Starting TODAY, new passport changes affect Cubans in Uruguay.

As of April 16, changes were implemented in the Uruguayan passport system that affect Cubans who have been naturalized in this South American country. The changes benefit the thousands of Cubans residing in that country, either as residents awaiting naturalization or as naturalized citizens. Details will be provided immediately.

In a report official, The country's Ministry of the Interior updated its passport regulations to comply with "international regulations."

According to the note, the State Secretariat implemented changes in the data included in the passports.uneissued by the National Directorate of Civil Identification, in order to align them with the flight recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and ensure the legal security of their holders.

The most significant change to the Uruguayan passport affecting Cubans naturalized there is the change in the "Nationality" title, which will now be called "Nationality/Citizenship," incorporating the code "URY" for both natural and legal citizens.

Likewise, the "Place of Birth" heading will be removed from standard passports, as it is not considered mandatory information under ICAO Document 9303.

Benefits for Cubans with Uruguayan passports

In other words, Cubans with Uruguayan passports who search for their travel and identity documents starting today will not see the "born in Cuba" clause as a clarifying paragraph that prevented them from using this document to its full potential, as the Uruguayan passport is better ranked than the Cuban one in the world rankings.

According to Guide Passport Index, the Uruguayan passport is in the world position 24, with visa-free access or visa on arrival to 156 destinations around the world. That places him among the "strongest" in the world. 

"Very good news. Afterwards, we'll process the new passport and exchange the old one." "Thanks to the many people from different countries who fought for something as fair as it should be, blessings for all our fellow emigrants and Uruguayans," or "For those who said the Uruguayan passport was useless because it stated our nationality, well, that's over now, and we can enter more than 150 countries without a visa," Cubans commented on social media after the news.

Soon, the possibility of Uruguay joining The group of countries that do not need a visa to travel to the United States is getting closer, So this would also benefit Cubans with Uruguayan passports.