Ecuador

Given its proximity to Venezuela and Colombia Ecuador has become a destination and transit country since 2017 for Venezuelans fleeing the sociopolitical and economic crisis in their countries.

In 2024, around 416,000 Venezuelan migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees were estimated to live in Ecuador, 77% of whom needed humanitarian assistance. Most of them resided in the western departments of Guayas, Manabi, and Pichincha.

Access to regularisation status, documentation, socioeconomic integration, healthcare and WASH services, shelter, and protection are the main needs of Venezuelans in Ecuador. The main obstacles to their regularisation are the lack of documents approved by the migration department, expired passports, and the lack of information on the processes. The lack of a legal permit of stay impedes their access to basic services and the labour market and creates increased protection concerns, including the risk of exploitation and abuse.

The regularisation process for migrants living in Ecuador began on 1 September 2022. The process allows families to access goods and services, such as education and government assistance. Of the nearly half a million Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador, more than 200,000 have either a certificate of immigration or a temporary visa.

(R4V 02/12/2023, BBC 02/09/2022, Infobae 22/11/2022)