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Cuba will open its exit doors wider than at any time in 50 years following migration reforms announced on Tuesday that will make it easier for citizens to go overseas. Under the new government policy, most Cubans will no longer require an exit visa or letter of invitation to leave the country.
The change raises the prospect of increased travel, particularly to the US.
There will continue to be limits affecting certain members of society, however. Doctors, scientists and military staff could be restricted, in a government effort to prevent a brain drain of people who have benefited most from Cuba's highly regarded state education and health systems.
The big shift in migration policy follows economic and social reforms by the president, Raúl Castro, which loosen controls on sales of private property, mobile phone ownership and hotel stays, and aim to make the island more attractive to foreign investors.
The exit visa system dates to 1961, when the government tightened border controls to stem a flood of migrants amid tensions with the US and unease among some sectors of society about the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.
Abolition of the system, which will come into effect before 14 January, is likely to be popular because it will save time and money for tourists and for those who want to work overseas or visit relatives among the large diaspora in the US. Exit visas cost about $150, roughly a third of the average monthly wage.
The change, which was promised by Raúl Castro when he became president in 2008, was announced by the Communist party newspaper Granma.
"As part of the work underway to update the current migratory policy and adjust it to the conditions of the present and the foreseeable future, the Cuban government, in exercise of its sovereignty, has decided to eliminate the procedure of the exit visa for travel to the exterior," read the notice.
The government has also extended the time Cubans can remain overseas without losing their social security, health benefits and voting rights – from 11 to 24 months.
The exit visa reform will have political ramifications well beyond the island's borders.
There are thought to be more than a million Cubans in the US, which has a longstanding policy of granting citizenship to almost all migrants from the island, on which Washington imposed an economic embargo.
Sharp economic disparities, political differences and migration controls have prompted many Cubans to migrate illegally in recent decades. Thousands travel via Mexico and other countries in central America each year, sometimes at great risk in unsafe boats.
Under the new system, travellers should need only a passport and a visa from the country they intended to visit.
But critics said controls on the movement of dissidents were likely to continue,.
A dissident blogger, Yoani Sánchez, who was detained by the authorities this month, tweeted: "The devil is in the details." She said that the new law could be used to prevent overseas travel by Cubans who "organise or participate in actions that are hostile against the country's political foundation".
Most citizens were thought likely to welcome the change, however.
"There have been many expectations for many years about a new travel law. It's a big step forward that will save us money and simplify the process," Rafael Pena, an office worker, told Reuters in Havana.
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