Cuba’s requirements changed recently. Most tourists now need an e-Visa (around 22 euros) instead of the old paper card, plus a passport valid six months, mandatory medical insurance, and the D’Viajeros online form within 7 days of arrival. One catch: visiting Cuba costs you the US ESTA waiver. Save every document offline.
The requirements for Cuba changed recently, and a lot of the information still circulating is out of date. The famous paper tourist card, long the rule, has given way to an online system. Better to travel with the right facts.
Here are all the up-to-date steps for 2026, in the order to sort them, with the deadlines not to underestimate.
The e-Visa, the big 2026 change
This is the major change: since July 2024, the paper tourist card has been replaced by an e-Visa. The old physical cards are no longer issued.
The key points to remember:
- Price: around 22 euros.
- Application: online, on the official Cuban e-Visa portal.
- Validity: one year, for a stay of 90 days, extendable once on the ground with Inmigracion.
- Timing: the electronic visa usually arrives by email a few days after payment and form submission.
My tip: use the official portal and beware of intermediary sites that charge inflated fees for the same process. Plan ahead, do not leave it to the day before departure.
Passport and length of stay
Your passport must be valid for at least six months after your planned return date. This is the first thing to check, before you even book, since a renewal can take several weeks.
The standard tourist stay runs up to 90 days, extendable once by 90 days on the ground. For the vast majority of travellers, the e-Visa comfortably covers a classic trip.
Mandatory medical insurance
Cuba requires medical insurance covering your stay to enter the country. This is not a mere recommendation, and a check can take place on arrival.
Keep an insurance certificate on you, ideally translated into Spanish or English. Given the shortages and the fragility of the local health system, cover with repatriation is not a luxury. Check that your policy really covers Cuba, as some bank-card insurance excludes it.
The D’Viajeros form
The last step before departure, and often forgotten: the D’Viajeros form. It is a mandatory online health and customs declaration, to be filled in within the 7 days before arrival.
Once completed, you receive a QR code to show Cuban immigration. Fill it in while you still have a good connection, at home or at the departure airport, and save the QR code as a PDF on your phone. Relying on it once you arrive, on the Cuban network, would be a bad idea.
Health and vaccines
No vaccine is mandatory to enter Cuba from Europe, except yellow fever if you arrive from a country where it circulates. Up-to-date routine vaccinations remain recommended, and depending on your profile, hepatitis A and typhoid are often advised.
The point not to neglect is your personal medicine kit. The Cuban health system is severely short of medicines, including basic ones. Bring enough to treat yourself independently and keep your prescriptions translated for prescription-only treatments. In case of a serious problem, insurance with repatriation makes full sense.
The United States catch
Here is a subtlety many travellers discover too late. Since Cuba is designated a US State Sponsor of Terrorism, travelling to the United States on the simple ESTA is no longer possible once you have been to Cuba. Anyone who has visited Cuba since 12 January 2021 loses the benefit of the visa waiver programme and must then apply for a full US visa.
In practice, if you plan a trip to the United States soon after, or in the months that follow, anticipate this constraint before travelling to Cuba. It changes nothing about your Cuban stay, but it has a real impact on your US plans.
Customs and things to know on arrival
A few practical points to cross the border smoothly.
- Have your e-Visa, your D’Viajeros QR code and your insurance certificate to hand, preferably printed as a backup.
- Declare significant sums in foreign currency on entry, above the threshold in force.
- Drones and some electronics are subject to restrictions, so check before bringing them.
- Have a first-night address (casa or hotel) ready to give, as you may be asked.
- e-Visa applied for on the official portal, not a costly intermediary.
- Passport valid 6 months after return, checked early.
- Mandatory medical insurance, translated certificate on you.
- D’Viajeros filled within 7 days, QR code saved as PDF.
- All documents saved offline on the phone.
The document checklist
| Document | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Passport (6 months validity) | Before booking | Passport office |
| e-Visa (~22 euros) | A few days before | Official online portal |
| Medical insurance | Before departure | Travel insurer |
| D’Viajeros (QR code) | Within 7 days before | Official online portal |
| First-night address | On arrival | Casa / hotel booking |
Handling your paperwork and staying reachable in Cuba
All these formalities are done online, which is easy from home but complicated once in Cuba, where the network is slow and controlled by the state operator. The rule: prepare and save everything offline before you leave, e-Visa, D’Viajeros QR code and insurance certificate as PDFs on the phone.
On the ground, you will still need to stay reachable, to confirm a casa, contact a driver or handle the unexpected. For that, set up an eSIM for Cuba before departure. It connects by roaming to the Cuban mobile network over 3G/4G in the cities, with no paperwork on arrival. Thanks to its roaming agreements, Orange connects you to the right local network, with 24/7 support and an eSIM that is fully refunded if you do not use it.
Still, keep your documents accessible offline. In Cuba, you never rely entirely on the network, even when prepared.
Papers ready? Sort your Cuba connection too
