Getting married in Cuba

Great advice,  I just got legally married July 24th. And I love my Cuban family. Adriana,  my wife treats better than any other I have been with. We intend on living in Cuba and she already has a house. I love the people and the culture and should live well on my pension. I went in with my eyes wide open and intend on living a great life with my Cuban family

Great to hear that! All the best!

Congrats... did all your paperwork go through without a hitch?  I'm getting so many different answers if I need my stuff Authenticated at Canadian foreign affairs  before sending to Cuban Consulate ..I'm told for Cuban consulate in Toronto its not required but for Ottawa and Montreal yes...Does anyone here know for sure the answer ...Id be so grateful because I have tried and tried to get through to these consulates by phone and email and never a replay which I hear is common complaint with them....thanks in advance

Hi Ricardo,
I had the documents validated by the Consul in Toronto.
Since I am making a physical move to another city in southern Ontario this weekend, I will be offline for a number of days Ricardo. Be back next week.
Have a good weekend my friend.

Thank you Probs944. As I indicated I hesitated to give advice, but concluded that some form could be helpful. Belated congratulations upon your marriage. As a another retired husband I hope you and your wife have as much happiness as we do.

Ok so im American and i plan to marry my lady this december and i have my birth certificate and single status certificate both translated into spanish and notarized just have to send them to the cuban interest section in washington,but i seem to cant get information from them on what is the cost and payment form.has anyone here from the USA gone through this process and know the fees?  Thanks

BE HAPPY!

Can anyone please tell me what the cost is to have documents legalized by the cuban interest section in washington  DC? I plan to get married soon and i can not get in contact with the interest section,ive been told they are not doing counsler services and then im told they are. Anyone knows please let me know thanks.

Perez74 wrote:

Can anyone please tell me what the cost is to have documents legalized by the cuban interest section in washington  DC? I plan to get married soon and i can not get in contact with the interest section,ive been told they are not doing counsler services and then im told they are. Anyone knows please let me know thanks.

Sounds like the service we get from them In Canada,,.If the prices are the same or similar to Canada you are looking at around 176 per document .. I had 4 to do =704.00 plus 100 or so have them translated in to Spanish and 40 for courier service of documents .. so around 900 and if you are marrying in Cuba you will need another 800 or so cuc to pay notary/lawyer plus stamps and so on.. Total costs under 2000.00 including the slaughter of one pig and 200 cans of Cristal cerveza which will be on your tab of course...congrats and good luck

Hey i was wondering can a american send his papers to a cuban consulate in canada? I seem to cant get any service here from our cuban interest section and even had my papers sent back to me not even opened,and can you get them legalized in cuba ? If not here i cant get any good info on this.

Ok, I have the bug, I want to know if you can take all your paperwork to the cuban office of marriage in havana, and marry a cuban in cuba and then register the marriage with the state dept. afterwords. especially if you are not planing on migrating your bride to the us.  also i want to know if the state department is asking the questions, how did this marriage arrangement come about, it seems for a us citizen it would be a touchy subject as to how one met and decided to marry a cuban in cuba with out visiting that country which is not illegal as long as some member of the brides family is willing to foot the bill for a us citizen to stay in the country long enough to decide to marry the prospective bride. I have been introduced to a prospective bride thru a spanish cousin in guatemala. I am interested in spending some time in cuba with this person to see if this will actually work out for both of us. the cuban family has offered room and board and cover all my visa espenses in order that i do not violate the rule on spending any money in cuba. any advice on all of this would be appreciated, I do have all of the required paper work translated in spanish and certified by a spanish  attorney notary.  please provide a contact with the marriage office in havana, either a phone number or email would be usefull.

