What the Cuba visa rules mean for Botswana travellers
Botswana passport holders need an eVisa to enter Cuba. You apply online, upload a passport scan and a photo, pay the fee and receive the visa by email. Apply at least one to two weeks before your trip and print the approval — some airlines and border officers ask to see it on paper.
The main option is the Tourist visa (tarjeta turística).
Documents to prepare
Whatever your visa status, Cuba applies the same entry conditions to every traveller:
- Passport validity: The UK Foreign Office says your passport must have an expiry date at least 6 months after the date you arrive in Cuba and 3 months after your planned departure date.
- Vaccinations: Yellow fever: WHO lists Cuba as requiring proof of yellow fever vaccination from travellers aged 9 months or over arriving from countries at risk of yellow fever transmission, including travellers who transited more than 12 hours thr…
- Travel insurance: Canada's travel advice says you must be able to show proof of medical insurance on entry to Cuba, and that if you have none, or the Cuban immigration authorities are not satisfied with the proof you show, you may have t…
- Return or onward ticket: The UK government tells British visitors they must also show proof of onward or return travel.
Cuba entry rules compared
Cuba lets 20 passports in without a visa, issues eVisas to 160 and requires an embassy visa from 18. Botswana citizens are treated the same way as Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi and Cape Verde. Overall the Botswana passport ranks #106 in the world with 48 visa-free destinations.
More travel options
Planning a longer trip in Americas? With a Botswana passport you can also visit 16 countries in the region without a visa, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Brazil, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
In the other direction, Cuba citizens can visit Botswana visa-free for up to 90 days.