The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is evaluating the decision taken by the United States to require a visa to enter the country for Cubans who hold Spanish passports because they have dual nationality, a spokesman for the Office of Diplomatic Information (OID) told The Diplomat.
The spokesman did not specify whether contact had been made with the US authorities to address the issue, which would affect some 150,000 Cubans who also hold Spanish nationality.
Apparently, the US measure does not take into account whether they are Cubans who have lived in Spain for a long time or those who live on the island, but who are also Spanish thanks to the Law of Historical Memory or Law of Grandchildren, passed in 2007.
Spanish lawyer María Herrera Mellado has denounced the US decision in declarations to the website “Españoles en Cuba”, considering it to be “a violation of the principle of non-discrimination”. A Spaniard who does not have dual nationality is not required to have a visa to enter the country, unless it is for work purposes, and it is sufficient for them to have the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) permit.
“There are no first-class Spaniards and second-class Spaniards. Spaniards must be admitted on equal terms, regardless of their skin colour, origin or place of birth or residence,” the lawyer added.
The measure was adopted by the Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP), which for several weeks has been refusing entry to Cubans with Spanish passports using the simple ESTA permit.
A senior CBP official told the CiberCuba website that the decision is a consequence of “restrictions on travellers from terrorist-sponsoring countries or those with dual nationality that links them to a terrorist-sponsoring country”.
The issuance of the ESTA permit is not applicable to the list of countries considered by the United States as sponsors of terrorism. Cuba was added to that list in 1982, but was removed during the Barack Obama administration in 2016.
Under legislation adopted under Obama, nationals of sanctioned countries cannot travel with an ESTA permit, but may do so if they pass a personal interview at a US embassy or consulate.
On 11 January 2021, the still president Donald Trump, shortly before leaving office returned Cuba to the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism, so CBP considers that Cuban nationals, even with dual nationality, are not currently eligible to receive an ESTA permit.
However, in the information on the State Department’s official website on the ESTA system, there is no specific mention of Cuba as a country from which its dual nationals (Cuban-Spanish) must apply for a visa. The information specifies countries such as North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Last March, the Biden Administration reported that, as part of its Cuba policy review, the designation approved by Trump is being evaluated.