I don't see in your post where you have had all your papers authenticated by the Cuban consulate in your country and that needs to be done first which is a process in itself...Good luck and hope you find some answers before you go on IMO a very costly adventure... PS In Canada its 175 per document to get authenticated with a min. of 4 and then another 700-900 more in Cuba for legal fees and stamps etc,,,And for a Yuma to live in Cuba regardless of free rent/board is not as cheap as you may think.

thanks for the advice, yes i need to get my papers certified by the cuban consulate, i will try to do that in guatemala first, if that does not work then will go to miami. Im thinking that the cuban office of extranias marriages does not really care about if it is certified by the Us cuban interest section and would probably approve the marriage in country as long as all papers are certified by a cuban consulate. if one can get past this step, in cuba, it would be a legal marriage and could be submited to the  cuban interest section  in the states when you needed to apply for a visa for your spouse, if however you intended to stay in cuba and not apply for a visa for your spouse for the us. that step would not be necessary. mabey i'm wrong, but every american has to rite to travel and marry who he/she chooses. with out restriction. once that marriage is legal in the country where performed, it then is just a matter of getting dept of state to acknowledge it for purposes of visa's etc. for instance one could marry a cuban in guatemala, or the bahamas and then carry that legal marriage to the us to have it certified.

Ok so i didnt get married due to not being able to get my documents legalized here in the us by the cuban interest section,but i am hoping with the new relationship between cuba and untied states,that this year I can get that done and get married in cuba. So has anyone heard any news regarding the interest section in washington dc? And also i heard that in havana it can be done by some lawyers who have ties to the cuban goverment but im sure it cost a pretty penny also. Any new info would be great. Thanks all

Having you considered getting married in Ecuador ?  This is a popular choice with Yanks and Cubans as no Visa is required only a passport and also if you can get her to Mexico your problem is solved..

I read your posting about marrying a cuban in cuba and  your preperation only took 2 weeks for the translation  for birth certificate and martial status  and noterized after...i am doing the same thing  starting to now and i need some advice please
thank you

Hi maybe we can help each other out. Can u provide a email to chat about this. I'm in the same situation. Are u going to live there. Or have her move to Canada? How long had it been? For me three months.

my email is [email protected]

Hi
Is it possible to travel to ecuador with my cuban girlfriend to get married there to save all the drama and fees that the cuban government wants.. I am a canadian citizen .born here.. can you if you know what i bring with me to ecuador... birth certifacate and status of my divorce ...does it need to be translated  to spanish still or ??
Thank you very much for your time

Hey J. I read online a canadian who wants to marry in Ecaudor has to have been there 75 days prior. And you need to visit three times. Once to apply, then attend a interview with a oath, then the actual wedding performed only in two towns. Yes, you need all your papers and translated to Spanish. Compared to Cuba ,I'm not sure if legalizations stamped from Canada. If u do the route of emailing and uploading the Transaltor Canadian officials with Notary them again. The link, I sent, they sign back $48 a page. Second page cheaper. Its faster.. Then doing in a registers office in Cuba u might have to wait days. This is were I think Cuba wants them legalized???? $176 fee??? Per page!!!!! This is part in question. Prior 6 weeks before the wedding. Without this can't be brought to Cuba and only Notary Official will perform wedding legal or be legiate. She also needs her divorce papers, single bacholerhood 100cuc and birthcertificate 100cuc if she does not have original.

Sorry been out of country...did you get all your answers regarding marriage in Cuba?

not really  do you know much about this ?

Yes I know the process and costs... where are you at now in all this?

Are you the man I spoke with on the phone before you leaving to cuba?

No Ive never had a telephone conversation with anyone from here... Early this year I married a Cuban in Matanzas city after doing all the paperwork in Canada and was very quick to get all this in order (2 weeks) and once in Cuba we just went to a notary on a Thursday and were married in a Notary office on Tuesday for 650 Cucs plus 20 cuc for a witness literally grabbed off the street... I can tell you the process in Canada through the Toronto consulate and which translator to use and about what documents need to be translated and notarized etc.  but if your single and never married it will be just under 1000.00 Canadian plus close to that amount will also be needed in Cuba so about 2000.00 all said and done...

What I understand is i get my birth certificate and divorce papers notarized and then translated into spanish and send all 4 papers to  Ontario to get them certified or only send the  spanish ones to Ontario? but how I send to Ontario??? they dont answer phones and where is the cheapest i can get them translated into spanish..i heard i can translate them in Ontario at the embassy..is this correct? my  divorce is 1 month old
Thanx

YES  send all 4 to consulate to be certified ... my case was long form birth cert and single affidavit  4 x 174 aprox.

