Cuban friends in Casas

[Just_Me]

Hola everyone. I will ask the question here as I never got a reply in the casa column. Our friends (Cuban couple) would like to go to Santa Clara with us and overnight in a casa there....the question.......can we stay in the same casa or do we have to find a non tourist casa for them even though we are paying in american dollars? We are touring together for a few days and are not sure what the rules for this sort of things are. Advice please. thank you JM

[zaragozana]

no problem if you pay in $. they have to sign the guestbook like you. thats all. have a nice trip.

[Guest]

I didn't have a problem with my casa particulares in that regard. However, some casas do advertise on the internet saying no Cuban "guests". I think if anyone does have a problem with it you can just try the next one. The tourist population in Cuba is low these days.

[pechocha40]

Hola:
No hay problema, cuando yo voy a Cuba me hospedo en casas particulares, y mis amigos cubanos se quedan conmigo.
Solo tienes que firmar un libro y yaaaaaaaaaa

[Cec-uk]

Just to confirm what pechocha 40 has said and add... don't forget about the $$.
I have also been in a non registered casa in La Havana where some Cuban people where also staying and I had the impression they were paying in pesos.

[zaragozana]

I have also been in a non registered casa in La Havana where some Cuban people where also staying and I had the impression they were paying in pesos.
the op was asking for cuban friends. never go in an non registered casa. or do you want to pay the bill for the cuban friends, if there will be control?

[Cec-uk]

euh... sorry. I just shared an experience there... now, if you want to take it like... personal, more than happy to tell you the story(ies) of my life (providing I have got one in your eyes) but not on a chat.

Just to clarify things, we were sent to this address (my cuban friend and myself) on the advice of somebody who owned a registered casa. Not trying to find excuses there but it was my first stay in a casa particolar and I did not know the difference at this stage.

For your information I think that if you travel with Cuban friend(s) you have to really ask yourself the question, am I ready to face any problems and take the **** because you can't leave THEM in the **** if the **** hits the fan. So this also leads to: can I do the necessary to get them out of the ****? (re: the most replied to post in this forum...).

[Just_Me]

Thanks for all the replies. We really like to travel with this couple, and yes we do pay for most of it, but we feel it is fair as they have to take time off of work to go with us. Most people know that when friends come from out of town you show them around, usually seeing things and places you would not go to on your own.......it is the same for them. They go to places they have never been to before too. We are now branching out further and further so the over night thing is coming into play. Guess we will have to wait and see how it goes. JM

[suenoazur]

do you want to pay the bill for the cuban friends, if there will be control?

Well, maybe I won't look very gracious but if they do want to take the risk... I've been in alquilados and paladars when it was 'tolerated' and not really allowed, and not all I know are registered. I even experienced one of this control. The ones who are not registered are mostly people 'who know someone', and this is what occured in this case.
In fact, anything can happen : if you speak spanish, live with the family and not a separate place, have no luggage obviously laying on the bed, ... you're just a friend passing by to say 'hello'. And even the luggage is just that your friend keeps it for you while you stay in Cuba. Sure, if you live in a separate room with video and all the tourist stuff and the 'officer' puts a little pression on the lady with you and you don't speak spanish... well, too easy.
So, as always, you can go anywhere if you know how to handle.
And something very few people know : cubans are very 'legalist' (sorry, maybe not the right term), they follow strictly the law. If there is such a control and you say, 'no señor, estoy invitado, no tourista, no alquilado', he can't prove anything and won't push anymore. Same for these questions of hassle and controls in the street (I'm really astonished by most of messages on the subject) : if you say that you're with a friend, no jinetera/o, there's not a policeman that can do anything. My friends don't walk 5 meters in front of me. I would'nt allow that.

[Cec-uk]

Buenas palabras, mi senor Sueno...

[Rick]

If you register at the Oficina de Imigracion and pay $45 for an A-2 Visa it's supposed to allow you to live with Cubans in private houses and also be in the same car. They need to have sent you an official letter of invitation and the rest you do at the office. This is what I am told and will try in December. If you have more recent info I'd like to hear it.

[Cec-uk]

When I went to the mum's house of my boyfriend in Holguin, we went to the police station to ask for a permit (I am not sure it is the same visa you are talking about). We were told previously by some friends that it would cost around $40. However when we were there the policeman said I could not stay at a private house, with or without this paper and that I had to check in an hotel.

