Cuba lifts travel restrictions on locals

(Reuters):Cuba will scrap much-reviled travel restrictions starting in January, making it easier for its citizens to leave the communist-ruled island in the first major reform to its migration policies in half a century. The changes reverse tough restrictions imposed in 1961 when the government tried to put the brakes on a mass migration of people fleeing after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power. The government said Tuesday it would lift requirements to obtain an exit visa permitting departure from Cuba and a letter of invitation from someone in the destination country, putting an end to a process that Cubans complained was too time consuming and expensive, with no guarantee of final approval.

Now, most Cubans will only have to show their passports, national identity cards and, if needed, a visa from the country they will visit to go abroad, deputy immigration chief Colonel Lamberto Fraga told reporters. In theory, the changes should make it easier for Cubans not only to travel but to work abroad and return home when they want.

But Cubans will still need to obtain visas from most countries, which may not be easy because of fears that those who were granted tourist visas might not want to return to the island.

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