Indian Council of World Affairs

Introduction 

Venezuela, the nation with the world’s largest crude oil reserves and a founding member of OPEC, was once one of the richest countries in Latin America.^[i] However, the political turmoil, socio-economic instability and ongoing humanitarian crisis over the last decade have pushed the country into a deep crisis. Like Ukraine, Venezuela is currently facing the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 7,77 million Venezuelans now residing in other countries, such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. ^[ii] Colombia is hosting the largest number of these migrants and refugees, with approximately 2.9 million Venezuelan migrants there as of 2023.^[iii] This paper attempts to study the Colombian government’s efforts to address the migration crisis, how its response has evolved as the crisis in Venezuela continues, and the challenges faced by the migrants. 

The Venezuelan Crisis and Colombia’s Response 

The Venezuelan economy experienced a severe downturn, following a steep decline in global oil prices, which triggered a currency collapse and led to hyperinflation, making economic conditions unsustainable. Between 2013 and 2021, the falling oil prices contracted the economy by 75 per cent, and inflation reached 10 million per cent.^[iv] President Maduro”s government, supported by the Supreme Court, circumvented the National Assembly to declare a state of emergency and implement economic changes and made attempts to address the problems. However, the policies were unable to arrest the situation. Venezuelan citizens experienced an economic crisis marked by hyperinflation, which made it impossible for them to afford even the necessities. These factors pushed millions of Venezuelans to leave, and Colombia, a bordering country, became the main destination for migrants.

Former Colombia President Ivan Duque believed Colombia had a moral duty to help Venezuelans re-establish democracy while helping the migrants.^[v] Given the porous border, it is difficult to halt migration flows entirely. As a result, Colombia has sought to regularise this migration and integrate the migrants into its economy.

The Venezuelan migration to Colombia includes Colombian returnees, along with Venezuelan refugees and migrants who may be regular, irregular, in transit or engaged in daily and pendular movements. [vi]In 2017, to manage the sudden increased inflow of migrants, the Colombian government created the 1) Tarjeta de Movilidad Fronteriza (TMF), or Border Mobility Card and 2) The Special Permanence Permit (PEP). The TMF aimed to regularise pendular migration in the border areas and allowed access for the migrants to Colombia without a passport for a maximum of seven days.^[vii] The Colombian government added four new crossing stations, increasing the total to seven, to improve border movement regulation. The programme was halted in 2020 due to COVID-19. Nonetheless, around 5.2 million cards had been issued by then. 

The PEP, on the other hand, allowed the Venezuelan migrant population to work in Colombia and protected them from deportation with a validity of two years, along with the possibility of renewal. Under the PEP, Venezuelan migrants got access to emergency healthcare, education for the children and early childhood care. From the time of its inception to 2021, the status of 737,430 Venezuelan migrants has been regularised under the PEP.^[viii] A Venezuelan gets automatically eligible for a resident visa in Colombia if they have been regularised through either the PEP or TMF programmes for more than five years. 

On 8 February 2021, President Duque declared that Colombia would grant legal status to each Venezuelan immigrant who has entered the country without permission before 31 January 2021. This policy regularises the status of those who entered before 31 January 2021, allowing a transition from temporary to permanent residency over 10 years. He announced that a new scheme called The Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Migrants (Estatuto de Protección Temporal para Migrantes Venezolanos, ETPV) would replace The Special Stay Permit. The EPTV aimed to accelerate the regularisation of Venezuelan migrants and smoothen their transition from a transitory migration scenario to a longer-term integration. 

The EPTV grants Venezuelans access to fundamental rights and essential services in Colombia, including healthcare, pensions, education and banking, while ensuring child protection and prioritising vulnerable populations. Beneficiaries can move freely within the country, work legally to contribute economically and validate professional credentials for better integration, promoting their safety, dignity and well-being.^[ix] It includes two main components: 1) the Single Registry of Venezuelan Migrants (RUMV) and 2) the Temporary Protection Permit (PPT). 

