If you're planning on travelling to Cuba, please be aware that you might need a visa and that the necessary steps to get a visa usually take some time. Always make sure that you plan ahead and allow enough time to get the required documents ready before you start your Spanish course in Cuba.

Visitors initially get four weeks in Cuba with a tourist card (tarjeta de turista) issued by their airline or travel agency. Unlicensed US visitors buy their tourist card at the airline desk in the country through which they’re traveling to Cuba; they are welcomed in the country like any other tourist. You cannot leave Cuba without presenting your tourist card. For detailed and up-to-date information, please contact the Cuban embassy or consulate in your country.

If you are looking for detailed information about requesting a visa, how to extend your stay in Cuba, how to obtain a student visa or what to do if you lose your tourist card, please contact the Cuban embassy or consulate in your country or the official authorities in Cuba:

• Cuban Embassies listed by the Foreign Ministry of Cuba:
  embacu.cubaminrex.cu
• List of Cuba embassies and consulates:
  cu.embassyinformation.com

Make sure you have a valid passport to take with you. It is strongly recommended that your passport be valid for several months after your return date.

Other documents and forms of identification that might be required in certain situations include the following: your return ticket, proof of sufficient economic funds to finance your stay, driver's license, vaccination card, proof of health insurance and others. Furthermore, cards that identify you as a university student, retiree, handicapped person, etc. might entitle you to special discounts in many cultural institutions, public transport and so forth.

Please check that you have the correct travel documents with you. In order to be on the safe side, consider preparing a copy of all your travel documents. If you lose them you can be helped more quickly if you have copies with you.