The growing and sustained migration of Venezuelans to Colombia has led the Government of Gustavo Petro to adopt a series of measures regarding immigration for these incoming crowds. However, these have not been enough and there are more and more arriving citizens of the neighboring country (Venezuela) who remain in an irregular status. Many of them are in transit, as they are destined for another country, but others are requesting asylum and obtaining it has become increasingly slow and cumbersome.
By Semana
Figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that between 2017 and August of this year, 68,500 asylum requests have been registered. Of these, almost 13,000 were registered in 2023 alone, which implies a 25-fold increase compared to what was reported in 2017.
Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives approximately 1,200 applications each month, and the average time to provide a response is three years. To address this situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to propose a decree to modify the requirements through which it grants asylum, with changes that will come into effect on July 1st, 2025.
While this point is reached, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued resolution 12509 of December 4th of this year, in which it creates a new category of visitor visa: “V-Special Visitor”. This new visa will be valid for two years, it will be granted only once, which implies that after it another type of visa or other immigration status should be sought. In addition, it will only apply to Venezuelan migrants who have entered Colombia by December 3rd, 2024.
Since 2017, the Government has tried several mechanisms to regulate the immigration status of Venezuelans. First, it was the Special Permit for Stay (PEP); then the Special Complementary Permit for Stay (PECP) issued in 2019 and later the Special Permit for Stay for the Promotion of Formalization (PEPFF) created in 2020.
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