Have passport, will travel under new Cuban law

A law allowing Cubans to travel abroad without special exit visas took effect on the communist-ruled island Monday, giving people that long-sought right for the first time in half a century. Cubans can now leave without an exit permit or a foreign invitation, provided they have a valid passport. The reform was anxiously awaited by Cubans eager to travel after enduring painful restrictions since the Cold War era. There was no immediate rush, however, at passport offices or consulates of foreign embassies. People here earn on average 20 dollars a month, and the cost of a passport has been doubled to 100 dollars, a prohibitive sum for most Cubans without access to hard currency. An airline ticket to nearby Florida -- a magnet for many Cubans -- costs more than 500 dollars. And skeptics remained wary of the Communist government and wondered if the new travel freedom is for real or will be enforced selectively. Until now, exit visas were granted in haphazard fashion, with no explanation given when an application was turned down. Dissident award-winning blogger Yoani Sanchez, who has been repeatedly denied permission to leave Cuba, went to a passport office to apply for one Monday, and was told it will be ready in two weeks."I asked them if I will be able to travel, and they said yes. But I will believe it when I get on the plane," Sanchez told AFP. Monday was a business as usual day at the US consulate, a diplomatic source said. Hundreds of people showed up to apply for tourist, business or other visas, but they all had pre-existing appointments, the source said. Havana airport looked no busier than usual, nor did travel agencies or the consulates of Spain, Mexico and Canada -- countries which receive many Cuban emigrants. Many Cubans have long been separated from relatives living in exile. About one in six Cuban nationals lives abroad -- around a million Cubans and Cuban-Americans live in Florida alone. The reform eliminates messy red tape for those among the two million or so Cubans living abroad who want to visit the island, including athletes and others who defected while overseas. The law, which came into effect at midnight (0500 GMT), is one of the most far-reaching reforms introduced by President Raul Castro since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel in July 2006. First announced last October, the measure does away with the reviled exit visas that have kept most Cubans from ever traveling abroad. The visas, and invitation letters from a host, cost up to $200 (150 euros). Rights groups slammed the previous system for impeding Cubans' basic freedom of movement, although Raul Castro's government has ended several unpopular restrictions since 2006. Cubans can now stay in hotels geared to international tourism, sign cell phone contracts and buy electrical appliances. The new system also allows Cubans to buy and sell cars and private homes. But the change that took force Monday -- Raul Castro's most dramatic to date -- could be a stunning wake-up call to the United States, since it has the potential to set off a bilateral migration crisis. Under a policy dating to the Cold War, the United States still grants any Cuban who reaches US soil legal residency on request. No such US policy exists for nationals of any other country. With the US economy weak and the election cycle just over, the United States has not been planning for a potential influx of thousands of new Cuban immigrants arriving, legally, by sea and by air. But dissidents such as Berta Soler, leader of the opposition movement known as Ladies in White, expressed skepticism over the measure. She said that in the end the government will choose who can or cannot exit the country. But she said she would be willing to test the law. The European Parliament decided in 2005 to give Ladies in White a human rights award named after the late Soviet dissident and rights champion Andrei Sakharov, and Soler said she would like to go to Strasbourg to collect it. "Let's see if the European Parliament can organize an award presentation ceremony for us," said Soler. Not everyone can travel freely, however. Restrictions will remain for athletes, some government workers, military personnel and professionals in sectors deemed "vital". The government has not specified exactly who is considered vital, although last week it did say doctors are not in that category and thus can travel freely. Until now Cubans in need of money for exit visas often earned it in the tourist trade, while others have remittances sent from relatives living abroad. Despite travel restrictions in place since the 1960s, Cubans have emigrated illegally in droves, often using rickety boats to embark on dangerous sea voyages to reach nearby Florida. Around two million Cubans have left the country in the last half century. The population of the island stands at 11.2 million.