The Regional Response to Venezuelan Migration: A Comparative Analysis of Governmental Measures in Colombia, Argentina, and Chile (2015-2019)

This study provides a comparative analysis of the legislation, resolutions, and practices concerning regularization procedures and the recognition of fundamental rights (healthcare and education) of Venezuelan migrants between 2015 and 2019 in three host countries: Colombia, Argentina, and Chile by constructing six indicators: the date of issuance, the possibility of naturalization in the country of destination, the requirements and the application procedure, the cost of processing, the waiting period, and policy restrictions. The results show, first, a significant heterogeneity in the different legal responses in terms of the possibility of naturalization, application requirements, and the recognition of rights. Second, the analysis identifies the main factors that can explain the cross -national variation in the policy frameworks implemented towards the Venezuelan population. Third, our study suggests that these reception strategies are characterized by temporality, the ad hoc model, and discretionality, which significantly affect the social integration of Venezuelan nationals in the three host countries.