- Ways to apply
- Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
- Dual citizenship
- Kept, however you apply
Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.
On this page›
- 01Who qualifies
- 02Dates that matter
- 03Through your mother
- 04Keeping your citizenship
- 05Ways to apply
- 06The documents
- 07What it takes
- 08Where the records live
- 09Law changes
- 10Sources
Who qualifies, generation by generation
LIKELY
Can you claim Cuban citizenship through a parent?
Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
A child born abroad to a Cuban parent is Cuban by birth once the birth is registered with a Cuban consulate.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Cuban citizenship through a grandparent?
Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
Cuba’s constitutional option reaches a child of a Cuban parent, not a grandchild whose own parent never registered as Cuban; that parent’s status needs resolving first.
What would settle itWhether your parent can first register as a Cuban citizen by birth or reclaim citizenship — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Cuban citizenship through a great-grandparent?
Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
Cuba’s constitutional option reaches a child of a Cuban parent, not a grandchild whose own parent never registered as Cuban; that parent’s status needs resolving first.
What would settle itWhether your parent can first register as a Cuban citizen by birth or reclaim citizenship — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
The dates that matter
No date named in Cuba’s rule decides who qualifies. The answers above turn on the family’s facts, not on when anyone was born or left.
Claiming through your mother or grandmother
Cuba’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father. Where its reasons speak of mothers or fathers, they say:
Dual citizenship with your home country
You keep your citizenship.
On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.
Every way to apply, and the law behind it
The law
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent can first register as a Cuban citizen by birth or reclaim citizenship — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
The documents, as the rule lists them
Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
Through a parent
- Your parent’s Cuban birth certificate or citizenship record
- Your foreign birth certificate
- Transcription of your birth into the Cuban Civil Registry, at a Cuban consulate
Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.
What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides
Citizenship by birth abroad (Art. 34)
- Time
- Up to 90 days for the transcription, the Ministry of Justice’s own stated ceiling, then a further wait for the passport.
- Cost
- About $150–400: certified U.S. records, translation into Spanish, and legalisation; the transcription itself carries no fee.
- The hard part
- None if your parent’s Cuban birth certificate or citizenship record is in hand; the transcription at the consulate is the process.
- Who decides
- A Cuban consulate for your address.
- The first record
- Your parent’s Cuban birth certificate or citizenship record, from Registro del Estado Civil (Ministry of Justice) / Civil Registry of Acts and Facts of Cubans Abroad. Request transcription of the child’s birth at a Cuban consulate for the family’s address, with both parents' Cuban and foreign birth certificates. minjus.gob.cu ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- Cuban Consular Office, 2639 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009; personal submission office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Appointments
- Washington consular appointment by telephone or member email. Member requests personal appointments through +1 202 797 8518 or recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu, Monday–Friday 09:00–17:00; adult and the Cuban parent attend transcription, then the adult submits signed Modelo No. 1 after the actual Cuban birth certificate is issued.
- Fee
- No fee
- Decision
- 4–13 weeks
- Your records
- No apostille, and translated. Use state and federal authentication for Cuba, then notarised Spanish translation and Cuban consular legalisation of both original and translation; an apostille alone is insufficient.
What goes in the file (6)›
- Original full US birth certificate authenticated by the issuing state and US Department of State
- Notarised Spanish translation, with consular legalisation of the birth certificate and translation
- Your current US passport and copy
- Both parents’ current passports, identity documents and birth certificates
- Completed Modelo 9/30 signed by the Cuban parent
- After transcription: original Cuban birth certificate, original Cuban parent’s birth certificate, other parent’s birth copy, current passport copies, one current passport photo and signed adult Modelo No. 1
What goes wrong (2)›
- The transcription itself is free (MINREX Resolution 37/2026 exempts birth inscriptions and transcriptions); the legalizations of the U.S. certificate and its translation are charged, $160 each from 1 October 2026.
- Transcription does not make you Cuban by itself. With the Cuban birth certificate it produces, apply at the consulate for citizenship (Modelo No. 1 for adults), with a photo, your passport copy, your parents’ passports and the Cuban parent’s birth certificate. No fee; the answer comes within 90 working days as a Resolution approving citizenship.
source ↗
Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.
Where each record lives, and how to ask for it
Translations
- Into
- Spanish
- Who may translate
- Any certified translator; the translation itself is legalized
- About
- $0–$40 a page
The U.S. birth certificate is authenticated by the issuing state and the U.S. Department of State, then translated into Spanish with the translation certified by a notary public. The consulate legalizes both the certificate and the translation: $160 each from 1 October 2026 ($140 before), plus $30 if filed by mail. The consulate also translates, at $40 a page.
source ↗
The passport
- Where
- Cuban Consular Office in Washington, personal request using the actual citizenship approval Resolution and Cuban birth certificate
- Fee
- About $200
- Time
- 4–13 weeks
- The passport is made in Cuba and returned by mail: send a prepaid, tracked return envelope with the application. Filing by mail or agency adds $30 for a non-personal service.
source ↗
Recent and pending changes
We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Cuba.
We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.