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For extended stay in Venezuela, you can enter the country either as a business visitor or as an employee. If you are entering as a business visitor, you need to have a business visitor visa that is called TR-N or Transeunte Negocios. This is a general requirement for all business visitors, and you are only exempted if you come from a country that has special arrangements with the Venezuelan government.

If the purpose for your entry into Venezuela is to seek employment, you need to have the appropriate visa. You should apply for a “Transeunte Laboral” or “TR-L” Visa. The approval of this type of visa can only come from the Venezuelan Immigration Authorities or the ONIDEX, which will exercise its discretionary powers over this matter. The ONIDEX’s decision to grant or refuse an applicant’s TR-L will be based on the availability of local manpower in the field which you are seeking employment. The processing for a TR-L visa will take an estimated period of ten weeks from the date when the application is filed.

If you arrive in Venezuela as a visitor, you cannot apply to have your visitor status converted to a work status while you are in the country. Even if you are present when the work permit application is being processed, you will not be allowed to take up employment. It is only when the application has been approved and you have secured it from a Venezuelan consular post that you can start with your employment.