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teach english in cuba

Teach English in Cuba

Historically, Cuba has been mysterious, closed-off and an exotic anomaly. However, as it gradually opens up to the world, can TEFL teachers thrive in Havana, Santiago de Cuba or elsewhere?

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Cuba has a reputation for being secretive, hard to get into and intensely political. It’s so, so much more. Whether you find yourself in Havana, Habana Viejo, Varadero or elsewhere, the Caribbean climate, incredible music, street art, culture and architecture have the potential to charm anyone. This is especially true for those with a curious mind, so those looking to teach English abroad will find Cuba to be particularly alluring.

We can’t avoid politics entirely when it comes to teaching in Cuba, of course - the revolutionary ideals of Cuba are such an enormous part of its identity. To Westerners, it’s a country defined by its relationship with other nations. Nowadays, Cuba enjoys much warmer relationships with countries like Britain and the US, and its immigration laws are far more lenient than before. Cuba also has a rising level of English proficiency. Add these two factors together and you have a hospitable environment for English teaching in a stunning island backdrop.

How can you find English teaching jobs in Cuba? What are the requirements to get a visa? What are the teaching salaries like in Havana or elsewhere? Let’s find out more about this somewhat mysterious and definitely underrated TEFL destination!

Cuba: An overview

Over recent years, English has become markedly more popular with Cubans. Certainly, attempts have been made at a governmental level to introduce more English teaching into schools. In 2017, English proficiency was made a requirement for high schoolers and university students. Cuban Spanish is the main language, while - because of political ties - Russian was a popular foreign language choice. Haitian Creole is spoken by about 300,000 Cubans.

While English is slowly becoming more mainstream, it’s a language that Cubans have always been at least somewhat familiar with. With its proximity to the USA, even under cultural repression, Cubans have found ways of being exposed to English-language media. Films, music, books and more recently, the internet and video games have provided informal English teaching in Cuba for generations. Cuba’s English proficiency ranking, per EF, is 43 out of 113 nations - not a bad performance, with a high concentration of speakers in the metropolitan areas.

With a young population eager to learn English, energised by improved relations with English-speaking superpowers and new forms of media, there’s probably never been a better time to be an English teacher in Cuba. If you’re an ESL teacher keen to be part of a growing cultural trend and can live on a budget, teaching English abroad in Cuba could be the choice for you.

Requirements for teaching English in Cuba

So, what do you need to teach English in Cuba? What kind of red tape is there to cut through, and what kind of job requirements do you need to meet to land teaching positions? Let’s explore what you need to work abroad in Cuba, teaching English.

Visa
Advice for US citizens
Job requirements

Visa

Acquiring a visa to work and live in Cuba can seem quite convoluted at first glance, but with the right tools at your disposal, it doesn’t need to be difficult. As an English teacher, you’ll need a D-1 Visa, for specialist workers with “special qualifications”, which allows you to stay in Cuba for 2-3 months at first.

To apply for this kind of visa, you’ll need several important things. Before applying for a visa, you’ll need to be offered employment and a place to stay. The essential documents for your visa application include:

Degree certificate/diploma certificate/TEFL certificate/relevant qualifications
Certificate of temporary residence permit
Employment permit in Cuba (this can be acquired from the Cuban consulate)
Two passport-sized (35 mm (3.5 cm) wide, 45 mm (4.5 cm) high) photos
Certificate confirming financial viability of living in Cuba (from Cuban consulate)
Official certificate displaying clean criminal record
Medical certificate: this must include blood test, AIDS test and x-rays
Valid passport
Paid visa fees - with proof of purchase

Permanent residency in Cuba, for foreigners, is extremely hard to obtain. You can apply, if you’re able to provide:

your birth certificate
a clearly written, compelling letter stating the reasons for the application
two passport-size photos
a scan of your passport, with certification of approval from the Cuban consulate
evidence of payment for processing fees

You’ll also need to prove your residence (again!), your qualifications, your criminal record and your overall level of health. Typically, permanent residence permits aren’t readily given out. Normally, Cuban residence is only guaranteed for people who marry Cuban citizens, are second or third-generation Cuban citizens, or those who have a strong link to the country itself.

Advice for US citizens

Given the relationship between the USA and Cuba over the last century, it’s a little harder for TEFL teachers from the United States of America to find job opportunities in Havana or around the country more broadly. As a citizen of the USA, your visit to Cuba must be covered by one of 12 approved categories, and you’ll have to provide a detailed itinerary covering the entirety of your trip.

If you want to get to Cuba and work as a volunteer for a short time, you’ll need a tourist card, and your card will be pink rather than green. You won’t be allowed to stay long-term, and attempting residency is extremely difficult, unless you have Cuban parents, achieve Cuban naturalisation, are willing to give up US citizenship, or meet other conditions listed by the Cuban government.

Job requirements

So, we’ve finally moved on to jobs! What kind of teaching requirements does an English teacher need to meet to start working in Cuba?

