Immigration
Mexico announces family reunification program for Cubans, presents Castro successor award for service to mankind
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will implement a program "to attend to Cuban nationals who urgently need to reunite with their relatives in Mexico"
February 25, 2023 8:53am
Updated: February 25, 2023 8:53am
The Mexican government recently announced a new family reunification program for Cuban citizens, effective immediately.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico announced "it will implement a program to attend to Cuban nationals who urgently need to meet with their relatives in Mexico."
The statement opened appointments for Cubans to apply through the reunification visa process last week.
The Foreign Ministry specified that appointments for family reunification visas with a Unique Processing Number (NUT) will be authorized by the National Institute of Migration (INM) so that those interested can appear during the period from April to June 2023.
The Mexican consulate in Havana will also be informing the Cuban population of the visa opportunities by use of its social networks, according to the statement.
To access the procedure, it is necessary to register as a user at citascuba.sre.gob.mx.
The Mexican government said that, "appointments are free, personal and non-transferable and will be assigned according to the order in which they have been requested until they are exhausted."
The new family reunification program for Cubans was announced after the drastic increase in the migratory flow from the island to Mexico.
The Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of the Interior (Segob) of Mexico registered 41,475 people from Cuba in 2022, 487.55% more than the arrivals in 2021 (7,059).
That migration flow as has also deeply impacted the United States.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also reported that, in fiscal year 2022, a total of 224,607 Cubans were intercepted on the border with Mexico.
Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel made an official visit to Mexico last weekend in a showing of diplomatic relations between the two governments.
During that visit, President Lopez-Obrador awarded Díaz-Canel the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle.
The award is the highest Mexican decoration awarded to foreign nationals to acknowledge outstanding services rendered to Mexico or performed for mankind.
It was created by a decree by President Abelardo L. Rodriguez in 1933.
