Visitor VISA

Staying in Ecuador beyond 90 days.

     Unless you’re Julian Assange  or Eric Snowden, Ecuador wants you to follow some rules regarding extended visits. One of the quickest and easiest ways is a 12 IX tourist Visa. It is commonly referred to by Expats as an extension.  This is a type of non-migration Visa that allows you to stay beyond the 90 day limit imposed on tourists. Normally you will be granted an additional 180 days. The paperwork and documentation are not difficult but you will need some fore thought and planning. 

The first step is to decide if you really need to extend beyond 90 days. Here is something to think about. The 90 day tourist visit, known as the T3, allows you 90 days in Ecuador during a 12 month period.  So if you visit Ecuador in April to look for property and come back in December to close, those  days will count against your 90 day total.  Once April next year comes around, you gain those days back but December still counts against your total. It’s important to remember that leaving Ecuador and coming back does not restart another 90 days. I have had many expats tell me to just leave Ecuador for a few days and return with a fresh set of 90 days. It does not work that way. We know of a dentist in the US that tried it and was refused entrance at the airport and is currently waiting for his 12 month window to open back up.

You will need to pay the Ecuadorian Government a total of $234 for processing and issuing the extension. Depending on your Spanish-speaking and writing ability you may need to pay for assistance. There are many Ecuadorians and Expats that are willing to assist you with just about any service you need, FOR A PRICE. Some are good and reliable and others are not. Some will charge you a reasonable price and others will take you for every penny they can. I shopped around and found the price for assistance with an extension ranging from $100 to $300. So you can see that extending can easily cost upwards of $600 to $800 when you factor in transportation costs, photos, copies, and notary service. I chose a highly recommended Expat that charged $100 and that included copy, photo, and notary expenses. Best advice is to ask around for recommendations and talk with at least three different individuals offering the service.

Once you calculated your days in country and have decided you want an extension, the next step is to gather the paperwork.  These are the items you will need.

•A valid passport that will not expire within 6 months.

•A color copy of your passport information page and the page showing when you were last stamped into Ecuador. These must be notarized.

•A completed application known as Formulario De Solcitud De Visa De No Inmigrante.

•A extra passport photo. This will be attached to your application.

•A letter requesting the extension written in Spanish.

•A copy of a bank account statement showing you have money to live on for 6 months. Around $1200 is considered the minimum, looks better if you have more. This copy also needs to be notarized.

•A report showing your total days in Ecuador. This is obtained at the desk of the National Police at the government building issuing Visas. The National Police pulled up an electronic record of every visit and how long each visit was. (This is the reason why a visit to another country and then re-entry with a new stamp won’t work. They do keep track of your days.)

•A return home airline ticket. If you do not have one or want to make sure they give you a full 180 days this can be obtained by using Copa airlines website. You can reserve a flight online for 48 hours without making a payment. This will allow you to show an itinerary with a confirmation number for any future date. This does not need to be notarized.

These items are all easy to accumulate if you have a bank account in Ecuador and speak Spanish. I was lucky and established an Ecuadorian savings account with the assistance of an expat that owns an Ecuadorian business. However, I do not speak Spanish so I paid for assistance in gathering and notarizing the forms.

The process at the Government Building in Guayaquil is relatively easy but it will take 3-4 visits. Mine took four different trips because the computer system at the VISA office was down during my first visit.  Here is what you can expect to get accomplished at each visit.

Prior to visit #1 you will need to have the previously mentioned documents ready, color copies, notarized, and passport photo. This can all be accomplished across the street from the government building in Guayaquil at the World Trade Center building. There is a modern copy service center on the main level and notary service on the 2^nd floor. I did notice that small copy shops were set up alongside the government building. The individual I worked with included the expenses in her $100 fee, she preferred to use the services available at the World Trade Center. 

During the first visit the VISA clerk will check your documents. If everything is in order you will pay a $30 fee, they will accept the documents, take a digital photo and give you an appointment card to return in 3-4 days. Make sure you keep the card because it has reference numbers that make it easier to track your application. During this processing time your application and documents will be further reviewed and your application will be approved.  

Visit 2 will be to check the approval of the application. The application should be approved and all you need to do is pay the $204 fee for the VISA and leave your passport. Once again they will issue you an appointment card with a date to return in about 3-4 more days.

Visit 3 Consists of picking up your passport with the 180 day VISA attached.

The process in Guayaquil is very efficient and modern.  You obtain a number to wait your turn at the VISA counter, a large screen TV will display the next customer number. You do need to remember two things: One, this is Ecuador so people will constantly try to cut the line and Two, all the rules concerning a VISA can and will change. 

Wow! Lots of activity and no internet the last few days. So here’s a “catch up!”

The kitchen walls were tiled and grouted.

We created a design above the cooktop with a smaller, diagonal tile.

Mirror and light fixture were installed in the master baño. Granite shelves were installed above/next to the sink and in the shower.

Francisco is a real granito maestro – he thought of when curved edges would be best and when square edges would be best. He also made everything fit perfectly and everything is hand-cut here, no lasers for measuring or cutting, just good craftsmanship. He even fixed a scratch in the finish.

