Nicaragua’s Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobernación) has announced that as of yesterday, Monday 22nd November 2021, Cubans are now “Visa Exempt” and have lifted the visa requirement for Cuban citizens to enter Nicaragua.
The announcement cited the number of requests from Cuban citizens with relatives in Nicaragua and in order to promote trade, tourism and humanitarian family relationships.
Cuba now joins 92 other countries and the European Community whose citizens can visit Nicaragua without a visa for up to 90 days on a passport stamp upon arrival (in the same way as, for example, US, Canadian and EU citizens).
This is known as “Category A – Visa Exempt”, those countries simply receive a passport stamp showing how long they can stay in the country, usually 90 days.
Although much is being made in the press about this change, the reality is that prior to this Monday, Cubans were in the “Category B – Border Visa” where subject to a satisfactory short interview with immigration, they received a border visa granted upon entry by air, land or sea. (The strictest visa category is “C” where the visa has to be obtained prior to arrival).
Cubans now being “Visa Exempt”, they will save on the US $50 fee for the Border Visa (Visa fronteriza a ciudadanos de países Categoría “B”) and only need to pay for the INTUR Tourist Card and follow the Covid-19 rules.
Click on this link for more information on Visa Categories for entering Nicaragua.
Cuba has recently (November 15th 2021) opened back up to tourism after 20 months of Covid-19 restrictions.
Official Press Release
The Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobernación) of the Republic of Nicaragua, through the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners; announces that due to the number of requests from Cuban citizens with relatives in Nicaragua and in order to promote trade, tourism and humanitarian family relationships, as of Monday 22nd November 2021, all Cuban citizens entering the Republic of Nicaragua will be “Visa Free”. Luis Cañas, Vice Minister, Ministry of the Interior.
(Click on this link for the Official Press Release in Spanish)