I do want to precise that it might be that he just did not feel like being helpful. In other words I would not think that it can't be done but I suppose you have to ask the "right" person.

[Rick]

Well,Cec-uk, maybe it was because you weren't asking for the right thing. However, it has also been my experience that they are not overly helpful in assisting tourists to not stay in hotels. They would prefer that your money go into a hotel or casa particulare and help subsidize the economy. Are you sure you were talking to a policeman?

[Cec-uk]

Hi Rick,

Somehow I do thing that being with two Cuban people we were surely in a police station (with quite a few men in uniform...) and I suppose that if two Cuban people do not know how to explain what they want I am certainly not the one who will do better at that stage...

[Rick]

I'm not doubting you had trouble, nothing seems to ever be easy in Cuba. However, I am told that the A-2 visa must be obtained throught the Oficina De Immigración y no le estacion de policia. We seem to agree on the price. When I return from this trip maybe I'll have some more helpful info to share on this tricky topic. It would certainly make visiting and travelling with Cuban friends easier.

[beardo]

You aren't relying on Gordon Robinson, are you Rick ?

He also claimed the A2 visa allowed you to stay in hotels with a Cuban even if not married.

The policy re A2 visas and casas in Niquero may be totally different to anywhere else. Certainly some areas will ask for more proof of relationship before issuing an A2 than others.

[Rick]

Mi amiga has already approached the immigration office and been told that it is not possible. I will try again when I am there. She is quite distressed by what they have said to her because we aren't married. I think she is afraid of the consequences of having gone there in the first place. I hope we can sort it out when I'm there. What should we do to prove our long-term relationship bring letters and pictures?

[Cec-uk]

Rick,
I personally gave up on the idea of going to a hotel with my boyfriend... no point in looking for trouble.
I find it very difficult to reason with the authorities in Europe and would not even give it a try in Cuba where logic is defied every day.
Play it safe.
We went to Casas and did not have any problems. We both had to sign in and would take our details in the casa, however to this date (3 months later) he has not had any trouble, and let's hope it stays that way.

Good luck :)

[Rick]

The A-2 visa is supposed to permit me to stay in my friend's house. The last time we stayed in licenced casas and we even stayed at the Hotel Guantanamo together previously. No questions asked, they didn't care if we were married or not! In Havana it's the opposite, I stayed with 2 Cuban families there and no one cared. But, when my friends went to my hotel they had to stay in the lobby and wait for me there!!! :-/
It's all very confusing! Will let you know how it works out. I leave in one week! YAHOO!!!

[suenoazur]

Hello everybody,
I did not want to mix in the subject as I thought I could not really bring experience. But what you are saying leans in the way I think.
I've heard of the A2 visa before, but as you say, it is not well known by cubanos. So, I think it's more inconvenience than advantage because your friend will have to declare that he/she is with a stranger, which is always bad seen by the authorities. And the policia in the street does not know this visa, so you could give him whatever paper, it will be the same.
I stayed once with my girlfriend in an hotel in Habana (el Sevilla). I did fax a letter with the reservation, saying that we were married but that the papers were not 'legalized', and asked if she could wait for me in my room on the day I arrive.
Usually, I prefer alquilados, but I was in transit for some days between Montreal and Paris, in order to do a visa and go with my girlfriend. So we stayed a week in the Sevilla as 'officialy but not legally married' (or the inverse).

[suenoazur]

I forgot to mention : she had a passport. You have to show an ID to register in the hotel, and I don't think that something like 'We doing the new one and they kept the old one' could work.

[Cec-uk]

Sueno,

Can they actually show there id cards.... or is it advisable to have a passport?

[suenoazur]

Everybody has an ID.
But don't forget that on an ID, there is the mention of where the person lives. If she/he is not in the city he/she should be living... beginning of problems / very suspect. What is the purpose of an ID ? To know the name of the person ? To make a verification ? You will not see a policia take an ID and make a call in order to do a verification. Not like in our countries. If you are not where you are supposed to be (CDR and stuff like that...), then you are suspect.
Passport means : I'm used to go in foreign countries / someone paid some $$$ to get me a passport / I'm with a stranger. Means : I'm not the average guajiro(a). Then the policia says 'not the usual cuban, I have to take care'. And he will let it go. No problema. Cuban psychology.