Camille Baptiste
Yes, the paper tourist card is finished: Cuba discontinued the Tarjeta del Turista on 30 June 2025, and since 1 July 2025 most visitors have needed an electronic visa, applied for in advance through the official EvisaCuba portal, before they can travel. The e-Visa that replaced the card is a single-entry visa allowing a stay of up to 90 days, extendable once inside Cuba for a further 90 days, and it works alongside a second, separate requirement that catches many travellers out: the D’Viajeros online entry form, which must be completed before arrival and produces the QR code checked on the way in.
What are the quick facts for a Cuba trip in 2026?
- What changed: The paper tourist card was discontinued on 30 June 2025 and replaced by a mandatory electronic visa from 1 July 2025
- Official portal: EvisaCuba at evisacuba.cu, the Cuban Foreign Ministry e-Visa system
- Entries and stay: Single entry, up to 90 days, extendable once in Cuba for a further 90 days
- Processing: Up to 72 business hours once payment is confirmed, so apply at least a week ahead
- Payment: The portal does not take online card payments; payment is arranged through the Cuban consulate handling your application, and the amount depends on that consulate
- Second form: D’Viajeros, at dviajeros.mitrans.gob.cu, completed before arrival, generating a QR code
- Insurance: Carry proof of medical insurance valid in Cuba; officers may ask to see it on entry
What exactly replaced the tourist card, and when did the card stop working?
For decades, most visitors entered Cuba on a paper tourist card, bought from an airline, a travel agency or a consulate and filled in by hand on the plane. Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism announced the end of that system as the final step in a digital transition that began in 2024, when the EvisaCuba portal first went live. The two systems ran side by side during the changeover, but the card was permanently discontinued on 30 June 2025. From 1 July 2025, the electronic visa became the entry document for travellers who need a visa, and a card bought before the deadline is no longer a substitute for one.
The change matters most at check-in. Airlines verify entry documents before boarding, and a traveller who arrives at the desk with an old-style card, or with nothing because a guidebook still described the card system, can be refused boarding. If your research turns up pages describing pink and green tourist cards, treat them as history: useful for understanding what older travellers did, but not a route into Cuba in 2026. For a sense of how quickly entry rules are being rewritten across the region and beyond, compare the recent shift described in our guide to China’s visa-free entry extension through 2026, which reorganised the paperwork for a very different group of travellers in the same period.
Who needs the e-Visa, and who is exempt?
The e-Visa is the standard route for foreign visitors travelling to Cuba for tourism whose nationality is not covered by a visa-exemption agreement with Cuba. Cuba maintains bilateral arrangements with a number of countries, and citizens of those countries enter under their own terms, so the first step for any traveller is to check the treatment of their exact passport on the official portal rather than assuming either way. Travellers flying direct from Canada have also been treated differently from other nationalities under the arrangements reported when the system launched, which is another reason to confirm your own position on the portal before paying anyone anything.
One group faces an extra legal layer that has nothing to do with Cuba’s visa. Travellers subject to United States jurisdiction cannot travel to Cuba for general tourism under United States law: their trip must fall within one of the categories authorised by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, such as support for the Cuban people. The Cuban e-Visa does not change that position, and US travellers need to satisfy both the Cuban entry rules and the US rules for their category, keeping the records their category requires.
How do you apply for the Cuba e-Visa, step by step?
Start on the official portal, EvisaCuba, and nowhere else. Complete the application with your passport details and travel information exactly as they appear in your passport, and submit it through the portal. Your application is handled through the Cuban consular network, and this is where Cuba differs from most e-Visa systems: the portal itself does not accept online card payment. Payment is arranged through the Cuban consulate responsible for your application, by the method that consulate specifies, which is why there is no single worldwide fee published on the portal and why amounts quoted by intermediaries vary so widely. Confirm the current amount and payment method with the consulate handling your case before you transfer anything.
