With nearly half a million Venezuelans, Ecuador is home to the third largest migrant population in the world, after Colombia and Peru. The year-long regularization process in Ecuador is key for Venezuelan migrants to build a future in that country
Ecuador will reopen a regularization process of one year for those Venezuelan migrants who are still waiting for a visa so that they can access the documentation and regular status that allows them to enter the formal labor market, the social security system and facilitate the situation and access to rights and services basics such as education and health.
With nearly half a million Venezuelans, Ecuador is home to the third largest migrant population in the world, after Colombia and Peru. But the majority of these migrants do not have adequate documentation, which is an obstacle for them to build a future. Many of these migrants use Ecuador as a transit country on their way to other nations such as Peru and Chile.
First of all, Venezuelans must complete the online biometric immigration registration requested by the Ministry of the Interior of that country. After having obtained their immigration certificate, they can register through an online platform managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, apply for a temporary residence visa for two years and finally obtain an Ecuadorian identity document.
*Read also: These are the steps for Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador to regularize their status
Since June 2022, more than 104,000 people have been able to complete their immigration registration, and of that number, some 55,000 Venezuelans have applied for a visa. As of February 2023, almost 41,000 migrants had already received their temporary residence visa. Others continue to go through one of the instances of the regularization plan.
It is the second time that Ecuador has taken the necessary measures to be able to regularize migrants and refugees from Venezuela. The first time was between 2019 and 2020, a period in which another extraordinary regularization exercise took place from which 51,000 people benefited. The International Organization for Migration (OIM) is supporting the Government of Ecuador with resources to strengthen the process.
“Regularization is key to facilitating their socioeconomic integration and the path to full inclusion,” said José Iván Dávalos, IOM Ecuador Chief of Mission. “It brings benefits not only to the migrants but also to the communities that welcome them, to which they arrive seeking safety.”
Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are promoting the inclusion of Venezuelans who seek to stay in these host communities. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and others are providing the necessary documentation and seeking solutions to regularize and offer protection to the Venezuelan population through different documents of their national legislation and the promotion of a joint response. in which all countries participate, through regional forums such as the Quito process.
With information from UN News
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