- The main airport authorities met with representatives of the Foreign Ministry and Saime to clarify the conditions of entry to Venezuela for their own citizens
The Venezuelan Airlines Association (ALAV) published on October 2 an agreement reached by different authorities regarding the entry of Venezuelans into the country with expired passports. In the statement, it reports that several exceptions were established that would allow its beneficiaries to avoid the measure established by the government of Nicolás Maduro.
This clarification of the regulations arose after a meeting held this Wednesday between the ALAV and representatives of the Chancellery, the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) and the Administrative Service for Identification, Migration and Immigration (Saime). Delegates from the main airlines operating in the country also participated, as well as the Venezuelan Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Avavit), the Venezuelan Association of Wholesalers and Tourist Representation Companies (Avemarep) and Conseturismo.
There it was ratified that you can only enter the country with a valid passport, which requires you to obtain a safe passage at an accredited Venezuelan consulate or embassy. Something especially complicated for those countries with which the government has broken diplomatic relations.
What are the approved exceptions?
In the minutes of the meeting published by the ALAV, the following exceptions are clarified:
– Venezuelan passengers with dual nationality. They will be able to enter without safe conduct even if their Venezuelan passport has expired.
– Passengers with legal residence in other countries. They will not need safe conduct either.
– The Mercosur agreement is maintained, which allows citizens to travel between its member countries only with an identity card. However, this only applies to direct, non-stop flights from Mercosur countries. That is, it could only be used at this time if you fly directly from Bolivia to Venezuela.
The following information was also clarified regarding the processing of the special permit that must be requested at the Venezuelan diplomatic headquarters:
– The travel document or safe-conduct permits transit of no more than five hours in another country, without migration there. This is because it only authorizes flying to Venezuela as a final destination.
– Email was created [email protected] to answer questions about the procedure or attend to particular cases that require it.
No tariffs
At the meeting, the Foreign Ministry of the Maduro government reported that as of October 14, a portal will be available to respond to requests for safe passage from Venezuelans in countries without consular representation. He added that the procedure can be done there without paying fees. The permits will be sent later by email.
In the case of countries that still have Venezuelan embassies, they must attend to travelers in person in their offices under the procedure that was already approved. This includes payment of consular fees in the amount of $60.
In any case, the safe passage must be managed at least 72 hours before the trip with the flight details. In the event of a change in the flight, a new document must be processed. He highlighted that safe passages can be processed directly with the Foreign Ministry for emergency situations, whenever they involve health problems or passengers stranded at an airport. These must be duly documented in the application.
For its part, INAC added that it is working on an update of its Timatic system, which is used by airlines to document entry requirements to all countries.
No rights
Although the meeting between government representatives and the unions allowed some concessions, the underlying problem of the measure still remains unresolved. In fact, it only favors certain groups such as Venezuelans with dual nationality, or with legal residence. This ignores the context of almost 8 million Venezuelans abroad, of which 1.5 million are refugees or asylum seekers, while another percentage has irregular immigration status.
Different organizations such as the Human Rights Center of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) have described the measure as illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary. Mainly because citizens are being denied entry to their own country, as well as being forced to pay to do so. Being also classified as a form of discrimination against Venezuelans who, for one reason or another, had to leave the country and wish to return.
For example, the Constitution establishes in its article 50: “Every person can move freely and by any means through the national territory, change domicile and residence, leave the Republic and return, move their property and belongings in the country, bring their goods into the country or remove them, without more limitations than those established by law. In the event of a road concession, the law will establish the cases in which the use of an alternative route must be guaranteed. Venezuelans can enter the country without the need for any authorization. “No act of the Public Power may establish the penalty of estrangement from the national territory against Venezuelans.”
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2024-10-03 07:12:00