A bachelor’s degree and a TEFL diploma or 120-hour TEFL certificate will be needed to demonstrate your teaching talents and necessary skills to the Cuban consulate, who will have the final say on your visa application. No visa, no job. Most job posts also require a bachelor’s degree, with more prestigious institutions asking for a master’s. You can teach English abroad without a degree in some Latin American locations, but with Cuba’s strict immigration rules, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend attempting to work in the Cuban school system without a bachelor's.

You can teach English as a non-native speaker in Cuba - in fact, it’s normal to find Cuban people teaching English. That said, it helps to have passed the TOEIC or IELTS exams with a score of 600 or 5+ respectively. Alternatively, the TOEFL exam demonstrates English proficiency to a high standard.

Teaching experience is usually preferred but isn’t always essential. Usually, it depends on the employer. An international school or a private school, for example, is going to usually require teaching experience. In language schools, meanwhile, it’s not usually a barrier.

Salary and cost of living in Cuba

So what can you actually earn as an ESL teacher in Cuba, and what can that get you? Let’s find out.

Country	Avg. monthly salary	Degree required	Start of term	Teaching experience	Housing & flights included	Suitable for non-native English speakers	Age restrictions
Teach in Cuba	4,000 Cuban Pesos (£130 GBP £166 USD)		September			No, but proficiency in Spanish is a significant	None

Salary

Cuba is officially a socialist republic, meaning that wages work somewhat differently. While reports in Western media will suggest that teachers and lion tamers are being paid the same wages, it’s important to understand the culture of Cuba.

Salaries are low, by international standards. Per the Columbia Law School, the standard wage in Cuba is about 4,000 Cuban Pesos ($166/£130) per month, and it’s about 6,000 Cuban Pesos for professionals with higher education - which may include English teachers working at elite institutions, with a PhD - equivalent to about $250/£196. This is true even in the largest city, Havana, or in Santiago de Cuba.

With income dictated by the state, this is the best information that TEFL teachers have at their disposal. Job advertisements are opaque about teaching salaries, so it’s safe to assume you’re earning around the national average. Always enquire if you get to the interview stage.

Clearly, that’s low. However, given the political system in place, that’s for a reason. Earnings are low and taxes are high, theoretically to provide socialised health care, (largely) free housing and public services that are affordable to users. So, let’s talk about the cost of living…

Cost of living

So, while teaching and general salaries are low, it’s because public services are cost-effective and it’s cheap to live in Cuba, right? Well, that’s subjective. In the capital, Havana, you can get a pretty decent picture of what it’ll cost to live on a teaching salary.

In terms of rent, it’s important to remember that you’re likely to find free accommodation through the government while you teach English. Alternatively, many Cuban citizens buy housing cheaply from the government, and naturalised residents can do this once they’ve become citizens, too. If you do need to rent, per Numbeo, central Havana’s one-bedroom apartments typically cost $363/£285 per month. If you’re looking to share a 3-bedroom apartment, it can cost as much as $1,021/£801 - steep on a teaching salary!

Basic utilities are cheaper, at least. Water, electricity and the like will usually cost about $37/£30. However, if you’re looking to connect to reliable internet, it can cost $260/£206 - so we’d suggest using libraries or your workplace to get online.

A meal for one in an inexpensive restaurant is about $6/£5. A meal for two in a mid-priced restaurant is usually about $30/£23. With Havana’s markets providing amazing, fresh produce day in, day out, we’d recommend you learn to cook some local recipes and dive into the culture.

Download our teaching English in Latin America guide

English teaching jobs in Cuba

As a socialist republic, you’d expect that most schools, if not all schools are government-run in Cuba, with both private schools and international schools somewhat thin on the ground. You’d be largely right, though there are exceptions.

In terms of English-speaking international schools, the main outlier is the aptly titled International School of Havana. There are other international schools, but very few. They teach in French and Spanish, respectively.

English has only recently become a language of real focus in Cuban education. Again, considering the history of Cuba, its geography and its relationship with other countries who speak English as a native language, that's hardly a surprise. With such strict immigration rules, it’s common for Cuban teachers to find jobs teaching English, but that’s not to say Cuban state schools wouldn’t love to put English speakers in those positions. You’ll need a degree, TEFL certification and - ideally - some experience.

There are a small number of English language schools, primarily in Havana. These language schools meet the needs of adult learners interested in learning English to improve their economic circumstances, or to find work as ambassadors for Cuba in some form. Sporting prospects - typically baseball players - often try to learn English cheaply in the hopes of earning a living abroad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can Americans teach in Cuba?

Citizens of the United States of America can teach in Cuba, provided they meet the requirements for residency. These requirements can be particularly complicated for US citizens, so it’s important to consult your nearest embassy or consulate. While it's probably the best time in recent history for Cuban-American relations, it can still be hard to start working in Cuba as a US citizen.

Q. What are the requirements to be a teacher in Cuba?

To be an English teacher in Cuba, you’ll need a degree, a TEFL certificate (of at least 120 hours), and in some cases, some previous teaching experience.

Q. Can foreigners work in Cuba?

Provided you meet the working visa requirements, yes, foreigners can work in Cuba.