MINREX denies suspension of procedures to legalize documents

HeMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) denied thesuspension of procedures to legalize documents of Cubans to be presented abroad, according to statements by an agency official to the island's official press.

The general director of Consular Affairs and Cubans Living Abroad of the MINREX, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, stated this Wednesday to the official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso “that the legalization of documents of Cuban citizens has not been stopped nor will it be stopped to take effect in the abroad".

After an interview for Canal Caribe, Alonso shared these statements on his profileFacebook, where he also noted that “in 2022, the number of documents processed was a record and in the first four months of 2023 they exponentially exceeded those processed in the same period of previous years.”

He also assured that MINREX “in order to streamline procedures, in the midst of this complex scenario, they expanded processing capacities.”

In the official journalist's publication, a user responded “but the law firms closed the processes yesterday!!!!!!”, to which Alonso commented that “law firms are one thing and legalization is another. However, come tomorrow, the provision is that they continue receiving procedures.”

In the last few weeks it was reported thatDocument legalization procedures would be suspended as of May 2 in collective law firms in the capital of Cuba.

“As of Tuesday, 5/2/2023, the contracting of legalizations is suspended until further notice due to the large amount of work. We apologize for the inconvenience caused,” indicated a message printed and displayed on the entrance door of a collective law firm in Havana.

The photograph of the notice was sent toCyberCuba and later consultations were carried out that confirmed the instruction received by the Havana collective law firms, although it could not be verified whether the suspension had national scope.

“As of Tuesday, this service will not be received, but only in the collective law firms. It will continue to be received in all Civil Service Companies, which are: International Legal Consulting, Conabi, Lex, Claim; International Law Firm; Transconsul; BES”, indicated a source consulted byCyberCuba.

According to him, the measure is taken “to alleviate delays” and would be exclusive to “collective law firms in the capital.”

“The [procedures] presented until today in the law offices of the municipalities of Havana will continue their course,” said the source, who stated that he has no evidence that the measure will be extended to the collective law firms of the rest of the provinces.

The increase in recent times in the number of citizens leaving Cuba in the largest exodus in its history has caused the collapse of legal services that process necessary documentation for migrants.

Spain's decision to allow the grandchildren of Spaniards who emigrated to Cuba to acquire the nationality of that country has caused an avalanche of requests from Cuban citizens who also go to collective law firms to request and legalize the required documentation.

For the nationality procedures for minors, family visas and residences, among others, the Consulate of Spain in Cuba requests legalized birth and marriage certificates, as well as criminal and other records.

Given the flood of requests for nationality,Spain announced that it will increase its consular staff in Cuba.

This was confirmed during his recent visit to Havana by the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory,Fernando Martínez López, which requested collaboration from the island's authorities to expand the capacities of the Spanish consulate in the Cuban capital and be able to meet the growing demand for nationalization applications.

At the beginning of April, the MINREXrecognized a delay in the legalization of documents due to the increase in demand for that service.

The general director of Consular Affairs and Cubans Living Abroad explained that compared to the previous year, the increase in demand is 16%.

This period coincides with the possibility of obtaining Spanish nationality through the Democratic Memory Law, approved by the Spanish Congress and Senate and in force since October 2022.

It is estimated that some five million Cubans could benefit from this process, which allows them to acquire Spanish nationality and settle in any country in the European Union.

"Based on this significant increase, the necessary measures are adopted to respond to the increase in demand for the service. However, the time for the legalization of documents is longer than usual," the official explained.