Brasilia, November 13 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The Brazilian government announced on Wednesday that it granted permanent residency to 43,781 Haitian immigrants who entered the country illegally during the past five years. 

"This act establishes a period of up to a year for them to request foreign resident identification documents. Those who are formally accepted by Brazil will be granted stability and security," Brazilian Minister of Labor Miguel Rossetto said.

Under the plan, the undocumented Haitians who entered Brazil will be granted the right to live and work legally in Brazil. 

Haitians started immigrating to Brazil after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people and left another 1.5 million people without homes in 2010.

Since then, Brazil has issued over 15,000 humanitarian visas in Haiti, and more than 4,700 in consulates in Ecuador and Peru, reported Brazil’s Folha de São Paulo newspaper.