More than 350 Colombians arrive in Venezuela day by day

[Judi Lynn]

CARACAS, Friday July 30, 2010
More than 350 Colombians arrive in Venezuela day by day
There are about 4,500,000 Colombian residents in Venezuela

Despite the lingering decline of domestic economy, the numbers managed by the Association of Colombians in Venezuela show that the inflow of Colombians keeps on the rise.

Juan Carlos Tanus, the head of said association, explained that based on their records, only by land 254 Colombians entered Venezuela by land in 2008. In 2009, the number heightened to 301, up to 350 nowadays.

He said that, according to their research, 60 percent of Colombians remain in an attempt at improving their quality of life.

Neighbors in numbers
The Association of Colombians in Venezuela has completed so far three studies on the reality of Colombian immigrants. The 2009 report will be ready in a couple of weeks.

The survey conducted in 2008 found that there were somewhat over 4,000,000 Colombians in Venezuela.

According to Tanus, the Colombian government acknowledges only 730,000 Colombian residents. Venezuelan authorities, for their part, cannot tell how many of them are. "No government agency has undertaken a study on the status of the immigrant population," he said.

The studies of the Association show that 1,250,000 Colombians in Venezuela have the resident status; almost one million are non-residents -the holders of Venezuelan identity cards effective for one year; 680,000 illegal immigrants, and 526,000 nationalized.

More:
http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/07/30/en_ing_esp_more-than-350-colomb_30A4261931.shtml
Opposition newspaper