The more than 20,000 Cubans living in the Eastern Republic of Uruguay who have the legal possibility of becoming candidates to obtain citizenship of that country will receive a passport which, in practice, does not take them far from their home island since it is ineffective for obtaining visas and traveling to hundreds of countries.
The Uruguayan constitution, in its article 73, distinguishes between "legal and natural" citizens, this regulation limits the mobility rights of migrants who obtain citizenship in the country. The main obstacle lies in the distinction made in the passport issued to legal citizens, where the nationality of origin is recorded, even in cases where migrants are deprived of it by laws that prohibit dual citizenship in their countries.
The situation worsens considering the 2015 Civil Aviation Organization regulation, which stipulates the requirement for electronic issuance of passports, so the nationality listed in the electronic record for these migrants is not Uruguayan, but that of their countries of origin.
The NGO "Todos Somos uruguayos" goes further and among its demands includes putting an end to the impossibility for some legal citizens to travel safely, where even if they can overcome the barriers imposed by the passport, they are not provided with diplomatic protection and are labeled as "foreigners" during the process of returning to Uruguay.
The issue was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which in early March 2024 summoned the Uruguayan State to address the issue at the 189th Regular Session. As conclusions of the hearing, Uruguay committed to fulfilling its international obligations and expressed its willingness to continue the dialogue on the right to nationality and legal citizenship. More specifically, a meeting was announced between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to eliminate the reference to nationality in passports.
However, a few days after the hearing, Alejandro and Luis, a couple of Cubans with Uruguayan passports, had their vacation plans cut short when one of them was prevented from boarding a flight to Colombia, a visa-free destination for Uruguayan citizens.
When I swiped my passport through the electronic reader, it marked my country of origin and they did not allow me to board the flight. I tried to contact Migration Colombia by email, but they did not respond in time, preventing me from traveling with my partner who was able to board as they have Spanish citizenship. A day later, I received a response from Colombian immigration officials allowing me to travel on an exceptional basis, but by then my vacation was incomplete, and I had a bad experience.
The case of Alejandro and Luis is not isolated. Jorge Valdés, secretary and founder of the NGO Cubanos Libres in Uruguay, confirmed the enormous concern within the Cuban community regarding this citizenship regulation.
Uruguay stopped being a country of transit for Cuban migrants a long time ago. Although the 2023 census set the figure at about 12,000, we believe that the real number could triple the official count. The vast majority of cases involve families that integrate organically into Uruguayan society and aim to eventually qualify for citizenship. The current regulations deprive Cuban diaspora with legal Uruguayan citizenship of the mobility rights enjoyed by native citizens. This is even more significant considering the visa restrictions placed on Cuban passports today.
Desireé Pagliarini, national deputy for the Colorado Party and one of the promoters of a bill that sought to modify the reference to nationality of origin in the travel document, confirmed that the problem is much bigger as it has constitutional rank.
It is a constitutional issue, and therefore, the fundamental solution is also of that hierarchy. In order to grant Uruguayan nationality to legal citizens, a reform of the Constitution must be made, and people would have to vote in a referendum. Currently, it is not a topic on the public agenda, not even in the electoral campaign. However, the government is focusing all attention on the migration issue to provide a practical solution regarding passport issuance.
For Cubans, it is no minor issue; the passport issued on the island is among the most restricted on the planet and the second worst rated in Latin America, only behind Haiti, according to the Global Passport Ranking by the British firm Henley & Partners. This contrasts with the Uruguayan passport, which ranks 22nd among the best in the world with 156 visa-free destinations and the fourth most powerful in the region.
On the other hand, Uruguay has become one of the favorite destinations for Cubans due to the migration facilities it offers and its proximity to Guyana, a country that exempts islanders from visa procedures. According to a report accessed by the local media outlet El Observador, of the 9,129 people who applied for refuge in Uruguay in the last year, 7,293 were Cubans.
The massive arrival of migrants has overwhelmed the shelter system, which currently has more than 24,000 foreigners whose cases are pending a solution, the majority being Cubans and Venezuelans according to the country's own Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The official census carried out in Uruguay during 2023 revealed that, if it were not for the foreign population, the total population would be below the figure recorded in the 2011 census, hence the importance of correcting legislation that affects the only population segment that is growing in the country.
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