Young: Venezuelans must re-register

VENEZUELANS living in TT under the Venezuelan Migrant Registration system will soon have to re-register to give their updated personal details and receive new migrant registration cards, Minister of National Security Stuart Young on Wednesday told a briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's.

Cabinet last Thursday confirmed and approved this process, he said, in reply to Newsday's query.

"The Venezuelans who are already registered are going to be asked to fill out forms and not re-register but provide up-to-date information. We are going to give out new cards

"It's not going to be similar to the previous situation, of course, because we are in covid. We are going to develop a drop-box system and a proper system which I have immigration working out now. I've told them they must do that very, very quickly because I want to announce how we are going to proceed.

"It will be for six months in the first instance with, again, the option to go for a full year."

Young said anyone who was not registered before cannot now do so.

"It is a re-registration, an updating of information, and at the end of that we will give out new cards for those persons."

Young said some registrants had dropped off the system.

"I have signed a number of orders in the past few weeks of persons who no longer want to be registered in the process, as amazing as that might sound, and they've gone on to other pastures outside of TT."

Newsday asked about some registrants unable to collect their cards when visiting the Immigration Division. Young replied cards were produced for all registrants, but some might not have gone in at the right time to collect.

"Those cards are now redundant."

Asked about complaints to Newsday of Venezuelans turned away from collecting cards, he said he did not administer that process which is done by protocols. Asked if re-registration was too cumbersome in light of some having not got their cards initially, he replied, "What it does now is provide the opportunity for those who were registered who may not have received their cards – we have those original records ­– they can now fill out their updated forms and they will get their new cards."