Cards for Venezuelans until December

PRIME Minister Dr Rowley on Friday said that the cards issued last year to 16,000 Venezuelans who fled economic hardship in their homeland will remain valid until December.

Rowley made this announcement while responding to a question from Pointe-a-Pierre MP, David Lee, who asked about the status of Venezuelans a year after the cards were issued and were to soon expire. Rowley recalled that the first cards were delivered in July 2019 but given the unprecedented covid19 pandemic, government decided to extend the validity of these cards to December.

“Given what happened in the period of intervention with covid19 and everything we are experiencing, we anticipate that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will continue to extend the registration to Venezuelans within our border, we can say that the Cabinet could approve it until December 2020,” he said.

In January, Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, reported that the cards were valid for a six-month period and was automatically renewed for another six months and as such, would have expired next month.

Last week, the Immigration department began the delivery of renewal forms, which must be completed by Venezuelans and will later deliver it along with various requirements when December comes and the cards expire.

In principle, the TT government announced that Venezuelans who receive the cards would have a permit to work here for six months, with the option to renew for another six months. This arrangement was in place before covid19 brought with it, the cessation of economic activity with many businesses closing for months because of strict stay-at-home health orders.

Before the registration in 2019, different refugee organisations claimed that more than 40,000 Venezuelans had fled their homeland because political upheavals led to sanctions on that country’s oil industry – which is its lifeblood – and consequent economic and social hardship. At the end of the registration process, 16,523 were given the cards authorising them to live and work in this country.

Following the covid19 pandemic, 160 Venezuelans petitioned their Ambassador resident in TT, to return to their country whose land, air and sea borders remain closed because of the virus.