President Iván Duque of Colombia has announced that his government will provide temporary legal status to the more than 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants who have fled to Colombia in recent years, a far-reaching move that will allow the migrants to work legally and establish lives out of the shadows. The decision will allow Venezuelan migrants who register with the Colombian government to stay in the country for 10 years. More than half the 1.7 million Venezuelans in the country do not have legal status. And those who already have legal status will now be free, for at least a decade, from having to reapply for permission to stay. About one-third of Venezuelan migrants landed in neighbouring Colombia.

Source: The Irish Times February 09, 2021 07:41 UTC