearing stamps of libraries or other organizations.