Travelling to Cuba from the United States: the authorised categories in 2026

For a person subject to US jurisdiction, travel to Cuba is governed by the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 515. What follows sums up the text in force, including the amendment published in the Federal Register on 30 September 2026 (91 FR 61741).

The starting rule is clear: nothing in those regulations authorises transactions in connection with tourist travel to Cuba (§ 515.560(f)).

The 12 travel categories

§ 515.560(a) lists the activities for which travel-related transactions may be authorised: family visits; official business; journalism; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, competitions and exhibitions; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities of private foundations and research institutes; information and informational materials; and certain authorised exports.

The most used ones

• Family visits (§ 515.561): general licence to visit a close relative who is a Cuban national or ordinarily resident in Cuba.
• Support for the Cuban people (§ 515.574): general licence requiring a full-time schedule of activities that enhances contact with the Cuban people and results in meaningful interaction. Staying in a casa particular or eating at paladares qualifies, but is not enough on its own to complete that schedule.
• Professional research (§ 515.564): still under a general licence, with a full-time schedule.
• Educational (§ 515.565): general licence for accredited academic institutions, their students and staff, and for trips under the auspices of a US organisation accompanied by one of its representatives.

What changed on 30 September 2026

The 2026 amendment removed the general licence for group people-to-people educational travel and for professional meetings. People-to-people trips are only honoured if the traveller had made a travel-related transaction, such as buying the flight or booking accommodation, before 30 September 2026; for professional meetings there was a wind-down period that ended on 30 October 2026.

The same amendment extended the Cuba Restricted List prohibition to indirect transactions.

Two lists to avoid

• Cuba Restricted List (§ 515.209): direct or indirect financial transactions with listed entities are prohibited, except travel transactions initiated before the entity was added.
• Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (§ 515.210): lodging, paying for lodging or booking for someone else at listed properties is prohibited, except bookings made before the listing.

Records, flights and what you can bring back

• Records of travel transactions must be kept for at least 10 years (§ 501.601), and travel service providers keep a certification of each customer’s category (§ 515.572).
• Transportation-related transactions are authorised, including obtaining the Cuban visa (§ 515.560(c)(1)), as are carrier services for authorised travellers (§ 515.572).
• Goods acquired in Cuba may be brought back for personal use, except Cuban alcohol and tobacco (§ 515.560(c)(3)).
• Travellers may carry the remittances they are authorised to send (§ 515.560(c)(4)).