Can you hire Cuban private professionals?

Yes.

US regulation authorizes the import of services supplied by independent Cuban private-sector entrepreneurs. The authorization covers the transactions and payments required to receive those services.

For example, subject to the corresponding checks, a US company can hire:

• An independent software developer.
• A graphic designer.
• A translator or copywriter.
• A business consultant.
• A marketing specialist.
• An accountant or bookkeeper.
• An audiovisual producer.
• An architect or engineer for permitted activities.
• A worker or owner of a small Cuban private business.

OFAC expressly mentions, among the covered private businesses, IT services, software development, consulting, marketing, accounting, design, audiovisual production and other professional activities.

This sanctions-related authorization does not replace other applicable obligations regarding taxes, worker classification, data protection, intellectual property, export controls or professional licensing.

Generally not.

When the engagement fits entirely within the general authorization of section 515.582, no project-specific license needs to be requested.

The hiring company must verify on its own that:

1. The professional genuinely belongs to the independent private sector.
2. The service is authorized.
3. No blocked persons or entities are involved.
4. The payment relates exclusively to the authorized transaction.
5. Sufficient evidence is kept to demonstrate compliance.

General authorizations work without prior individual approval, but all their conditions and limitations must be met. The new measures adopted in 2026 did not eliminate the existing authorizations under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.

The regulation uses the term “independent private sector entrepreneur”. It can include:

• Self-employed workers.
• Independent contractors.
• Consultants.
• Owners of small private businesses.
• Employees of Cuban private companies.
• Members of private cooperatives.
• Private companies or cooperatives of up to 100 workers, when owned exclusively by persons who meet the established requirements.

Certain prohibited officials of the Cuban Government and prohibited members of the Communist Party of Cuba, as defined by the regulation, cannot qualify under this definition.

The company or platform must gather reasonable evidence showing that the provider is independent from the Cuban State. Documentation can include:

• Identity document.
• Registration as self-employed, independent professional or private economic actor.
• Constitutive documents of the private company, where applicable.
• Identification of owners and ultimate beneficiaries.
• A statement that the company is not owned or controlled by the Cuban Government.
• A statement that the professional does not act on behalf of a state or blocked entity.
• A contract clearly identifying the service, deliverables, price and payment beneficiary.
• Evidence of the actual provision of the service.

The list published by the State Department requires documentary evidence of the provider’s independence and of the private nature of the entity supplying the service.

Yes, when the contracted service is authorized.

Section 515.582 expressly includes the payments required to import the authorized services. In addition, the regulations allow US banking institutions to maintain certain accounts for Cuban nationals and private entrepreneurs, intended for authorized or exempt transactions.

OFAC has also clarified that these accounts can be used to receive payments derived from authorized services and can operate through online payment platforms.

However, the fact that a transaction is legally authorized does not oblige a bank or commercial platform to process it. Some institutions apply internal policies more restrictive than the US sanctions themselves.

To make bank review easier, the payment documentation should identify:

• The provider’s name.
• The nature of the service.
• The corresponding contract or invoice.
• The provider’s private status.
• The applicable regulatory reference, such as 31 CFR § 515.582.

No.

A Cuban professional can act as an independent contractor, self-employed worker, consultant or member of a small private company. The provider’s Cuban nationality does not automatically turn the engagement into a transaction with the Cuban Government.

The platform must structure the relationship so that:

• The contract is directly with the professional or the private company.
• The payment benefits the private provider.
• No state entity acts as employer, intermediary or primary recipient of the money.
• The professional is free to accept the project and negotiate their terms.

There is no general prohibition of that kind.

A genuinely foreign company not controlled by US persons is not automatically subject to all the Cuban Assets Control Regulations merely because it directly hires a Cuban private professional. Three situations must nevertheless be distinguished.

1 · Foreign company independent from the United States

A company from Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Canada or another country can, as a general rule, directly hire a Cuban private professional, subject to the laws of its own country, applicable labor and tax rules, sanctions against specific persons or entities, and the requirements of the banks processing the payment. Directly hiring a private professional does not, by itself, constitute support for the Cuban Government.

2 · Foreign company owned or controlled by US persons

The Cuban Assets Control Regulations also reach certain foreign entities owned or controlled by US persons. These companies must analyze the engagement as a transaction subject to US jurisdiction. Even so, they can rely on the section 515.582 authorization when its conditions are met.

3 · Foreign company dealing with the Government or sanctioned entities

Since May 2026, Executive Order 14404 allows sanctions to be imposed on certain foreign persons who support the Cuban Government or blocked persons, or who are designated for operating in identified sectors of the Cuban economy. This does not mean that every company working with Cuba is automatically sanctioned: OFAC has clarified that a foreign person is only sanctioned under these criteria when formally determined or designated by the US authorities.

Directly hiring a Cuban private professional is not the same as hiring the Cuban Government, and it does not automatically trigger a US sanction.

Using the dollar does not automatically turn a private engagement into a prohibited transaction.

US banking institutions are authorized to process certain transfers that begin and end outside the United States when neither the originator nor the beneficiary is a person subject to US jurisdiction. These transactions are known as “U-turn” transfers.

When the client is a US person, the payment must correspond to an authorized transaction, such as the import of private services permitted by section 515.582.

In all cases, the bank may request information about:

• Originator and beneficiary.
• Purpose of the payment.
• Nature of the service.
• Ownership of the companies involved.
• Relationship with Cuba.
• Legal basis of the transaction.

The platform should not automatically process an engagement when:

• The provider is a Cuban state entity.
• The contract is signed through a state labor-intermediation company.
• Part of the payment must compulsorily be handed to a government entity.
• A person on a sanctions list is involved.
• GAESA, MININT, MINFAR or other blocked entities participate, or companies 50 % or more controlled by them.
• An entity on the Cuba Restricted List participates.
• The professional acts on behalf of the Cuban Government.
• The engagement relates to defense, security, sanctionable financial services, energy, mining or other identified risk sectors.
• There is an attempt to hide the provider’s identity, the destination of the money or the true object of the contract.

OFAC has warned that foreign companies can also expose themselves to risk when dealing with GAESA, MININT, MINFAR and entities owned by these organizations.

No. They are different models.

The hiring promoted by this platform must be:

• Voluntary.
• Direct.
• Negotiated with the professional.
• Remunerated for the professional’s benefit.
• Independent from government worker-deployment programs.
• Transparent about fees and deductions.

The United States has adopted visa restrictions against certain foreign officials linked to Cuban state labor-export programs which, according to the State Department, contain elements of forced labor or exploitation.

Those measures are not a general prohibition on directly hiring Cuban private workers or professionals: they target persons involved in schemes considered coercive or exploitative.