The changes are the latest in a series of gradual reforms implemented in recent years by President Raul Castro, who took the helm from his ailing brother Fidel Castro in 2006.

The bureaucratic headache and costs behind the exit visa, known as the "white card," have trapped many Cubans in their own country, prompting legions to leave illegally, often in risky boat trips to nearby Florida.

The United States and Cuban exiles cautiously welcomed the changes, which could trigger a new rush to Florida, just 90 miles (145 kilometers) north, when they come into effect on January 14.

Under the new rules, Cubans will only need a passport to leave the country instead of having to apply for an exit permit, and the period allowed for overseas stays will be extended from 11 to 24 months.

Two burdensome requirements a letter of invitation from someone abroad and a visa from the destination country will be scrapped. Getting all this paperwork can cost up to $500 in a country where monthly salaries average $19.

But the government indicated that it would continue to impose some limits to avoid a "brain drain" that it blamed on the United States.

The official daily Granma said Cuba will keep measures "to defend itself" as long as "'brain theft' policies aimed at taking away human resources essential to our country's economic, social and scientific development continue."

Cuba has pressed the United States for years to stop granting automatic residency to Cubans who set foot on US soil a right the United States does not grant so quickly to people from other nations.

The US State Department said Havana's decision "is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that everybody ought to have the right to leave any country, including their own, and to come in and out."