Guidance

How to apply for a UK visa in Cuba

Updated 12 December 2023

To apply for a UK visa in Cuba, you must:

• complete a visa application form
• attend the visa application centre at the British Embassy in Havana

1. Complete and submit your form

You can complete your application form and book an appointment to submit your biometric data.

You must pay the visa application fee online.

2. Attend the visa application centre

All visa applicants must attend the visa application centre at the British Embassy in Havana:

Visa application centre
British Embassy in Havana
Cuba Calle 34, No 704
Miramar, Havana

When arriving at the British Embassy, you must:

• arrive no more than 15 minutes before your appointment
• enter the Embassy on your own, unless a minor is being accompanied by an adult. We request that additional individuals do not wait for you outside the gate

Opening times

By appointment only for UK visa applicants.

You will be prompted to book an appointment at the end of your online UK visa application.

Overseas Territory applicants can drop off their application between 1:30pm and 2:30pm at security on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There is wheelchair access at the visa application centre.

What will happen when you attend

When you attend, you must:

• submit your visa application form and your supporting documents
• have your fingerprints and photograph (known as ‘biometric information’) taken

Due to space limitations, sponsors and other family members may not be allowed in the visa application centre.

Settlement applicants

Settlement applicants or their sponsors will need to send their supporting documents within 5 days after biometric enrolment to:

Settlement (Cuba)
PO BOX 3468
Sheffield
S3 8WA

Settlement applicants are only required to bring their passport to the British Embassy in Havana for biometric enrolment along with their visa application form and a passport sized colour photograph.

What you need to take with you

When you attend, you should bring:

• your completed, signed visa application form
• your passport – you are not legally required to have 6 months’ validity on your passport at the time you apply for your visa, but your passport must be valid at the time you apply and at the time you arrive in the UK
• 1 recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of your face
• any supporting documents that are relevant to your application and a photocopy of each document (unless you’re a settlement applicant)
• any previous passports which show evidence of foreign travel

Your passport must contain at least 1 page that is blank on both sides, so that your visa can be inserted.

Paying your visa application fee

You can pay the visa application fee online.

Collecting your documents

When your application has been decided, we will advise you when your documents are ready for you to collect from the visa application centre. You will need to bring your receipt.

We will keep your passport until we have made a decision on your visa application. You should remember this when you make your travel arrangements, especially if you plan to visit other countries before going to the UK.

If you need to collect your passport before a visa decision has been made, your visa application will be withdrawn. The visa fee is non-refundable, and if you would like to reapply for a visa you will need to start another application, submit your biometric data, and pay the visa fee again.

A nominated person can collect your documents on your behalf. They will need to provide an authorisation letter signed by you, your receipt and proof of their identity.

If you are collecting a visa, you should check, before leaving that it:

• contains your correct personal details
• correctly states the purpose for which you want to come to the UK
• is valid for the date when you want to travel

If you think there is anything wrong with your visa, speak to a member of staff immediately. Alternatively, you can contact the international enquiry service.

Urgent and compassionate cases

You should inform a member of staff at the visa application centre if your application is urgent and there are compassionate reasons for travel by providing evidence.

We only accept applications as urgent and compassionate in the following circumstances:

• serious illness or death of an immediate family member (the applicant’s mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife, son or daughter)
• emergency medical treatment which includes people who need to travel with you for support (for example, a parent caring for an ill child)

3. Contact us

Enquiries about your visa application

Our service standards say that we will process:

• 90% of non-settlement applications within 3 weeks, 98% within 6 weeks and 100% within 12 weeks of the application date
• 95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks and 100% within 24 weeks of the application date

If you are still waiting for a decision on your application after this time has passed, email the international enquiry service who will forward your enquiry to us for reply.

Do not contact the international enquiry service call centre unless you have been waiting longer than the time stated above for a decision. We will not respond to your enquiry unless this time has passed.

If you are asking about someone else’s application on their behalf, you must send us their written consent before we can give any information to you. Under the Data Protection Act, we cannot share information about a person with anyone else unless required to do so by law, or with the person’s consent.

We cannot prioritise your visa application unless there are exceptional, medical or compassionate circumstances.

General visa enquiries

If you have a general question about the visa application process, you can contact the international enquiry service.

Staff at the call centre cannot give immigration advice, and cannot give you any information about the progress of your application after it has been sent to us. The information they provide is taken from this website.

Complaints about the handling of visa applications, or the conduct of staff

You can submit your complaint by email to complaints@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Provide as much information as you can in your complaint, including:

• your full name and contact information including your phone number
• full details of what went wrong
• when and where it happened
• who you dealt with
• details of any witnesses
• any relevant reference numbers or papers including details of any reimbursement issues

If you’re completing this on behalf of someone else, include their name.

We must have written authority to disclose information about another person’s case.

Complaints about a visa application centre or the international enquiry service call centre

If you wish to complain about the service you have received at a visa application centre or the international enquiry service call centre, or the conduct of their staff, you should contact the international enquiry service.

If you choose to take your complaint further, you can email complaints@homeoffice.gov.uk.