Upwork access in Cuba

[raposo13]

Hi there, 

I'm planning to go for holidays in Cuba, and was also hoping to make some work through Upwork while there. I was doing some research on Upwork's accessibility , and came across an information stating Cuba as a restricted location. My question is: that restriction applies only for Cuban nationals, or to everyone located in Cuba, no matter its citizenship? 

Thanks in advance, 

Jaime

[sgoble]

Internet access in Cuba is hard to find. And working in Cuba without the right permits might get you in trouble with the Cuban government or your own. 

From a recent blog on travelling to Cuba:

"I can't stress this enough: It's almost impossible to access the internet if you're not staying in one of the top luxury hotels in Cuba. Although friends had warned me about this, I wasn't fully prepared for how different a vacation would be sans social media and Google Maps. Pack a guidebook with detailed street maps (Lonely Planet Cuba was excellent) and download, a reliable offline global maps app."

[raposo13]

Thank you for your reply Stephanie. Well it seems it would be too much of a trouble.. I should consider picking another destination for my holidays.

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

Do **NOT** access your Upwork profile while in Cuba, even if you can find Internet access.

Your account could (probably **will**) be immediately (temporarily) suspended, as Cuba is on the list of sanctioned countries.

Just don't even try.

Set an auto-responder in your messages so clients know you will be unable to respond until whatever date, and set your availability to "not available"

[raposo13]

Thanks for your reply Petra, already replanning my trip...**bleep**, I wish I knew that earlier - had no clue that could be such an issue. 

[joanbonjoc]

Hi Jaime,

Petra and Stephanie is right, you may be having a hard time looking for a stable internet in Cuba. We have some list of countries here that has restrictions. Hope this helps.