Colombia seeks to legalize Venezuelans living in the country

Bogotá. – The Colombian government said Wednesday that it is processing a decree to legalize the 442,462 Venezuelans who entered the country illegally, but who filled out a census of the population to change their status. immigration within the nation.

The Director of Migration of Colombia, Christian Krüger, said at a press conference that "a total of 442,462 Venezuelans made their registration of Venezuelan migrants, they were totally irregular, entered Colombia by At the border, what the government seeks to regularize this population, it lacks the signature of the decree to regularize them. "

" The regularization would give them conditions similar to those obtained with a special permitting permit (PEP). This is a real way to help the migrant population, "Krüger said.

The so-called PEP is a permit with which Venezuelans can live for two years in Colombia, access to the health system and with the possibility of working legally.

At the end of the regularization, the government expects to have a Venezuelan legalized population of 94%. "What you want as a government, is to have this foreign population identified to generate public policies."

Venezuelans in the country were called, months ago, to fill out a form where they were to provide information on their educational status, livability and health, among others, in order to obtain supplies for the government to meet their demand

As explained by the director of this entity attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the country resides a total of 870,093 Venezuelans, of which 381,735 are on a regular basis.