I used  Canadian Translator  Jonathan Whiteside out of Ontario and was about  80-100 to get both translated 
[email protected]    .. I did my research first to be sure his translations would be accepted ..

  After you get your documents ready to go you send all by canada post express(I Used) plus the extra 40.00 the cuban consulate charges for applying by mail and also you need to include a prepaid envelope for them to send all documents back ...check their website to get exact costs but mine was 4 x 174 plus 40 ...

I got everything back in 2 weeks certified so is fast ..

Ps I found the notarization of the documents similar in price to translations..  and yes its like winning the lottery to reach them by phone with questions..

  When you go to Cuba to get married let me know so I can warn you about the scams to extract extra money from you..they will try trust me try add extras to rip you off the yuma/gringo  sometimes the new wife/hubby is involved

Be very careful as most Cubans are very tricky..

Hello,
New here......My Fiance in Cuba & I have been going through the Fiance process almost one year now.Long story...we were one of those 221g Admin Processing, non bonifide relationship couples that got rejected. To make matters worse the process took place right before the U.S. Interest office in Havana became the U.S. Embassy. Long story longer, we are starting to proceed with plan B, which is getting married in Cuba.
Thank you to whoever started this blog, I do appreciate any information I can get because as you must know by now,trying to find out information on your own (without paying a high cost Attorney) is very difficult. We have already spent thousands on the previous process, now we may have to start all over. My Fiance's file was sent back to USCIS with the recommendation that is be revoked,it took 3 months for the Embassy in Havana to mail his file back to NVC, then NVC sent back to USCIS. USCIS stated "No jurisdiction" because the 90 day Fiance Visa expired! & forwarded my Fiance's file back to NVC, NVC back to the U.S. Embassy this Sep. 11. As of today, Oct. 02 the U.S. Embassy is stating that they do not have it.
I already got my documents prepared and stamped by the State of Caliornia with the Apostille cover letter. I have already got my birth certificate (translated from french to english) and my Affidavit of Single Status, & my divorce decree. Today I will go and pick up these docs translated to spanish.
My question is: How do I know how much to pay the Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. to certify these documents. On their website they state $176.00 per document in english and spanish. So would that be $176.00 x 6 documents (because it's 3 sets of paperwork) I hope it is not by page?? So that would be $1056.00??
Or would that be $176.00 x 3 sets, & put the english and spanish together?
I will also call Fedex and ask about mailing and getting the docs prepaid for return.
Please let me know if I am missing anything? I did read that all documents must have my same name on all docs, but of course my birth certificate is my maiden name. My divorce decree and Affidavit is in my former married last name.
Then, from what I have read I go to Cuba (2nd trip) we get married, pay the fees in Cuba, apprx. $600.00, then I come back with all docs and begin the Marriage Visa process similar to the K1 Fiance Visa.
I am hoping we do not have to go with plan B, but I am preparing.
Thank you kindly for any information anyone can give me.
We are an older couple, 50's and want to live the rest of our lives together & be able to travel back & forth between San Diego & Cuba.
Thank you,
Bell

This is Bell,
Also, I forgot to ask, do I need to buy medical travel insurance for the 29 days I will be in Cuba? When I went in Oct. 2012  it was not required of me. When I got to the airport, there was a team of people dressed in medical white uniforms, a nice lady asked me where I was coming from. I said the United States, and she said "Pasale" Pass, so I did nobody ever asked me for proof of medical insurance. I know things can change, so I am just wondering.

Thanks,

Im from Canada but can answer a couple of things ... Yes it is 176.00 per document  spanish/english  EACH ONE is considered separate document ..In m y case 4x176  I had single affidavit and birth cert, to do...  And because I had to mail in my documents that was another 40.00 plus had to send them a prepaid envelope to send back to me.. after that went to notary in Cuba which was another 650 cuc plus 100 cuc for some stamps.. Also I had to pay some stranger off the street 20 cuc to be a witness to it all and another 20 cuc to a translator because my Spanish sucked,,,

After that bought a pig and 48 christal cerveza and 12 x bottle havana rum(3 year old)  ,, had sex next day(too drunk wedding nite) to make it official ,,


   Good luck and hope some americans may read this and be more help to you...