They also put two shelves in the guest bath shower.

Electricians were here to finish outlets and covers. They also installed the kitchen light fixture (and the master bath light fixture).

And the extractor above the cooktop.

Otto, the cabinet-maker maestro returned with two assistants. They installed trim across the rest of the walls to “connect” the trim above the cabinets.

A wine-glass rack was installed under the cabinet.

And a box to cover the circuit breakers. They are almost finished with the kitchen.

Mirrors were installed in the guest bath.

We bought and installed a microwave. Turns out it has a broiler on the top too.

Friday, an acid rinse was applied to the wall tiles and the floor tiles. It really cleaned and shined everything. But we moved in on Friday and the smell was so strong, we got headaches during the night. We also had a carload of drunk teenagers stop on the malecón about 3:00 a.m. and play their music at the top of their speakers’ capabilities. They were yelling and screaming for nearly an hour. And this is the quiet beach!

We bought some asparagus at the store. The bundle was bigger than what we buy in the U.S. and it was $1.50. We bought two bundles and it tasted great!

Oh oh! Pedro and his crew from the aluminum/glass company decided yesterday to cut the broken glass for the shower off and put a bigger trench in the floor and more screw holes in the wall. Then they covered it all with gobs of goopy silicone. Not gonna work!

We met up with Mike on el Malecón Salinas and he told us he had met with the glass company this morning and chewed them out. He told them he wasn’t going to talk to them again until they had fixed everything on his list. And when we were at the Neptuno this afternoon watching the granite crew, we heard banter between the two groups. We understood enough Spanish to know that the granite guys said to the glass guys, “Yeah, well you’re the silicone maestro!” Ha!

Francisco, Artista del Granito, delivered more granite this morning. They have installed the piece in the guest bath. Sinks are undermounted and holes for the faucets are offset from center.

The granite is fitted and then polished in place.

Two holes were cut out for the sinks and the hole for the faucet was drilled in between.

The cooktop goes on the second piece and the two pieces are matched and seamed.

The kitchen bar also got a piece. 

There are LED lights mounted under the bar for a special touch.

The rest of the light bulbs were installed.

The handle was installed on the front door.

The back room/balcony had a jamb and door installed.

First thing today was bad news: the glass for the shower was chipped on its way up. We decided they could super glue the 4-inch sliver back in place and then polish the edge so it wouldn’t be sharp. It turned out fairly well.

Then, the installer broke the other corner before he got it in place. This one looks bad and is definitely visible. They will have to replace the whole piece of glass. But the concept is just what we were hoping for: you can see the ocean while showering. (The reflection of the window is visible in this photo.)

The best thing about today was the arrival of the granite. It looks great! 

We chose a different piece for the bar. It wasn’t a very big piece so we didn’t have many options for shaping it. But the color goes well with the walls.

They also brought in a piece for the simple cabinet next to the kitchen bar. Nothing special, just glued it in place.

Next came the piece for the master bath. It needed a little grinding to fit into the odd space created by the shower. The granite really pulls together the chocolate brown and the orange brown.

The guest bath piece was brought in, but one sink was still at the artista del granito’s workshop because they needed it as a pattern to make the cutouts. So they were unable to install this piece today.

I asked for a piece of granite to be used as a windowsill. This will give me a little space for pots of herbs to grow. I also like the horizontal line that connects the two opposite walls. And it adds interest to an otherwise boring wall.

In addition they brought paper and made a template for the big L-shaped piece of granite that will have the sinks and cook-top in it.

After breaking the shower glass, the aluminum/glass guys worked on putting up the glass panes in the front corner. We had insisted on no metal frames between the panes. They finally agreed to do it even though they “recommended” against it (the cuts had to be exact). Again, the concept is what we were looking for: very little obstruction to the view!

Grumpy the Guard brought a letter up to Mike this afternoon. Mike said it was about the color of the windows with a hand-written sentence about getting a new water meter. Oh well, too late now! Plus, the letter was written in Spanish – ¡no comprendo!

Windows and grout and doors, oh my!

Grout was applied and wiped throughout the rest of the condo and entry.

Doors were hung and trim and doorknobs installed. Mike said there were challenges because the doors were 40 years old so not everything fit well but they got it done.

     Pantry:

      Master bedroom:

     Master bath:

     Bedroom #2:

     Bedroom #3:

     Guest bath:

Toilet was installed in the guest bathroom.

Glass windows were installed in the back room.

Slider doors were installed on the balcony.

Faucets were installed in the master bath shower and the hot water heater turned on and tested. It works! (No blown water pipes either.)

Light bulbs were purchased and put into fixtures.

The door in the entry to the water/electrical shaft was termite infested. Mike originally thought we could treat it for termites, putty holes and repaint it. But we took a closer look today and found that when we pressed on the door, it caved in. So we bought a slab hollow-core door (60cmx200cm) and took it to the condo. When we came back 2 hours later, it was already cut down and installed.

     Before:

     After:

Walls in the entry were painted, including the accent color on the new entry wall.