Venezuela Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

 * 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 at Ancestry - index and images. ($)
 * 1890-1901 Auswanderung nach Brasilien und Venezuela, 1890-1901 Civil records relating to the migration to Brazil and Venezuela of inhabitants of Bromberg, Posen, Germany
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at Findmypast; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Venezuela
 * 1892-1924 New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924 Search results for Venezuela
 * Italian Emigration Sites, including Venezuela
 * Confederate exiles in Venezuela, e-book
 * United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records

Finding the Town of Origin in Venezuela
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Venezuela, see Venezuela Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Venezuela Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration into Venezuela
Immigration to Venezuela has been significant. After the Spanish colonization of the Americas brought European colonists and African slaves, immigration to Venezuela was significant particularly in the period after World War II, with large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Europe, particularly southern Europe. In addition, Venezuela shares a 1000-mile border with Colombia and has long had substantial numbers of Colombian residents. Since the 1980s, the Colombian conflict has seen large-scale Colombian immigration, with Venezuela the number one destination for displaced Colombians: by 2008, there were over 4 million, compared to a total Venezuelan population of around 27 million.

Emigration from Venezuela

 * Due to the Venezuelan refugee crisis, in 2017, 22,000 new Venezuelan refugees sought shelter in Brazil. By mid-2019, over 168,000 Venezuelans were living in Brazil.
 * People from Venezuela who live outside of their territory live mainly in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and most of South America. Most of them arrived to escape from the military dictatorship of the 1950s and the political repressions in the 1960s.
 * There is also a growing number of Venezuelans in Canada, almost all of them working for the oil industry after the 2002 strike.
 * Since the arrival of President Hugo Chávez, a significative growing number of young Venezuelans are fleeing their country in search of better living standards and work opportunities.
 * More recently, since the crisis worsening in 2012, another wave of Venezuelans have emigrated, including people from all age groups and socioeconomic statuses.

Bolivarian Diaspora

 * In 1998, the year Chavez was first elected, only 14 Venezuelans were granted asylum in the United States.
 * In just twelve months in September 1999, 1,086 Venezuelans were granted asylum according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
 * It has been calculated that from 1998 to 2013 over 1.5 million Venezuelans, between 4% and 6% of the Venezuela's total population, left the country following the Bolivarian Revolution.
 * Many of former Venezuelan citizens studied gave reasons for leaving Venezuela that included lacking of freedom, high levels of insecurity and lacking opportunity in the country. It has also been stated that some parents in Venezuela encourage their children to leave the country in protection of their children due to the insecurities Venezuelans face.
 * In November 2018, UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the IOM (International Organization for Migration) said the number of refugees had risen to 3 million, most of which had gone to other Latin American countries and the Caribbean.

Records of Venezuelan Emigrants in Their Destination Nations

 * United States Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Spain Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Italy Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Mexico Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Brazil Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Panama Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Trinidad and Tobago Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans
 * Argentina Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Venezuelans

For Further Reading
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: