A Cuban in Spain went viral on social media due to the difficulties in submitting documents issued in Cuba for citizenship processes. The woman (whose name online is Yuni Rodríguez) mentioned that delays in obtaining, legalizing, and transferring documentation lead to many certificates expiring before they can be used.
“Until when will they abuse us, the Cubans? Until when will there be abuse? They have us with the noose right here, look, around our necks,” Yuni begins in the video, which garnered over 17,000 views and 151 comments in a short time, becoming a reflection of collective frustration.
The crux of the problem you describe is that Spain requires criminal records that are valid for between three and six months, depending on the autonomous community. However, obtaining these records in Cuba, legalizing them with the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS), and then getting them apostilled at the Spanish Consulate in Havana can take several months, not to mention the blackouts that hinder digital processes.
"In Cuba, there are delays due to power outages that prevent you from getting things done. By the time you obtain it, legalize it through MINJUS, and wait for the famous credentials to legalize at the Spanish consulate in Cuba, which are taking over two months, by the time you legalize it and it arrives in Spain, the document is already expired," he explains.
Yuni adds that she requested her Spanish marriage certificate "since last year" and it still hasn't arrived, and announces that she will make a drastic decision: "I am going to apply for Spanish citizenship with all the documents I brought from Cuba in 2024, even if they are expired; I am not interested."
Behind this frustration lies a structural problem: Cuba is not part of the Hague Convention on Apostille of Documents, which requires double legalization that does not exist in other Ibero-American countries. A Colombian citizen can obtain their criminal record online in less than 24 hours; a Cuban must navigate a labyrinth of months and pay between 300 and 400 euros just for that process, according to several users in the comments of the video.
The reactions of other Cubans in Spain confirmed that Yuni's testimony is not an isolated case.
"We have spent the entire time since we started the process looking for papers everywhere, an immense anxiety and the resilience of a high-performance athlete," wrote a follower.
Another person detailed their own experience: "I had to pay 400 euros to legalize just the criminal record at the consulate through an agency, and the document arrived almost expired a month later. The document was issued in January, and to complete the legalization process fully in six months, it was nearly expired."
Some commentators warned Yuni that submitting expired documents could lead to a denial and further delays, citing cases of children who had been denied citizenship for that reason. Others encouraged her to move forward, sharing in her outrage.
The context further complicates the situation: the Spanish Consulate in Havana was processing over 107,000 applications under the Law of Democratic Memory in 2025, and in June 2026, reports emerged of a black market for consular appointments charging up to 300 euros for expedited service, with waiting times of up to 19 months for some procedures.
"The greatest difficulty comes from the Spanish Consulate in Havana; the procedures take years, for God's sake. It's the life slipping away from people; it's a physical and mental drain," summarized another commenter, voicing what thousands of Cubans in Spain experience in silence.
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