A pilot project, carried out with technical and financial
support  from IOM and managed by Paraguay's General
Directorate of Migration, has provided temporary residence permits
for more than 1,000 Brazilian migrants living in the Alto
Paraná region in southern Paraguay in a bid to regularize
them.

According to Caritas-Paraguay, there are an estimated 200,000
undocumented Brazilian migrants in the Alto Paraná
region.  Paraguay's Statistics and Census Bureau put the
official figure of irregular Brazilian migrants at 100,000.

The "Brasiguayos", as these migrants and their descendants are
known in Paraguay, settled in the early 1970s in the departments of
Canindeyú and Alto Paraná in southwest Paraguay,
located on the border with Brazil.  The vast majority work in
agriculture, mainly growing soybeans, wheat and sunflowers.

The migrants have repeatedly asked the authorities for a
solution to their migration status and have reported paying sums
levied by local authorities to remain in the country.

The newly obtained residence permits, initially valid for two
years, will allow the beneficiaries to open bank accounts, obtain
driver's licences and apply for land titles.  At the end of
the two years, those who hold a temporary residence permit can
apply for permanent residence.

IOM provided technical assistance as well as legal and
logistical support to mobile teams working with migrants in their
communities. The teams included members of the Paraguayan and
Brazilian police, Paraguayan immigration officials, staff of the
Brazilian Consulate, and two doctors.

"IOM's technical expertise and its presence as an intermediary
between the migrants and the authorities have been vital for the
success of this pilot phase," explains Guillermo Sosa of IOM
Paraguay.

After the pilot phase is completed, the governments of Paraguay
and Brazil and IOM plan to sign a tripartite agreement to continue
the regularization process.

For more information please contact:

Guillermo Sosa

IOM Paraguay

Tel: +595-21-490689

E-mail: "mailto:gsosa@iom.int">gsosa@iom.int

For additional information:

Jean-Philippe Chauzy

Tel: 41 22 717 9361

Mobile: 41 79 285 4366

E-mail: "mailto:pchauzy@iom.int">pchauzy@iom.int

or

Jemini Pandya

Tel 41 22 717 9486

Mobile : 41 79 217 3374

E-mail: "mailto:jpandya@iom.int">jpandya@iom.int