The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed this Monday the presidential decree from Ecuador, which establishes an extraordinary regularization process for Venezuelans and their families who lack regular status in the country.
According to government estimates, this initiative could benefit some 100,000 people.
According to the agenciesEcuador hosts the fifth largest population of refugees and migrants from Venezuela on the American continent. The current regularization process will benefit thousands of people who registered in the previous process, in 2022, without being able to complete the necessary steps to obtain their visa.
On that occasion, many people were unable to regularize their status due to practical obstacles to meeting the requirements, such as presenting the necessary documentation – valid passports or national identity documents – or paying for administrative procedures.
Contribute to their host communities
The process will allow Venezuelans in Ecuador in an irregular situation to access the visa called Temporary Residence of Exception, which initially lasts two years and can be renewed for two more.
The beneficiaries of this initiative will join the approximately 97,000 people who have already regularized their status in the country, the organizations said.
“This initiative will help thousands of people emerge from the shadow of irregularity, overcome the significant barriers posed by years of lack of documentation and finally contribute to their host communities,” said the Joint Special Representative of IOM and UNHCR for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela.
Eduardo Stein added that “evidence shows that the integration of migrants and refugees has important benefits for the development of entire communities.”
The agencies stressed that refugees and migrants remain among the most vulnerable to violence, exploitation, human trafficking and exclusion in general, particularly those who lack regular status and documentation.
This new process in Ecuador aims to remove some of the barriers faced during the previous regularization process, including allowing Venezuelans to apply using national identity documents and passports that have been expired for up to five years.
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