Immigration: The net migration rate for Cuba is -1.56 per 1,000 population. Loosely translated, more people are leaving Cuba than arriving.

Remittances: Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba’s communist government for much of the past 40 years. Over time, there have been numerous changes to the restrictions, and for five years, from 1977 until 1982, there were no restrictions on travel to Cuba. Under the Bush Administration, enforcement of U.S. restrictions on
Cuba travel has increased, and restrictions on travel and on private remittances to Cuba have been tightened. In March 2003, the Bush Administration eliminated travel for people-to-people educational exchanges unrelated to academic coursework.

In June 2004, the Bush Administration further restricted family and educational travel, eliminated the category of fully-hosted travel, and restricted remittances so that they could only be sent to the remitter’s immediate family. Initially there was mixed reaction to the Bush Administration’s
June 2004 tightening of Cuba travel and remittance restrictions, but opposition to the policy has grown, especially within the Cuban American community regarding the restrictions on family travel and remittances.

With President Obama’s the new policies of unlimited travel and financial aid for family members, remittances will surely increase in the future.