VENEZUELANS who recently signed up to live and work in Trinidad and Tobago for six months in the first instance can make an application for an extension when the amnesty period has expired.
They began receiving their registration cards on Friday.
The first batch of the 16,523 was distributed at the Immigration Division Office at Richmond Street in Port-of-Spain. This is the main collection point.
Present at the distribution were National Security Minister Stuart Young and Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews.
Young said extensive background checks were done on all those who registered.
He said, “We went through a registration process that was quite a well-run, efficient and properly monitored registration.”
Young said there was also a due diligence exercise “to make sure that the information provided is accurate.”
He said the process included consulting with the International Criminal Police (Interpol) and Venezuelan authorities before the cards were distributed.
Venezuelans can also apply for an extension once their cards expire and satisfy certain criteria.
Each card has its own security features including a security seal, barcode and unique PIN.
