Tens of Cuban migrants in Uruguay protested at Plaza Independencia, in front of the Presidential building

in Montevideo, to regularize their status in the country after months of stagnation.

According to local reports, the Cub

ans demand that Uruguayan authorities stop requiring visas to initiate the residency process after one year of staying in the country.

Cubans arriving in Uruguay can obtain a refugee ID upon entering the country, but after one year they

must apply for permanent residency. This process presents difficulties, such as the visa requirement, which the Cubans want the Uruguayan government to eliminate.

“We, the Cubans, are required to have a visa to initiate residency,” said Madelyn del Río Rodríguez

, one of the protesting Cubans, to the local press.

“Since the pandemic, Brazil has been issuing transit stamps, which are not visa stamps, and, starting

January 27, 2023, all border consulates received a regulation stating that Cuban citizens with transit stamps could not apply for a visa,” del Río added.

The visa must be issued by a consulate at the Uruguayan border through which the person applying entered

, which, for Cubans, is the Brazilian border. Since last year Brazil has only been issuing these stamps, the Cubans are demanding to be exempted from the visa requirement, as occurred during the pandemic.

From the organization "Manos Cubanas," they state that over 5,000 Cubans have been unable to start

the residency process due to the visa requirement.

The other alternatives for obtaining residency, according to the Cubans, are very costly, amounting

to about 30,000 Uruguayan pesos per person (over 700 dollars).

“This is unaffordable for a family of four,” expressed del Río Rodríguez.

Cubans are facing a major problem: their temporary ID from Uruguay is about to expire and they do

not know what to do. They have been residing in the country for years and now risk being left without documents.

“That is not the goal of any Cuban here: we come to work, to help our families in Cuba, to progress

, and to assist the country because many of us have contributed many children born here,” concluded the Cuban.