NOTE: The following information should be confirmed with the Ecuadorian Embassy or Consulate in your own country. Visa policies and regulations change frequently, and can vary from one office to another. Sometimes the best sources are other travelers who have gone through the process themselves.

Tourist Visas

All travelers to Ecuador, except those from China, will not have to think about procuring a visa before departure. When you arrive, the migration officials will stamp a tourist visa valid up to 90 days. If you plan to stay the entire 90 days, be sure to request the full visa limit as migration officials will sometimes give a visa for less time. They will also give you give you an embarkation card. Save this. You will need to present it when you leave the country.

If you overstay your tourist visa, you will be charged a hefty $200 fine when you leave. The fine is less if you pay in Quito or Guayaquil at the migration police’s headquarters where you will receive a 24, 48 or 72-hour visa for a fee.

Extending Your Tourist Visa

Your 90 day visa can be extended for a further 90 days by applying for a Visa 12-IX. The fee for this visa is $200 plus a processing charge of $30 which you have to present at the ministry of foreign affairs along with: two copies of the completed formulario de solicitud de visa de no imigrante (non immigrant visa application form), two passport photos, an economic guarantee (print out of your bank account), your original passport with at least six months validity, a copy of your passport, a copy of your plane ticket and a solicitud de visa (an explanation of why you want to extend your stay- in Spanish). The ministry of foreign affairs is located in Quito at Av.10 de Agosto 21255 y Carrión.

Work, Study and Other Visas

If you want to work, study (long-term), or just travel for more than 180 days, you will need to look into a different visa. There are two main types of visas: resident and non-resident (referred to as immigrant and non-immigrant on the Ecuadorian government website).Student visas, work visas, volunteer and religious work visas, cultural exchanges and tourist visas all fall under the category of non-resident and will set you back between $50 and $200. All of these visas have to be applied for before you arrive in Ecuador at the consulates in you native country.

The 12-IX, Tourism, Commercial activities, Sports, Health & Other Visa is valid for up to six months and allows you to change your visa status. If you are planning to stay for more than a year, and want to be able to work and have unlimited exit and entry status, you may want to look into a resident visa. Work visas are extremely hard to obtain and are much more complicated than tourist visas and are best arranged with your employer. Student visas are less complicated but are also best obtained with the help of your school or study program, which will undoubtedly have experience in jumping through the necessary bureaucratic hoops.

NOTE: All non-resident visas, except for the 12-X Transient, must be registered at the direccion de la extranjeria (foriegners office), located at Calle San Ignacio 207 y San Javier, within the first 30 days of arrival. Failure to do so will result in a hefty $200 fine. Overstaying your visa will result in between a $200-$2,000 fine.