Venezuela: New Electronic ‘PRO-V-90’ Visa for Independent Professionals Providing Services to Clients

The situation 

Venezuela has introduced a new multiple-entry visa called the PRO-V-90 visa, for professionals who are invited by a Venezuelan company to provide a professional service.  

A closer look

• Eligibility.  
  • The visa allows entry for foreign nationals performing eligible work activities without an employer or pursuant to a Venezuelan company’s invitation to provide a professional service. 
  • Service types that qualify under this visa include, but are not limited to, technical assistance, operational support, participation as speakers, journalistic activities, and oversight of investment.
  • To qualify for this visa, there must be no employment relationship between the foreign national and the Venezuelan inviting company. The foreign national cannot receive employment-related compensation or remuneration from the Venezuelan entity. 
• Validity period. The visa is valid for 90 days, after which applicants must leave Venezuela and re-enter the country under a newly issued visa.  
• Application details. Foreign nationals can submit applications fully online through Cancillería Digital. Processing takes approximately two to ten business days. 

Impact 

• Benefits of visa. This visa provides a pathway for companies that need to send independent professionals or employees of an overseas company to Venezuela to provide a specific, specialized service to a local client, without requiring the individual to be employed by the Venezuelan entity. This is particularly useful for companies that have clients in Venezuela but do not have a legal entity or employer presence in the country, who need to temporarily deploy personnel to perform a specific assignment or provide specialized services to a client.  
   
  In addition, the PRO-V-90 offers important procedural advantages as an electronic visa. Processing times are generally shorter, and applicants do not need to visit a Venezuelan consulate to have the visa physically stamped in their passport. Instead, their permission can be printed from the email that is sent to the applicant upon approval.
• Careful consideration of visa type. Foreign nationals who have an employment relationship with a company in their country of residence should carefully consider whether the PRO-V-90 visa is the best option based on the circumstances of each case and the activities they plan to perform in Venezuela. 

Looking ahead 

The Venezuelan government has been progressively digitizing government services and administrative procedures, and we expect this trend to continue. However, given the number of regulatory and institutional changes currently taking place in Venezuela, immigration legislation has not been identified as an immediate priority for reform. 

We will continue to monitor developments from the Venezuelan immigration authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will provide updates should any formal changes to the immigration or visa framework be announced. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.