Cuba
Permanent residence means tax on worldwide income, and Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in the country.
Sources for these facts
- Naturalisation: gacetaoficial.gob.cu, checked on 24 October 2026.
- Presence required: gacetaoficial.gob.cu, checked on 24 October 2026.
- CRS status: oecd.org, checked on 24 October 2026.
- Tax system: gacetaoficial.gob.cu, checked on 8 August 2026.
Why Cuba?
If you hold permanent residence in Cuba, you are taxed on your worldwide income. And Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in the country. The first stands in the law, the second in the travel advice of the UK Foreign Office (FCDO).
In expat forums Cuba is often traded as an exotic option, and in tax overviews it is usually not covered at all. Both mislead. The tax law says plainly what applies to newcomers: Cuban and foreign individuals with permanent residence are subject to income tax on their income, whatever country it comes from. Add a day-to-day situation that turns the tax question into a practical one.
- ✓Worldwide taxation for permanent residents, expressly including foreigners
- ✓Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in Cuba, and the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the island
- ✓New foreigners, migration and citizenship law since May 2026, the first since 1976, in force 180 days after publication
- ✓Non-CRS: no commitment to automatic information exchange
- ✓The catch: shortages of fuel, electricity, water and basic medicines, and disrupted medical care
Residence permits and residency options
In May 2026 Cuba published new laws on migration, foreigners and citizenship for the first time since 1976, in the Gaceta Oficial No. 39 of 5 May 2026. The same issue contains the implementing decrees to the migration and foreigners laws, Decreto 136 and Decreto 137. The laws and decrees enter into force 180 days after publication; until then the old law applies. What the new rules mean for residence through a property and for the route to a passport is explained in our article Cuba 2026: the new immigration law.
New are, among others, the residente provisional as a preliminary stage to permanent residence, and the residente humanitario. The grounds for permanent residence are broadened, among them length of stay, qualifications and investment capacity.
The migration authority establishes effective residence on its own initiative if someone was in the country for more than 180 days in the previous year, cumulatively. Below that, it can be recognised on application from more than 120 days if further ties are added, such as work, a home or a bank account in the country. The former 24-month rule is gone.
For newcomers, nothing can be planned reliably at present. The new rules are fully published but apply only once in force, and how the authorities apply them will only show in practice afterwards.
Tax in Cuba
The decisive sentence is in the Cuban tax law: Cuban and foreign individuals with permanent residence are subject to income tax on the income they earn, whatever country it comes from. Without permanent residence only income earned in Cuba is caught; for tax purposes foreign individuals are treated the same as Cubans.
For readers like you, that makes Cuba the opposite of a territorial location. The tax base follows the same logic, with a progressive scale, an allowance and a flat-rate deduction on top.
In practice this stays hypothetical, because permanent residence is not a usual route for newcomers. The classification is on the card anyway: if you ask the question, you should get the right answer.
Where the question of location ends
The FCDO records that the Cuban Central Bank has announced that international cards such as Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in Cuba, and that you cannot withdraw cash from ATMs with an international card either. For anyone working location-independently, that is not an inconvenience but the end of the question of location.
The same advice adds: shortages of fuel, electricity, water and basic necessities, repeated collapses of the national grid, disruption to medical care, communications and street lighting, and severe shortages of basic medicines. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Cuba.
We do not list this to run a country down, but because a country page that leaves these sentences out and talks about tax rates instead misleads its readers.
Citizenship: the route to a second passport
In future, naturalisation is governed by the new citizenship law from the same Gaceta of May 2026; the 2019 Constitution expressly leaves the requirements to the law. It requires five years of permanent residence, and because permanent residence presupposes provisional residence of up to a year, that means at least six years from the first residence. Add, for applicants of working age, a permitted economic activity in the country, a civics test and two notarised character references from native-born Cubans who are not related to you and have known you for at least three years. The law enters into force 180 days after its publication on 5 May 2026, so on 1 November 2026 at the earliest.
That another nationality does not cost you Cuban citizenship was already in the 2019 Constitution, and the new law carries it forward: anyone staying in Cuba counts as Cuban there and may not use the other nationality. For Cubans abroad that matters a great deal; for newcomers it changes little: naturalisation remains an exceptional route, not a plannable path. The figure is in the overview because an overview has to be complete, not as a route we would recommend.
Our Cuba insider tip: Havana
Havana is the only city in the country with the infrastructure a newcomer would need, and even there under the restrictions described above. The Vedado district has the densest supply and the most reliable connections. If you look for calm, you lose exactly that infrastructure.
On costs, the card says Medium, not Low, and that is deliberate. For newcomers Cuba in effect has a two-price economy: local prices in pesos very low, imported goods and foreign currency transactions expensive, and part of what you need not reliably available at any price.
Banking outside Cuba
On every other country page, this section is about keeping your structure and operating business outside the country of residence. With Cuba the question is more basic: Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in the country, and international cards do not work at cash machines either. Daily life itself becomes a cash problem.
We do not build structures whose payments we cannot guarantee, and Cuba clearly falls into that category at present.
Flag theory: why bank outside the country?
Because the country is a CRS participant and you do not want to create local economic substance or a permanent establishment, banking and your operating company belong outside Latin America. We structure this for you. More about our services →
Who is Cuba right for, and who not?
✓ A good fit for
- ✓Anyone tied to the country for family or work reasons who wants the legal position set out correctly
- ✓Anyone following the new legislation of May 2026 and waiting for it to enter into force
- ✓Travellers who want to know why their card does not work
✗ Less suited to
- ✗Anyone who wants to optimise tax (permanent residence leads to worldwide taxation)
- ✗Anyone working location-independently who depends on working payments
- ✗Anyone looking for a plannable residence or a second passport
Frequently asked questions about Cuba
Does Cuba tax my foreign income?
Yes, if you hold permanent residence. The tax law reaches Cuban and foreign individuals with permanent residence on their income, whatever country it comes from. Without permanent residence only income earned in Cuba is caught.
Can I pay by credit card in Cuba?
No. According to the UK Foreign Office (FCDO), international cards such as Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in Cuba; payment is in cash or with Cuban prepaid cards.
What does the new foreigners law of May 2026 change?
It replaces the 1976 legislation, introduces categories such as the residente provisional, broadens the grounds for permanent residence and ties effective residence to more than 180 days of presence in the previous year. The laws and implementing decrees are in Gaceta Oficial No. 39 of 5 May 2026 and enter into force 180 days after publication.
How long does Cuban naturalisation take?
Under the new citizenship law, five years of permanent residence, preceded by up to a year of provisional residence, plus a civics test and two notarised character references from unrelated native-born Cubans. For newcomers that is not a route you can plan.
Does Cuba report my accounts to my home country?
No, Cuba has not committed to automatic information exchange in any of the OECD's year groups. Given everything else on this page, that is no argument for the location.
Next steps
VidaLibrePlan advises on twelve countries in Latin America. Cuba is not one of them.
Cuba taxes permanent residents on their worldwide income, and Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted in the country. If you want a Caribbean base with banking that works, Panama is the opposite: an international banking hub, the US dollar and 0% on foreign income.
Explore Panama →Is Cuba right for you?
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