UNHCR Trinidad & Tobago Fact Sheet, July – September 2024 – Trinidad and Tobago

Key Figures

UNHCR protects 36,163 people in Trinidad and Tobago: 3,382 refugees, 31,487 asylum-seekers, and 1,290 correspond to their children born in the country.

Nearly 86 per cent are from Venezuela.

From July to September, 66 refugees and asylum-seekers from 24 households received cash assistance. Forty-two were new beneficiaries (13 households).

Context

The Ministry of Public Security announced that the fifth tranche of Minister’s Permits for Venezuelans under the Migrant Registration Framework (MRF) was ready for collection.

On 2 September, 23 refugee and migrant children enrolled in the national school system, marking a historic milestone. An amendment to the Immigration Act allows Venezuelans under 18, whose parents or guardians are registered in the MRF, to enroll in national schools, subject to space availability and completion of a Student Permit Exemption. Authorities have approved 111 permits. In the previous month, UNHCR and UNICEF, together with the parents of refugee and migrant children, attended the Ministry of Education’s ceremony to hand over their student exemption certificates.

More refugee and migrant children are expected to enroll shortly. UNHCR, as co-chair of the Education Working Group, continues to advocate for more refugees to be included in the next phase of admissions, allowing them to pursue their academic goals and dreams and advancing the rights of children to education.