The nationalities that most request asylum in Colombia

Citizens of Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador they were the ones who entered the most asylum applications in Colombia between 2020 and 2021 in search of better opportunities and living conditions, in the midst of the economic reactivation after the passage of the covid-19 pandemic.

(See: Colombia, sixth country with the most illegal migrants detained in the US)

This was highlighted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its most recent report on migration prospects, which also includes the arduous panorama faced by Ukrainian citizens displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Thus, the report highlights the increase in asylum applications in Colombia since 2019, when they reached 10,620; in 2020, despite the pandemic, there were 11,920 and, a year later, in 2021, there were 15,940. Between 2020 and 2021, a variation of 34% was registered, 4,020 additional requests.

Of the total applications in 2021, 15,811 were processed by Venezuelan citizens; 27 by Cubans; 5 by Ecuadorians and 26 belonging to the ‘other countries’ category.
In addition to Colombia, Venezuelan citizens occupy the first nationality with the highest number of asylum requests in Chile, Iceland, Spain and the United States.

(See: Venezuelans who fled and found refuge in the ‘land of ice’).

The citizens of Colombia, in part, do not head any list, but they occupy the second position in Spain and the third in Chile and Canada, highlights the report. In fact, Colombia ranks eighth among the 20 asylum-seeking countries among the OECD countries.

The document also emphasized the proposal for a Temporary Protection Permit (PPT) for Venezuelan citizens, an initiative launched by the government of Iván Duque and that allows the insertion of migrants in the daily life of Colombia, with access to work and health. .

“The outflow of Venezuelan refugees, the second largest external displacement crisis in the world, remains a matter of serious concern, particularly for neighboring countries. As of October 8, 2021, Venezuelans are granted a ten-year Temporary Protection Permit in Colombia, complementary to international protection, for those currently residing in the country and those entering through official checkpoints during the next two years”, summarized the document.

(See: DataCrédito Experian launches platform for the inclusion of migrants).

To date, according to the Colombian Migration portal, 1,597,174 PPTs have been approved; some 1,546,311 are printed, while another 1,460,169 have been delivered. In total, he seeks to give himself to 2.1 million Venezuelan citizens in the country registered by the entity.

Subsequently, the OECD mentioned in the report the importance of the 2019 initiative to grant Colombian citizenship to Venezuelan children born since August 18, 2015 with the aim of “avoiding child statelessness” of acquiring the nationality of origin once abroad.

Among other data presented in the report on the migratory role of Colombia, it was highlighted that only 2% of full-time migratory flows are humanitarian. Furthermore, in terms of education, the arrival of international students to the country fell by 13% in the comparison between 2018 and 2019.

Colombia, for its part, is the only member country of the OECD organization that does not allow its international students to work legally and does not offer extensions of permanence to its foreign students after graduation.

(See: Migration crisis: the most dangerous routes in the world).

Among the countries of the so-called ‘Club of good practices’, the destinations with the greatest receptivity for Colombian migrants were Spain with more than 50%, Chile (more than 10%) and USA (more than 10%). They follow, in order, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Italy, Australia, France and the Netherlands.

On the dynamics of temporary labor migration, the organization specified that In the country, workers for the holiday season grew 14% between 2018 and 2019; while transfers between the same company fell 4% and the arrival of other temporary employees also fell by 3%, to 21,000 people.