The RUMV is a registry that helps the Colombian government to have an accurate census of the migrant population. The migrants and refugees from Venezuela must register in it to obtain the PPT and access its benefits. The PPT acts as an identification and regularisation document, which ensures that the migrants get access to basic rights such as education, health and employment, and it helps their social inclusion in the country. The PPT also granted the migrants the permit to stay and work in Colombia for up to 10 years, which helped in the long-term integration of migrants and eased labour market pressures. This measure applied to the conversion of migrants who had PEP status and the estimated one million migrants in Colombia with no regular status. An estimated 2.4 million Venezuelans are either obtaining their PPT or have already received it. ^[x]

Article 100 of Colombia’s Constitution guarantees that “foreigners in Colombia shall enjoy the same civil rights as Colombians.”^[xi] While many refugee-hosting countries include similar provisions in their constitutions, few have truly upheld this commitment in practice. In June 2024, Colombia announced that it would give legal status to up to 540,000 Venezuelan migrants who are guardians to minors residing in the country.^[xii]

Challenges before Colombia

As of 2024, there were over 2.9 million Venezuelan citizens in Colombia. The capital city, Bogotá, concentrated the highest share of them, with over 590,637 Venezuelan immigrants, representing over 20 per cent of the total number of Venezuelans residing in Colombia then. ^[xiii]

Although Colombia has made substantial efforts to integrate the Venezuelan migrant population, it has encountered its own set of challenges. HE Jorge Rojas Rodriguez, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, recently addressed this at his visit to the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. Rodriguez said that while they have guaranteed the rights of Venezuelan people in Colombia, they are also facing an exhaustion of their resources. ^[xiv]

Informal employment is a persistent challenge in this context. Many Venezuelan migrants, even when regularised through programs such as the Special Stay Permit (PEP), often end up working informally. This occurs due to legal barriers, discrimination in the labour market and limited job opportunities in formal sectors. Informal employment is financially unstable, devoid of social security, which not only impacts migrants but also increases competition in the job market for Colombian workers​.

Many Venezuelans, regardless of possessing the PEP, face significant challenges in finding formal employment according to their skills.^[xv] According to the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), a data collection and analysis system developed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 70 per cent of Venezuelans work in the informal sector. ^[xvi] On average, Venezuelans in the informal sector earn $92 less per month than Colombians. Despite high educational attainment among Venezuelan women, their employment outcomes remain bleak. Over half of these women lack regular migration status, restricting access to labour rights information and limiting their job prospects. 

A significant percentage of Venezuelans use Colombia as a transit point on their way to the US, viewing it as a temporary stop before reaching their destination. In 2021, the US granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelan nationals who arrived before 8 March 2021, offering refuge to migrants fleeing instability in Venezuela. Many of those going to the US say they decided to leave because they did not earn enough to support their families in Colombia.^[xvii] President Petro has said that Colombia had proposed to the US that it pay an economic stabilisation bonus to Colombia for the Venezuelan migrants who stop there en route to the US. ^[xviii] Given the urgent nature of the migration crisis, Colombia must reach an agreement with the US on migration. ^[xix]

Integration challenges in healthcare systems and barriers in accessing services like schooling for children have been noted, with some migrants lacking regular status to fully benefit from public services.^[xx]

Conclusion

Colombia’s foreign policy to integrate Venezuelan migrants and refugees has evolved from managing a migration crisis to developing policies aimed at their long-term integration. Despite critical challenges, it has demonstrated remarkable leadership in prioritising the economic integration of Venezuelan migrants and adopting clear and pragmatic strategies early on. Despite the pandemic intensifying barriers, continued leadership and collaborative efforts provide hope for overcoming these challenges and fostering a more inclusive and resilient society. As a country of the Global South, Colombia is trying to demonstrate that a migration policy premised on morality and moral values —distinct from the migration debates of the Global North —are indeed workable.

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*Aditi Mishra, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA)
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal. 

References

[i] . World Economic Forum. "Why Is Venezuela in Crisis?" *World Economic Forum Agenda*, August 2017. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/venezuela-economic-woes-2017-explained/.

[ii] International Organization for Migration (IOM). "About the Regional Venezuela Situation." Accessed November 10, 2024. https://respuestavenezolanos.iom.int/en/about-regional-venezuela-situation.

[iii] Amnesty International. "Facts and Figures: Venezuelans in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile." Last modified September 2023. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/09/facts-figures-venezuelans-colombia-ecuador-peru-chile/.

