Trinidad and Tobago — Monitoring Venezuelan Citizens Presence, Round 2 (September 2019)

Migration from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago was traditionally by air routes. However, since 2016 state agencies detected a significant fall-off in entries by air and a corresponding rise in entries by sea. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of overstayers and by 2018 irregular entries skyrocketed1. As a result, between May and June 2019, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago initiated a Venezuelan Registration Exercise, which authorized Venezuelan nationals in irregular circumstances to work for a period of one year in Trinidad and Tobago, upon successful screening procedures. This led to the registration of 16,523 Venezuelan nationals.

The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) was launched in July 2019 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to maintain periodic monitoring of migrants, as it relates to their profiles, characteristics and socio-economic status. Data gathered through this process informs the locations, evolving needs and vulnerabilities of migrant populations. In total, 2,166 Venezuelan migrants were interviewed mainly in the western areas of both Trinidad and Tobago.