( CNN ) -- Starting next year , Cubans traveling abroad will face fewer hurdles leaving the country . The official news site Granma reported Tuesday that the Cuban government will no longer require a travel permit and a letter of invitation . Until now , Cubans had to pay $ 150 for an exit visa . A resident in the country that the Cuban wanted to visit would also have to write a letter of invitation . Read more : Raft with Cuban refugees sinks near Cancun . Fees associated with the letter ran as high as $ 200 . That 's a steep price in a country where the average official monthly income is about $ 20 . Even with the two documents , a traveler could run up against a wall if the government denied an exit visa -- as it has done with many dissidents . Medical professionals are only allowed to leave Cuba to work for the government abroad . But once the new requirements go into effect on January 14 , travelers will only have to present a valid passport and an entry visa for the country where they are headed . The move is part of the reforms that President Raul Castro promised when he took office in 2008 . Read more : Cuban Missile Crisis ground zero , 50 years on . At the time , he pledged to do away with unnecessary restrictions . And that year , he lifted prohibitions on Cubans staying in hotels and buying mobile phones . The new change , however , does not mean that anyone wanting to travel will get a passport . `` The ordinary passport will be issued to the Cuban citizens who meet the requirements of the Migration Law , '' which is being modified , according to the report in Granma . While the report does not say how the law will be altered , it does add that the government will fight brain -- and money -- drain `` from the aggressive and subversive plans of the US government and its allies . '' It will do so by leaving in place measures to preserve `` human capital created by the Revolution from the theft of talents practiced by the powerful nations . '' Read more : Should U.S. raise a fist or offer a hand to Cuba ? CNNE 's Nelson Quinones contributed to this report .
The Cuban government is ditching two travel requirements . Cuba will no longer require Americans to obtain a visa before traveling there, and it has also agreed not to impose new restrictions on the flow of American tourists into Cuba. A traveler will need a passport , but not everyone can have one . President Raul Castro has pledged to do away with unnecessary restrictions .