One of the most in-demand procedures in recent years is the process of obtaining and legalizing documents for use abroad and within the country. This process was carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until it was taken over by the Ministry of Justice (Minjus) in February 2025.
This process, Rosabel Gamón Verde, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice (Minjus), told Granma, shows steady growth in line with the increase in the issuance of certifications in Civil Registries and Notaries.
She gave examples: in 2022, 442,564 documents were legalized; in 2023, 684,639; in 2024, approximately 860,135; and at the end of June, 600,614.
However, one of the biggest criticisms is the delays—some even lasting several years—that undermine the quality of this service.
In this regard, Gamón Verde clarified that the legalization of documents remains within the established timeframe; the delays, he said, occur in the procurement services, primarily those linked to educational institutions.
A process from application to delivery
Camilo Pascual Vizcaíno, president of the Corporate Group of International Law Firms Legal Services S.A., explained to Granma that legalization is a process comprised of several stages involving different institutions.
“Depending on the nature of these documents, the process can be more expeditious or complex, and in turn, require more time for legalization,” she added.
She emphasized that not only the Minjus institutions but also other organizations that are already achieving interoperability to reduce these delays also play a role in this. Regarding the Ministry of Justice offices, Pascual Vizcaíno noted that some law firms are working on computerizing client-facing processes, from contracting to document return.
In general, he specified that they try to ensure that legalizations do not exceed 15 business days. “Currently, the legalization process carried out by the Group’s legalization branch does not exceed five days.”
Where are the obstacles?
Pascual Vizcaíno specified that academic documents are the ones with the greatest delays, with delays of two to four years at issuing centers, such as the University of Havana, the University of Medical Sciences of Havana, or CUJAE.
However, he commented that these centers did not have the necessary structures to handle a high volume of requests and document processing, as has been the case since the Democratic Memory Law and the Cuban migration movement itself.
In the case of the International Legal Consulting Firm (CJI), its general director, Lena Álvarez Rodríguez, commented that, once the legalization situation is resolved—which is currently being handled by the Ministry of Justice—the challenge lies in the delays in obtaining transcripts of grades and thematic plans from universities, with backlogs of more than two years.
On the other hand, Lidia Montes de Oca Fernández, first vice president of the National Organization of Collective Law Firms (ONBC), emphasized that, in these instances, with 189 offices throughout the country, more than 3,000 documents are processed daily, approximately, for various types of procedures.
She added that, while the service is obtained directly from the firms through lawyers, the documents are sent to the provincial branches in each territory, which are responsible for preparing their submission to the office of the firm processing these services on J and 23rd Streets in Havana.
Although there are no limits to serving everyone who comes to the firm requesting this type of service, he specified that there is a daily limit for “incoming” to the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS), and based on this, the number of applications received in the provinces is based. This “does not cover the total number contracted with the ONBC, and causes a backlog between the flow of documentation via suitcase to Havana and the daily entry, which is why there have been delays since April.”
Another factor is the energy issue at municipal offices, where specialists work manually to avoid impacting the population, but must wait for power to be restored to enter all requests into the computer system.
He clarified that the contracts established by the ONBC include a clause warning the client, which states that any delay in service incurred is not the responsibility of the Organization.
Despite this, he assured that they are maintaining the service that represents 57% of the total services provided by the ONBC.
In the case of the CJI, its General Director explained that, despite the energy disruptions, they sought alternatives to achieve the independence of some premises in Havana, not only in the immigration and documentary services, but also in the notarial services; while Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, and Villa Clara are working on the same process.
A change of functions
In addition to the documents received from the Ministry of Justice, the Legalization Department of the Corporate Group also legalizes others from various agencies. These totals 7,000 daily and include birth certificates, titles, divorces, verifications, thematic plans, and powers of attorney, among others.
Both Deisy Simón Díaz and Marisol Gómez Torres, group leaders of the group popularly known as 1ra. y b, stated that there are delays in the shipments from the provinces. They added that, once the processers arrive with the processed documents at their corresponding entities, they list the documents, view them in the computer systems at the ticket office, and then mark them as “accepted” at reception.
Once the package number is displayed, the stamp that now says “Ministry of Justice” is assigned, the authorized person signs, and the stamp is applied.
This entire process is carried out by approximately 20 people, who are also affected by the power outages in achieving the required number of legalizations.
“The law stipulates that we have up to ten days to deliver the documentation, which is done in less time thanks to the efforts of the workers,” Simón Díaz emphasized.
Improvements for the Public
Throughout this framework, law firms have implemented mechanisms to reduce wait times, automate the service, and make it more expeditious for the public.
Pascual Vizcaíno gave an example of how, in the case of Consultores y Abogados Internacionales S.A. (Conabi) have designed a program for online service for both criminal records and their other services, and they already include messaging. She added that all specialized law firms are working toward this goal.
On the other hand, Claim S.A.’s working methodology is personalized service, with specialists who draft contracts, prepare packages to be sent to the corresponding authorities on the same day, and then notify them of their arrival, explained its president, Kirelys de las Mercedes Oliva.
“The success of this service lies in ensuring that documents are not delayed within the law firm. Registry documents or those with QR codes that go directly to the legalization branch are collected within a week at most; although teachers take the request to the corresponding agency and it takes a little longer,” she stated.
The First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice specified that another objective for improving the service is to gradually migrate to digital documents and legalization, with all the security measures that this entails.
He assured that the agency has the material and human resources to guarantee a smooth service within the established terms.
Regarding the backlog, Gamón Verde emphasized that a working group was created, chaired by the Minister of Justice, with the participation of all the agencies that have centers issuing these documents, and that there is already a consensual and innovative proposal ready to be submitted for approval.
“With this, we aim, once implemented, to resolve the problems we have today with the backlog, which is what the population complains about the most,” he asserted.
Similarly, they have held direct and systematic conciliations with the goal of adopting measures that, while they have achieved some results with the most overdue documents, “the response is still not what we or our people want.”
With information from Granma.cu
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