Cuba: passport and entry requirements
Most of the Caribbean is visa-free, but Cuba isn't. You need a tourist card before you travel, one for every traveller including children of any age, and your passport has to be valid for at least six months after the day you arrive and three months after the day you leave.
Your passport
Your passport has to be valid for at least six months after the day you arrive and at least three months after the day you plan to leave. Those are counted from different points, so check both against your own dates.
Everyone travels on their own passport, whatever their age, and since a child's lasts five years against an adult's ten they rarely expire together. Check each when you book and renew anything close, as it takes weeks.
Getting in
You need a Cuban tourist card, the Tarjeta del Turista, before you travel. Everyone needs their own, however young, and you get them from the Cuban Embassy in the UK, from a travel agent or tour operator or direct from the official eVisa-Cuba site. It costs around £20 to £40 a person depending on which of those you use (last checked August 2026). On top of the card, everyone completes the D'Viajeros online arrival form within 72 hours of arriving, and you show it, on your phone or printed, when you land.
Every child needs their own passport, whatever their age, valid as long as the adults'. Each one also needs their own D'Viajeros arrival form.
If you're also planning a US trip
A visit to Cuba can affect your eligibility for the US Visa Waiver Program, the scheme that lets UK travellers visit the US on an ESTA. If a US trip is on the cards after Cuba, check your position on esta.cbp.dhs.gov, as it can mean needing a US visa rather than an ESTA.
Official sources
Last checked 11 August 2026. Passport and entry rules change, so always confirm on GOV.UK before you book or travel.
