Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers in Colombia are to be given protected status for up to ten years as well as access to a wide range of services, including COVID-19 vaccinations.

Colombian President Ivan Duque has announced the move saying resident status will also allow migrants to legally work and help them integrate into society.

Mr Duque said Venezuelans had left their country “due to the dictatorship and poverty” and that “it hurts us to see these circumstances”.

The United Nations estimates that about 5.4 million Venezuelans have fled their country amid a crippling economic crisis, as well as threats of violence, political instability and a lack of basic goods and services.

More than 1.7 million Venezuelans now live in neighbouring Colombia, and around 950,000 do not have legal status in the country, according to Colombia’s migration authority.

Most arrive almost destitute and irregularly – through remote border crossings and with no paperwork or visa that allows access to employment or healthcare.

Colombia is now also asking migrants and asylum seekers to enter Colombia through formal checkpoints.

Aid agencies have applauded the move.

“This bold humanitarian gesture serves as an example for the region and the rest of the world. It is a life-changing gesture for the 1.7 million displaced Venezuelans who will now benefit from added protection, security and stability while they are away from home,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, currently in Colombia assessing humanitarian needs.

“We applaud Colombia for its extraordinary generosity and its commitment to ensure protection for displaced Venezuelans. This decision serves as a model of pragmatism and humanity,” Mr Grandi said. 

“With the COVID-19 pandemic compounding needs throughout the region, many Venezuelan refugees and migrants, as well as local communities, struggle to survive as they face worsening poverty, job losses, evictions, hunger, and a lack of food and access to medical treatment, a UNHCR statement said.

“The Temporary Protection Status will also provide access to basic services including the national health system and COVID-19 vaccination plans.

“Regularisation is also key to long-term solutions, including access to the job market, which in turn serves to lessen the dependency of people on humanitarian assistance while contributing to the country’s post COVID-19 socio-economic recovery,” the statement said.

But some observers have raised concerns about the government’s ability to logistically grant protected status to so many Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers and to financially provide them with access to social services.

Colombia receives a fraction of the international aid funding that goes to other global migration crises, such as Syria and Sudan.

A Brookings Institution analysis estimated that the international community had spent $580m to respond to the Venezuelan displacement crisis in its first four years, compared to $7.8bn spent in the first four years of the Syrian refugee crisis response.