Brazil received more than 700,000 Venezuelans in five years, but half left the country

In the past five years, Brazil received some 702,000 Venezuelan immigrants who fled their country's economic, political, social and humanitarian crisis, but just over half left Brazilian territory for other nations, official sources reported Thursday.

According to a report by the Ministry of Justice, of the Venezuelans who entered Brazil from January 2017 to February 2022 to flee the crisis in their country, 325,763 remain in Brazilian territory and 376,459 continued to travel to other destinations, most of them by plane from Rio de Janeiro or overland from Foz do Iguazu, on the border of Brazil with Paraguay and Argentina.

Among those who remain in Brazil, 112,260 received temporary residence in the country, 72,334 have already obtained residence for an indefinite period and 51,538 were recognized as refugees. Another 93,997 filed an application for refuge and await the response of the National Refugee Council (Conare).

The balance sheet also shows that 378,567 Venezuelans received tax identification (CPF) in the last five years, which is the document that guarantees them access to healthcare programs, public services and work.

The numbers were compiled by the Federal Subcommittee for the Reception, Identification and Relocation of Immigrants, a body headed by the Ministry of Justice and of which entities such as the Federal Police and Federal Customs are also part.

The report indicates that the majority of Venezuelans received by Brazil are male (53% of the total) and are between 30 and 59 years old (49%). Another 30% are between 18 and 29 years old, while minors are equal to 16% and those over 60 years old, the minority, to 5%.

The strong influx of Venezuelans to Brazil in recent years caused the number of foreigners registered as immigrants in the country to double in a decade, from 600,000 in 2011 to 1.3 million in 2020.

Of the total number of immigrants registered in Brazil in the last ten years, 17.7% are from Venezuela, 15.3% from Haiti, 5.7% from Bolivia, 5.5% from Colombia, 3.8% from the United States, 3.6% from China and 2.8% from Argentina.

Until 2010, most immigrants settled in Brazil were originally from Portugal.

According to the UN, some four million Venezuelans have left their country since the end of 2015, in one of the largest migration flows on the planet.

(With information from EFE)

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