Colombia as all countries has her foreign immigrant policies; these policies have improved from high restriction when the Spain Crown blocked high volume of foreigners because smuggling in XVI century to ask VISA to some countries in XXI century. In XXI century, as many western countries such as the United States and countries of the European Union are reviewing her foreign immigration policies to get a World free of frontiers, Colombia has to review it also. Colombia has an old immigration policies where some World citizens need VISA to visit Colombia without clear argument. Colombia has to think on a long run foreign immigration program where foreigners no matter their nationality are welcome to work as employees or businessmen, or as a students or tourists; moreover giving the welcome to refugees and asylees also. Colombia missed important foreigners because of internal war conflict, so it is time to call them again through a proper immigration policy. Therefore, Colombia has to contribute on getting a World free of frontiers as many countries are doing.
Author: Humberto Bernal,
Economist,
e-mail: zhumber@gmail.com
Twitter: Humberto_Bernal
Colombia has not been an important country for foreign immigrants such as the United States, France or the United Kingdom; moreover, Colombia did not get an important volume of foreign immigrants at the beginning of XX century as many others countries did in the region such as Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay. However, many foreigners have taken Colombia as a home because they have found economic opportunities and gotten on well with locals. As many countries, Colombia has promoted foreign immigration policies and she has blocked foreign immigration also. Therefore, this note deals with foreign immigration in Colombia since Spain Crown colony; it is a short summary about immigration policies in Colombia and foreigners that found Colombia as a home.
During colony period when Spain was the owner of some places in Latin America included Colombia, the policy for foreign immigrants was high restricted. The Spain Crown did not let many foreigners to visit Colombia; they were worried about gold and silver smuggling, and spices and slavery smuggling also. However, there were few foreigners that lived in Colombia because of they had high professional skills in mining extraction and slavery trade approved by the Crown; of course these foreigners that traded species and slaves paid taxes. The foreigners that lived in Colombia by that time (1530-1816) were from Portugal, England, Italy, France and Jews as Vila (1979) says.
As soon Colombia started her fight to get her independence, foreign immigration increased. Colombia got support from approximately 7,000 foreign legionaries to get her independence; these legionaries came from England, Ireland, France, and Poland; they got a salary and recognition of local people as Colonel Rooke from Ireland got. However, some of them were charged by breaking the Law as Brown (2004, 2005) says.
Because Colombia faced low population after her independence in 1819, the government decided to promote foreign immigration, but it was an unsuccessful policy. By 1823, Colombia counted with 1.2 million of people that was considered low, so local authorities decided to promote foreign immigration; nonetheless, this policy was selective because local authorities thought that just people from Western Europeans and North Americans could improve the local breed!; so they gave incentives such as lands and money to get these foreigners in Colombia. This policy was active until the end of 1920 decade. However, few foreigners from other countries came to Colombia avoiding these policies through illegal access or under immigration officer approval. This selective immigration policy was unsuccessful because Western Europeans and North Americans found tropical diseases, non-arable land, difficult tropical weather, poor infrastructure to run a business and in some cases breach of incentives given by local authorities. The few foreigners that stayed were from England, France, Italy, North America, Germany, Syria, Libya and Palestine; they can be taken as people with businessman thinking. There were some Japanese, Indians, Chinese and Africans that came to improve the labour force also; these foreigners got a salary also, but in some cases they faced discriminatory treatment by few people such as church members and local conservative people. Nevertheless, they could get on well with most of Colombian people at the end.
After the end of 1920 decade, Colombian government changed her immigration policy because of deep industrial development. Since 1920 Colombia started to face an important urban development, so local people started to move from rural areas to cities; this internal immigration brought low work force to grow lands, so government decided to promote foreign immigration to improve agricultural production. Moreover, after 1930 the industrial sector in Colombia started to grow at high rates, so professional people from abroad were needed to improve this development. Therefore, Colombian government changed her foreign immigration policy giving lands and economic incentives to people who could contribute with agricultural and industrial development; in this foreign immigration policy, the nationality no matters; moreover, the rights for foreign immigrants improved through Constitution reform in 1936; they got civil rights equal of Colombian’s rights, but they could not vote still. However, Colombia started to ask for a VISA since 1927 because local authorities thought that foreign people with Law problems or political thinkers could make disorders through local population. During the Second World War (WWII), many countries that agree with Grand Alliance's view blocked immigrants from Axis countries; Colombia decided to do it between 1940 and 1948; from 1949 the promotion of foreign immigrants came back, and this policy went until the end of 1950 decade when Colombia decided to follow international Law about foreign immigration through International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Figure 1. International immigration stock in Colombia as a share of total population 1925-2012
(%)
Source: Bureau of Statistics Colombia (DANE), DAS, World Bank, IOM and Palgrave International Statistics.
During 1960 and 1980 Colombia faced high emigration because low salaries and better economic condition in Venezuela and Ecuador, so Colombia faced an important reduction of foreign immigrants also. Unfortunately, Colombia faced low economic growth and political crisis between 1960 and 1980; these events started at the beginning of 1950 decade, but people started to emigrate to other countries at the beginning of 1960 because things did not go better. However, there were few Eastern Europeans that came to Colombia because communist thought pushed them out of their countries, and Colombia was member of IOM that were clear about refugees and asylees treatment. As soon local government realised this emigration broadcast a set of Laws that gave incentives to Colombians and foreigners to come back to Colombia, and few of them did it; however, the program was unsuccessful at the end because internal war started to be more intensive.
Between 1985 and 2004 the number of foreign immigrants show an important decrease because internal war. The internal war in Colombia started to get worst since 1980 because illicit drugs started to support it, so foreign immigrants decided to leave Colombia. Foreigners from Asia, Europe and North America leaved Colombia because of kidnaping started to be a politic and finical instrument for illegal groups; the number of foreignness kidnaped between 1984 and 2004 were 895 cases at least, and between 1971 and 2011 were 1,051 at least; therefore, the 85% of foreigners kidnaped were during 1984 and 2004. However, Colombian government improved the Law for foreign immigrates through the right of vote in local elections and popular queries through new Constitution in 1991 and following Laws.
Figure 2. Foreigners kidnapped in Colombia 1971-2012
(number of people)
Source: Cífras y Conceptos, Centro de Memoria Historica, and País Libre.
Since 2004 Colombia improved the foreign immigrants because better security and economic growth. Colombia improved her internal security and foreign immigrants came back, but the cost was high because last years insecurity. These new foreigners have come since 2004 and have the duty to contribute to Colombia economic development and local government has the duty to support them under fair income distribution. Therefore, Colombia has to work hard on a clear immigration policy where all World people are welcome no matter her nationality, and local government can start to review the Colombian VISA policy for those World citizens that want to visit and work in Colombia.
Brown, Matthew. 2004. “Esclavitud, castas y extranjeros en las guerras de Independencia de Colombia”. Revista Historia y Sociedad, No. 10, Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Brown, Matthew. 2005. Militares extranjeros en la independencia de Colombia, nuevas perspectivas. Museo Nacional de Colombia.
Vila, Enriqueta. 1979. “Extranjeros en Cartagena (1595-1630)”. Jahrbuchfür Geschichte von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas, Bd. 16, Colonia. Also, it can be read in: Vila, Enriqueta. 2001. Aspectos Sociales en América Colonial, de extranjeros, contrabando y esclavos. Editorial Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano.
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