Once payment is confirmed, processing is quoted at up to 72 business hours. That is three working days, not three calendar days, and it sits on top of the time it takes to arrange the consular payment, so applying at least a week before departure is the sensible floor, and earlier is better if your trip starts on a fixed date. The visa is issued electronically and linked to your passport: keep the confirmation and its visa code somewhere you can reach offline, because you will need that code again for the second form described below. As with any visa, check the granted details character by character against your passport as soon as it arrives, while there is still time to fix an error.
What is the D’Viajeros form, and why does it matter as much as the visa?
D’Viajeros is Cuba’s separate online traveller declaration, run through the Ministry of Transport at dviajeros.mitrans.gob.cu. It collects immigration, customs and health information in a single form, and every traveller, including children, needs their own submission. Completing it generates a QR code that is checked before boarding and again on arrival. It is not a visa and it does not replace one: the form includes a field for your e-Visa code, which is what links your declaration to your approved visa, so the order of operations is fixed. Get the e-Visa first, then complete D’Viajeros in the window before your arrival date, following the timing guidance on the site itself, and save the QR code on your phone with a printed copy as backup.
Because the two systems are separate, the most common failure is also the simplest: a traveller completes one and assumes the other was optional. An approved e-Visa without a D’Viajeros QR code can mean a long delay at check-in while the form is completed on an airport phone signal, and a D’Viajeros submission without a valid visa behind it does not authorise entry at all. Treat them as two halves of the same arrival, and finish both before you leave for the airport.
How long can you stay, and can you extend it?
The tourist e-Visa allows a single entry and a stay of up to 90 days from arrival. If you want longer, one extension of a further 90 days can be requested inside Cuba from the immigration authorities before the first period expires, giving a maximum of 180 days in total. An extension is an in-person process in Cuba, not something arranged through the portal, so long-stay travellers should build the visit to an immigration office into their plans well before day 90 rather than in the final week. Once you leave Cuba, the single-entry visa is used: a traveller who exits to a third country and returns needs a new visa for the second entry.
Two practical points complete the picture. First, carry proof of medical insurance that covers you in Cuba for the length of the stay, in a form you can show at the border, because Cuban authorities may ask for it on entry and travellers without acceptable proof may be required to buy cover on arrival. Second, rules in this area have changed twice in two years, first with the portal launch and then with the end of the card, so a final check of the official portal in the week you travel is worth the five minutes it takes. If the paperwork is settled, the planning can turn to the enjoyable part: the food alone justifies the trip, and travellers combining Cuba with a wider Americas itinerary might start with our Mexico City food guide to markets and street food for the regional context.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still use a tourist card bought before the deadline?
No. Cuba discontinued the paper tourist card on 30 June 2025, and from 1 July 2025 the electronic visa is the entry document for travellers who need a visa. A card bought earlier is not accepted as a substitute, so apply for the e-Visa through the official portal instead.
How much does the Cuba e-Visa cost?
There is no single worldwide price published on the official portal, because the portal does not take online payments: the fee is set and collected through the Cuban consulate handling your application, and agencies add their own service charges on top. Confirm the amount and payment method with that consulate before paying, and be wary of any site quoting a government fee while adding unexplained extras.
How long does the Cuba e-Visa take to process?
Processing is quoted at up to 72 business hours once payment is confirmed. Because arranging the consular payment comes first, apply at least a week before departure, and earlier if your travel dates are fixed or fall around public holidays.
Is D’Viajeros the same thing as the e-Visa?
No. The e-Visa is your permission to enter Cuba, applied for through EvisaCuba. D’Viajeros is a separate traveller declaration covering immigration, customs and health information, completed before arrival on its own official site. It asks for your e-Visa code and produces the QR code checked at boarding and on arrival. You need both.
Can I extend a Cuba tourist stay beyond 90 days?
Yes, once. The e-Visa covers up to 90 days, and a single extension of a further 90 days can be requested from the immigration authorities inside Cuba before the first period expires, for a maximum total stay of 180 days. The visa remains single entry, so leaving Cuba ends it.
Do US citizens need anything besides the e-Visa?
Yes. Travellers subject to US jurisdiction must also travel under one of the categories authorised by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, because general tourism is not authorised under US law. The Cuban e-Visa satisfies Cuba’s entry rules only; it does not authorise the trip under US rules.
