US Treasury Department Information on Traveling to Cuba

Summary
U.S. citizens and residents must be licensed by the Department of Treasury in order to travel to Cuba. On January 5, 1999, President Clinton announced an expansion of people-to-people contacts and direct passenger flights to Cuba in order to facilitate travel of licensed persons from the U.S. to Cuba. However, travel to Cuba is restricted and only select categories of travelers are licensable. Tourist travel is not possible under U.S. law. Business-rated travel is restricted to persons engaging in or arranging for permitted export sales, such as for the sale of medicines or medical equipment, or for food or agricultural goods to non-governmental entities. 

Entry requirements
The U.S. Treasury requires that all persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction have a license to engage in any transactions related to travel to, from, and within Cuba. General licenses are authorized, among other things, for U.S. and foreign government officials traveling on official business, journalists employed by a news reporting organization, professional research, and persons making a once-a-year visit to close family relatives in circumstances of humanitarian need. The Treasury Department considers specific licenses on a case-by-case basis for educational exchanges, for travel in connection with humanitarian activities, such as providing support for secular and religious activities of churches in Cuba, and similar activities. Tourist travel is not licensable and business-related travel is restricted to persons engaging or arranging for permitted export sales, such as for the sale of medicines or medical equipment or for food or agricultural goods to non-governmental entities. 

Should a traveler receive a license, a passport and visa are required for entry into Cuba. Proof of citizenship other than a valid U.S. passport is not acceptable to Cuban authorities. Attempts to enter or exit Cuba illegally or to aid the illegal exit of Cuban nationals are punishable by jail terms. 

U.S. Currency Regulations
U.S. laws restrict financial transactions with Cuba, including the spending of money by travelers to the island. However, U.S. citizens and residents traveling under a general or specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department may spend money on travel in Cuba without obtaining special permission. These expenditures may be for travel-related expenses only and may not exceed the U.S. government's per diem rate (currently $158 per day. Please check OFAC's website for current per diem rates). 

Since the Cuban Government legalized the use of dollars in July 1993, U.S. dollars are accepted for all transactions. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are prohibited from using credit cards in Cuba. Cuban shops, hotels, and other places of business do not accept credit cards, personal checks, or travelers checks drawn from U.S. banks. 

Fully Hosted Travelers
Travelers to Cuba who do not spend any money while there do not require a license from OFAC. Some travelers to Cuba claim upon their return to the U.S. not to have spent any money during their stay because they were "fully hosted," i.e., a non-U.S. sponsor such as the Cuban Government paid for all their expenses. 

• While it is possible to be "fully hosted," OFAC regulations contain a rebuttable presumption that travelers subject to U.S. jurisdiction who traveled to Cuba without a license have engaged in prohibited monetary transactions.
• Travelers may rebut this presumption by providing a signed explanatory statement, with supporting documents, showing that they were able to travel in Cuba without spending money.
• Appropriate enforcement action may be taken in those cases where the traveler is unable to provide sufficient evidence that all expenses were paid for while in Cuba. 

People-to-People Contacts
On January 5, 1999, President Clinton announced his decision to expand people-to-people contacts. This policy encourages an expansion of the educational, cultural, humanitarian, religious, journalistic, and athletic exchanges between U.S. and Cuban citizens. For example, Cuban medical doctors are annually granted visas to attend medical congresses and/or visit medical institutions in the U.S. 
These people-to-people contacts have been expanded in two ways: by facilitating travel of persons from Cuba to the U.S. who qualify for visas and by streamlining licensing procedures for qualified U.S. persons traveling to Cuba. Procedures have been developed to license multiple visits for qualified individuals and groups in the above mentioned categories. 

Direct Flights
Also on January 5, 1999, the President announced his decision to expand direct passenger charter flights to Cuba. Previously, direct passenger flights were only available to Havana from Miami. To facilitate licensed travel, departures from Los Angeles and New York have been authorized, as have direct flights to Cuban cities outside of Havana.

• Travelers on all flights must be licensed. In addition to licensed persons traveling to visit close relatives, other licensable travel includes official foreign and U.S. Government travel and those traveling under the person-to-person exchanges listed above.
• A licensed traveler on a direct flight may carry family remittances totaling no more than $300 per trip (in addition to his/her perdiem) regardless of the number of close relatives in Cuba to receive funds. Children under 18 are prohibited from carrying remittances on direct flights.