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.