Decision 503
Recognition of national identification documents

THE ANDEAN COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS,

HAVING SEEN: Articles 3 and 16 of the Cartagena Agreement, Guideline 26 of the Act of the Eleventh Andean Presidential Council, Guideline 8 of the Twelfth Andean Presidential Council, and Andean Community General Secretariat Proposal 51;

WHEREAS:

The free circulation of people is one of the preconditions for the gradual creation of the Andean Common Market, which should be operational by December 31, 2005, at the latest;

Free circulation through the territories in the Andean Subregion is, in accordance with internal immigration provisions, a right of Andean citizens and of foreigners residing permanently in any Member Country, aimed at progressively consolidating an Andean identity;

Provisions with regard to personal identification must be harmonized within the Subregion to facilitate the adoption of measures permitting the unimpeded circulation of persons;

The Andean Committee of Immigration Authorities (CAAM) at its Fifth Regular Meeting approved the Draft Decision for the recognition of national identification documents and asked the General Secretariat of the Andean Community to submit it to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers for consideration.

DECIDES

Article 1.- Under the terms and conditions of this Decision, the citizens of any Member Country may be admitted to and enter any other Member Country as tourists merely by presenting one of the national identification documents that is valid and in effect in the issuing country, without need for a consular visa.

The national identification documents to which the first paragraph of this article refers shall be:

For Bolivia

  1. Passport

  2. Passport sheet

  3. Identity card

  4. Sole National Registration Card (RUN)

  5. National Identification Registration Card (RIN)

  6. Foreign residents’ card for foreigners living in the country

For Colombia

  1. Passport

  2. Adult Identity card for persons over the age of 18

  3. Minor’s Identify card for children between the ages of 7 and 18

  4. Birth certificate for children under the age of 7

  5. For foreigners:

Adult Foreign Identity card for persons over the age of 18

Minor’s Foreign Identity card for children over 7 and under 18 (Foreigners under the age of 7 use their passports for identification)

For Ecuador

  1. Passport

  2. Ecuadorian Citizenship Card

  3. Identification Card for immigrant foreigners

For Peru

  1. Passport

  2. National Identification Document for persons over the age of 18

  3. Voter Registration Card for persons over the age of 18

  4. Birth Certificate for children under the age of 18

  5. Peruvian Consular Pass

  6. Border Pass

  7. Foreign Residents’ Card for foreigners residing in the country

For Venezuela

  1. Passport

  2. Identity Card for persons over the age of 9

  3. Identity Card for foreigners residing in the country

The Member Countries agree to inform the Andean Community General Secretariat about any change in or removal from the list of national identification documents within no more than 30 calendar days after the entry into effect of the provision establishing that change. The General Secretariat, for its part, shall immediately report such changes to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Member Countries.

Article 2.- National tourists from any Member Country shall enjoy the same rights as the citizens of the Member Country in which they find themselves, without prejudice to domestic provisions on immigration, the domestic order, national security, and public health. For purposes of this Decision, tourists are persons who enter a country with no intention of residing in it and who therefore cannot engage in gainful activity, except as stipulated with regard to temporary immigration in specific agreements or border integration conventions that have been or may be signed between the Member Countries.

Article 3.- The competent national authorities shall progressively carry out the necessary coordination in order to harmonize the national identification documents so that people can circulate freely within the Subregion.

The Member Countries shall also adopt the necessary security measures with regard to their respective national identification documents.

Article 4.- Immigration authorities of the recipient country shall, at the time of entry, as tourists, of the persons referred to in article 1, upon determining the conditions of that entry, require the presentation of the Andean Immigration Card (TAM) as the sole administrative document provided for in Community legislation. This document should state the authorized length of stay in the country, according to the regulations of article 10 of this Decision.

Article 5.- The national identification document used to enter the country shall be recognized by the authorities of the Member Country for all civil and immigration purposes, including legal and administrative formalities.

Article 6.- The immigration authorities of each Member Country may refuse the entry of tourists or cancel the authorization of persons who have already entered the country if they fail to comply with the legal requirements established in this Decision or violate immigration regulations.

Article 7.- The competent authorities of the Member Countries shall coordinate among themselves as needed for the effective application of this Decision, with the support of the Andean Committee of Immigration Authorities (CAAM).

Article 8.- Citizens of countries outside the Community who hold any of the documents listed in the first article of this Decision, issued by any Member Country, shall enjoy the same rights as those established in this Decision for Member Country citizens, unless national immigration provisions require the use of a passport or visa.

Article 9.- This Decision shall enter into effect on January 1, 2002. The Member Countries agree to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the Decision.

COMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 10.- The Member Countries agree not to submit the tourists referred to in article 1 to additional immigration controls or formalities to those that are currently in effect for stays of up to 90 days, which may be extended for another 90 days one time only.

Article 11.- Member Countries, with the support of the CAAM, shall proceed to harmonize their respective immigration legislation by holding annual negotiations under the coordination of the Andean Community General Secretariat. The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers shall express the results of these negotiations through the approval of Decisions. In this process, priority will be given to the immigration requirements for students, business people, investors, and artists.

TEMPORARY PROVISION

Sole.- If, on the date this Decision enters into effect, a Member Country continues to require national tourists from the other Member Countries to obtain Consular Visas, they shall eliminate that requirement by December 31, 2004, at the latest. Before that date, the Member Country so requiring may demand a passport as the sole travel document accepted for the admittance of tourists.

Until the deadline established in the previous paragraph is reached, any Member Country requiring a Consular Visa shall progressively ease the visa requirements for the citizens of the other Member Countries.

Signed in the city of Valencia, Venezuela on the twenty-second of June of two thousand and one.