MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

More Venezuelans apply for residence in Uruguay, Foreign Ministry says

Uruguay's Foreign Ministry records 25% more applications for residence by Venezuelan migrants.

The number of Venezuelans who applied for residence in Uruguay this year went up 25%, the Foreign Ministry reported Monday.Two months from the end of 2018, a total 8,897 permanent residences were processed. The majority were Venezuelans, followed by Brazilians and Argentines.

 There were other applications from non Mercosur countries and what the Foreign Ministry calls “extra Mercosur relatives” (foreigners with a Uruguayan relative), a group in which Cubans top the list.

Of the 8,897 applications, almost 50% were from Venezuelan citizens with a total 4,349 submissions, a 25% increase from the previous year's 3,248.

Brazilians come next with 1,564 applications, followed by 1,256 from Argentine nationals.

In smaller numbers were 494 Colombians, 399 Peruvians, 157 Chileans, 155 Paraguayans, 86 Bolivians and 81 Ecuadoreans.

The list of applicants with at least one Uruguayan relative was topped by 82 Cubans, followed by 73 Dominicans, 39 Spaniards, 14 Mexicans and 138 from other nationalities.

A total 9,206 applications were processed in 2017.