A Cuban doctor documented on TikTok the bureaucratic nightmare she faces after receiving her "release from the national health system" following three years of waiting: when she went to process her passport, she discovered that the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) still has her listed as "regulated," blocking any possibility of emigrating.
"I woke up with overwhelming happiness because after three long years, I will finally get my passport and that of my baby," the woman, identified on the platform as @javiart08, shared in a video posted last Wednesday.
However, when passing by the identity card office in her municipality, the reality was different: "I am still regulated by the national health system," she confirmed, visibly affected.
What followed was an entire day of unanswered calls. "I have a headache that I can't shake off; I've spent the entire salty day calling the Ministry of Public Health, using the numbers they provide, and no one answers the phone," she reported. According to her, the days for public assistance are Tuesday and Thursday, and it was precisely Thursday when she recorded the video.
To resolve her situation, the doctor would have to travel physically to Havana. "I can't believe that with transportation and the situation here in Cuba, I have to go to Havana to have my regulation lifted," she expressed.
The case is not isolated. The Cuban regime classifies health professionals as “regulated population” with migration restrictions since Decree Law 306 of October 2012, which requires doctors and other specialists to obtain express authorization from MINSAP to travel or emigrate, even after resigning from their positions.
The standard process lasts up to 50 days from the application, but in practice, it extends for years. Authorities can delay the procedure for up to five years, arguing the need to "train replacements." In 2023, the government expanded these restrictions to include dentists, healthcare technicians, and nursing graduates.
Other doctors have experienced similar situations. There are documented cases of doctors being prohibited from traveling years after their disaffiliation from MINSAP, and of professionals who are verbally informed that they are "regulated" directly in the identity card offices. The regime has also systematically denied "non-inhibited" certificates to emigrated doctors, preventing them from validating their degrees abroad.
The odyssey of this doctor occurs at the worst possible moment. In April 2026, Cuba is going through one of its most severe electricity crises: power outages have surged again with cuts of up to 17 hours and 45 minutes recorded on Sunday, and public transportation remains paralyzed in large parts of the country due to a lack of fuel. The doctor herself mentioned it in her video: "After several months with twenty, twenty-six hours of pay, May 1st is approaching, they are increasing the electricity, and everyone wants to take advantage."
More than 4,000 professionals from the Cuban Observatory Health United demanded in 2024, through an open letter, the end of migration regulations for doctors. The regime did not respond.
Organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Prisoners Defenders have documented these practices as repressive and comparable to forced labor, while hundreds of Cuban professionals remain trapped in a bureaucratic maze designed to hinder their free movement.
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