Cuban Government: Havana, Cuba

Lamberto Fraga Dept: HAVANA - The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will eliminate a half-century-old restriction that requires citizens to get an exit visa to leave the country, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "These measures are truly substantial and profound," said Col. Lamberto Fraga, Cuba's deputy chief of immigration, at a morning news conference. "What we are doing is not just cosmetic." A woman shows her passport and that of her son to reporters as she leaves an immigration office in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012. The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will no longer require islanders to apply for an exit visa, eliminating a much-loathed bureaucratic procedure that has been a major impediment for many seeking to travel overseas for more than a half-century. AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa The decree that takes effect Jan. 14 will eliminate a much-loathed bureaucratic procedure that has kept many Cubans from travelling or moving abroad. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.