Colombia on Thursday temporarily granted more than 440,000 migrants from Venezuela permission to stay in the country for two years and access social services, as hundreds of thousands flee a devastating economic crisis in neighboring Venezuela.
The decree, signed by President Juan Manuel Santos, is directed at 442,462 Venezuelans without visas, stamped passports or other permission to live in Colombia who registered in a recent two-month survey.
Colombia has borne the brunt of the migration from Venezuela, where hyperinflation, food and medicine shortages, and crime have forced many to leave their homes.