Procedures: Confusion over passport prices causes chaos

Havana/A long and disorderly queue formed this Monday in front of an identification procedures office in the Havana municipality of Guanabacoa, where dozens of Cubans came in anguish. The reason: the fear that the passport price increase announced For Cubans residing abroad, it will also apply to those who live on the Island.

As he was able to verify 14ymedio At the place, at noon the tumult already overflowed the space in front of the office located on the corner of Máximo Gómez and E. Guiral streets. Many of those present were convinced that the passport would cost $200 this week, and they were rushing to process the document while the measure had not yet been implemented.

The confusion occurred because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the entry into force, as of October 1, of a new consular fee, a measure that, according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, responds to the “complex international macroeconomic panorama” and “sustained global inflation.” Resolution 37/2026 raises the price of passports from 180 to 200 dollars or euros for those over 16 years of age who carry out the procedure abroad. For those under 16 years of age, the price will rise from 140 to 160 dollars or euros.

The rule itself establishes that these are consular fees, that is, the services provided by Cuban diplomatic and consular offices outside the Island. The price of the passport for those residing in Cuba continues at 2,500 pesos (less than four dollars on the exchange market in the informal market), according to current rates.

News of the increase was widely reported by international media and independent press media. Within the Island, connection problems and the lack of credibility in official information came together to cause panic in a population accustomed to losing out in bad news. Most of those present were sure that the passport process would soon increase in price, but others, even though they clearly understood the information, had come out of fear that the measure would also be applied within Cuba, although it had not yet been officially announced.

Those who were simply confused also preferred to do the procedure “just in case,” as a resident waiting in the crowd said. In front of the identification office is a branch of the Cuban Post Office, where a large number of people also gathered to buy the stamps necessary for the procedures, and they went from one queue to another to complete the documentation, occupying the entire street.

The announcement of the new tariff has generated discomfort because the Cuban passport is already among the worst valued in the world due to its limited international mobility. According to the Henley Passport Indexthe document occupies 80th place in the world ranking, the second worst in Latin America, only ahead of Haiti. The difficulties in processing it inside and outside Cuba, in addition to its high price, are added to the entry restrictions imposed by third countries.

Within Cuba, the long waits at civil registries to obtain birth, marriage and death certificates have worsened with the increase in requests linked to emigration. It can take up to four months these days to obtain a new passport, as as this newspaper has documented.

According to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), more than 245,265 people They left the Island last year. The exodus that began at the end of 2021, after the repression of the 11J demonstrations, has not stopped, and it is expected that the unprecedented energy crisis, which has worsened since the beginning of this year as a result of the US intervention in Venezuela, will deepen it.