Venezuela
Deficient consular civil registration services
Many Venezuelans who have been displaced across the Americas face difficulties registering their children. Since 2015, nearly 8 million Venezuelans have been involved in mixed migratory movements due to Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. About one out of five Venezuelans have left the country without proper documentation due to the difficulty of obtaining official documents in Venezuela. From 2019 to 2022 Colombia and Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations, so there were no consulates for Venezuelan parents to complete birth registration or access the parents documentation. When Venezuelans are unable to obtain or renew passports and other primary identity documents, they face difficulties regularizing their status and registering children born abroad. Acquiring documents from the new consulates that opened in 2023 has a high cost, with passports costing upwards of $216 USD.
Promising Practices and Updates
In 2023, new Venezuelan consulates were opened in Colombia, providing an opportunity for Venezuelans to access documentation.