Hi there. can anyone tell me the current (May 2016) way to get the necessary paperwork in Toronto to marry a Cuban in Cuba? I am Canadian. Can I prepare anything myself, and can I prepare it in Spanish so I don't have to have it translated? What government agencies do I go to, for example?
Thanks, Pete

Did you get your answers ?

As you stated, all the requirements are not found in one place so this THE most difficult thing to do in your entire life !
    After three years of frustration and trips for no gain my fiancée and are just thinking about enjoying our lives together at la casa de nosotros ( our house). We have a nice place and garden in the foothills of the Sierra Maistre foothills down east towards Santiago and we love it there.
    I stay there every chance I get and go back to the states regularly to manage my business and take care of details. Haven't decided to emigrate to either country just yet.
    You know, or maybe do not; but many young couples in Cuba never marry and just live together and raise families.?
    It is easy to go to Cuba now and you can go as often as you like. Life is way cheaper to live over there.

Hello everyone!

I just came across this forum whilst trying to find (reliable) information about getting married in Cuba. I hope you guys can help me, as I have received so much conflicting advice both online and through speaking to various embassies and government bodies.

My Fiancé and I would like to elope in Havana in August this year (2017). We live in Australia - I am an Australian citizen and my partner is a Dutch citizen, but has permanent residency in Australia. Neither of us has been married before.

Some information we have received says we just need our passports, yet when I called the Cuban embassy in Australia, they said we needed authenticated and translated birth certificates and right to marry certificates. All these documents will cost around AUD$2000, so you can imagine my reluctance to obtaining these without first finding out whether we actually need them.

Also, how would we go about having a civil ceremony in Havana? Is there the equivalent of a registry office? Or do you have to find a "freelance" notary and arrange a location with them? If so, how would you guys go about finding one?

Thank you in advance for your time! Hopefully I can get some help here

Sherrie

Hi Sherrie,

I am trying to understand why you would want to get married in Cuba. Neither of you as I understand are Cuban. I married a Cuban and that is different.

Do you have a specific reason for going that route? You can email me at [email protected].

Regards,
Walt

Hi, my name is Elizabeth.

I can for sure answer one question? Whatever country you go to and the language is not English, all the documents need to be in the language of that country. I know this because when I get married to my partner of already 9 years all of the certificates are in english. We live in Florida. And for us to get married by church we need to do the same. I have to pay here in USA for our documents to be in Spanish. I was born in Illinois, Chicago and my birth certificate has to translated. I am going to order it online and pay.

Anything else look around on Expat.com and you will see more info for this and other question you may have.
Plus, Congrats on your wedding.
Don't answer question to people that ask you why in Cuba? Don't waste your time. It's your life and we only get to live it once. I am doing the big party in Cuba too. Why? because we both want to and plus it is cheaper, Lol........

Take Care, this is my email, xxx

Hi Les,  I am getting legally married to a Cuban Hopefully End of September, we already did the big ceremony ( Symbolic) Wedding with all the familia and friends, I am wondering if i could ask you a few questions regarding the translated papers?  I have my divorce certificate and birth ,  Does the birth need to be long form? or my regular one.  Also i see people saying a single affidavit, is that the same as divorce certificate? that would be the replace of?

Hey everyone, new here!

I see a lot of information about marrying in Cuba, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience bringing a Cuban to America on a Fiancee Visa...it seems to me to be the quicker and easier path, but my Cuban girlfriend does not think that Cuba will let her leave.  I can not find much of any info on this marriage path online, and what I do find makes it sound easy...

Just wondering if anyone has any insight...I know this doesn't seem like an "expat" question, but we would like to take turns and try to live in BOTH countries, so I think it counts

My experience, based on others' info, is that the Cuban government has no exit visa in place and if a Cuban wants to leave, as long as it's apparent that the reason is legitimate as in your case, no problem. The government just does not want to have to pay for her flight back because she is not allowed to stay in the destination country.