Santo Domingo- The partners of the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) in the Dominican Republic salute the national government for the achievements made during the first year of implementation of the Plan for the Normalization of Venezuelans (PNV), which seeks to guarantee access to regularization for Venezuelans living in the country.

To date, more than 40,000 Venezuelans have registered in the PNV and 17,000 have already received their visas (most of them as temporary workers) and thousands of others continue to go through some of the three phases of the plan.

The Dominican Republic is the first receiving country of Venezuelan population in the Caribbean and the eighth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of the more than 5 million people who left Venezuela for neighboring countries in the region, close to 116,000 chose to seek safety and new opportunities in the Dominican Republic.

Since the beginning of the PNV in April 2021, the R4V National Platform in the country, co-led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in coordination with 15 partner organizations, has accompanied and supported the Dominican government's efforts to facilitate the Venezuelan population's access to regular stay, which will translate into better access to basic rights such as health, job opportunities in the formal market and education.

"The first anniversary of implementation of the PNV has been key for the protection and assistance to the Venezuelan population residing in the Dominican Republic. We congratulate the government and reiterate our support to the host communities so that no one is left behind," said Gabriel Godoy, UNHCR Chief of Mission in the country.

To facilitate the implementation of the PNV, an alliance has been consolidated with eight community organizations of Venezuelan people in various cities of the country, which operate the Ventanillas de Orientación Gratuita, where information and guidance on the process is provided, and where the documentation of those who apply to the PNV is received.

"The Ventanillas de Orientación Gratuita, supported by IOM in six cities in the country, have served more than 24 thousand people and also constitute a meeting point for other initiatives and organizations for psychosocial support, livelihoods and specific support for children and adolescents," explained Josué Gastelbondo, IOM Chief of Mission in the Dominican Republic.

Continuing to support and advocate for initiatives that guarantee access to some form of regular status is one of the objectives set by R4V partners in the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan 2022 (RMRP), launched in December 2021.

In line with this objective, partners at the country level will continue to support the Dominican government, as well as the Venezuelan population and members of their host communities, with their technical expertise, field presence, logistical capacity and resources.

For more information, please contact:

Zinnia Martínez / IOM Dominican Republic Communication

Email: OIMRDcomunicacion@iom.int
Tel: +1809 688 81 74

Juan Carlos González / UNHCR Communication Dominican Republic

Email: gonzalju@unhcr.org 
Tel: +1809 653 01 00