[iv] Alvarez, Jorge A., Marco Arena, Alain Brousseau, Hamid Faruqee, Emilio William Fernandez Corugedo, Jaime Guajardo, Gerardo Peraza, and Juan Yepez. Regional Spillovers from the Venezuelan Crisis: Migration Flows and Their Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean. Departmental Papers Volume 2022, Issue 019, December 5, 2022. International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/087/2022/019/article-A001-en.xml​:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.

[v] U.S. Department of State. "Remarks with Colombian President Ivan Duque." Last modified

2017 –2021. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://2017-2021.state.gov/remarks-with-colombian-president-ivan-duque/.

[vi] Pendular migration between Colombia and Venezuela refers to the frequent, temporary, back-and-forth movement of people across the border, often driven by economic needs, without permanent relocation.

[vii] World Bank. WDR Colombia Case Study. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/7277e925bdaa64d6355c42c897721299-0050062023/original/WDR-Colombia-Case-Study-FORMATTED.pdf.

[viii] United Nations Network on Migration. "Implementation and Socialization of the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants (ETPV)." Accessed November 10, 2024. https://migrationnetwork.un.org/pledge/implementation-and-socialization-temporary-protection-statute-venezuelan-migrants-etpv.

[ix] UNHCR. "Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos." Accessed November 13, 2024. https://help.unhcr.org/colombia/otros-derechos/estatuto-temporal-de-proteccion-para-migrantes-venezolanos/.

[x] NPR. "Colombia Offers Temporary Legal Status to Nearly 1 million Venezuelan Migrants." February 9, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/09/965853031/colombia-offers-temporary-legal-status-to-nearly-1-million-venezuelan-migrants#:~:text=The%20new%20temporary%20protection%20statute%20will%20make%20Venezuelan,to%20extend%20their%20stay%2C%20The%20Associated%20Press%20reports.

[xi] Constitute Project. Constitution of Colombia, 2015. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Colombia_2015.

[xii] Reuters. "Colombia to Give Legal Status to up to 540,000 Venezuelan Migrants." June 18, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-give-legal-status-up-540000-venezuelan-migrants-2024-06-18/.

[xiii] Statista. "Entry Points of Migration Flow from Venezuela to Colombia." Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/819401/entry-points-migration-flow-venezuela-colombia/#:~:text=As%20of%20August%2C%202024%20there,million%20Venezuelan%20citizens%20in%20Colombia.

[xiv] UNHCR. "Estatuto Temporal de Protección para Migrantes Venezolanos." Accessed November 13, 2024. https://help.unhcr.org/colombia/otros-derechos/estatuto-temporal-de-proteccion-para-migrantes-venezolanos/.

[xv] Center for Global Development. Displacement and Development: How Colombia Can Transform Venezuelan Displacement into a Shared Opportunity. Accessed November 10, 2024. https://www.cgdev.org/publication/displacement-development-how-colombia-can-transform-venezuelan-displacement-shared.

[xvi] International Organization for Migration (IOM). Venezuela Regional Response—Employment and Education: Obstacles and Capabilities of Migrant and Refugee Women from Venezuela. March 31, 2021. https://dtm.iom.int/reports/venezuela-regional-response-%E2%80%94-employment-and-education-obstacles-and-capabilities-migrant

[xvii] Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The Persistence of the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis." Accessed November 16, 2024. https://www.csis.org/analysis/persistence-venezuelan-migrant-and-refugee-crisis.

[xviii] The economic stabilisation bonus would be a financial incentive aimed at supporting migrants in Colombia, helping them to integrate into the local economy, and mitigating the pressures on Colombian public services and resources. Petro’s proposal emphasises that as Venezuelan migrants travel through Colombia to reach the US, Colombia is shouldering much of the burden without the same level of international support, particularly from the US, which is the destination for many of these migrants.

[xix] Reuters. "Colombia's Petro Says He Proposed U.S. Pay Bonuses to Venezuelan Migrants." November 19, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombias-petro-says-he-proposed-us-pay-bonuses-venezuelan-migrants-2023-11-19/

[xx] "Barriers to the Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Colombia: Policy Lessons from the Migration Pulse Survey." International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2020. https://www.iom.int/news/barriers-integration-venezuelan-migrants-and-refugees-colombia-policy-lessons-migration-pulse-survey.