By the end of 2020, the number of Venezuelans in Peru was over 1 million, as estimated in the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan 2021. This includes some 830,000 people registered with the National Migration Superintendence (SNM), many of whom are among 496,000 asylum-seekers reported by the Special Commission for Refugees (CEPR). By the end of October 2020, over 268,000 Venezuelans held a “special migratory” situation and some 45,000 people still hold a valid temporary stay permit (or PTP). According to these figures, around 84% of the Venezuelan population in Peru holds a migratory permit and/or is an asylum-seeker, while 16% of the people are in an irregular situation. It is expected that in 2021 it will become clear how a new temporary residence permit will be made available to individuals who entered the country irregularly.
Since 2019, population flows decreased significantly as a consequence of two separate events. First, the introduction of visas in the Andean corridor in August 2019 led to a drop from an average of almost 50,000 monthly entries to approximately 5,000. Second, the ongoing health emergency led to a closure of all land and air borders from 16 March 2020, resulting in an almost complete halt to regular flows. Although irregular border flows also reduced during the initial months of the pandemic, an increase has been observed since June 2020. By end of 2020, it is estimated that some 180 people were entering the country from the border with Ecuador daily. It is projected that the total number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants living in Peru will reach 1.1 million people by the end of 2021.
In comparison to previous years, the number of asylum requests rose at a slower pace in 2020 mainly due to changes in the asylum process at the border in June 2019 and to the temporary suspension of the online asylum registration by the end of 2019. As the system resumed working in June 2020, an average of 350 daily applications were received. As of end of October 2020, over 42,000 new asylum claims (representing a total of 50,000 people) had been received.
Figures by the National Migration Service as of August 2020 indicate that 54% of Venezuelans in Peru are male (10% children, 44% adults) and 46% are female (8% children and 38% adults). More than 75% live in cities such as Lima and Callao, with another 16% located along coastal departments in Ancash, Arequipa, Ica, La Libertad and Piura.
As part of a joint needs analysis conducted as part of inter-agency preparations for the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) 2021, most Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru require support in terms of food security, health, risk of eviction, integration, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, among others. According to UNHCR protection monitoring in November 2020, the Venezuelan population experienced greater challenges in 2020 through the loss of livelihoods, poorer employment conditions, reduction of wages, unemployment, and debt. Many Venezuelans could no longer afford housing rental rates, and 7% had only one meal per day, while another 61% could only afford to eat twice daily. Monitoring has revealed an increase in negative coping mechanisms, a sharp increase in the percentage of families resorting to humanitarian assistance, a decrease in the number of children being able to attend school (even remote schooling), and a high negative psychosocial impact that could affect integration possibilities.