Moving to Ecuador from Canada

Canada's government adds that you must get the extension from the immigration authorities before your entry stamp expires, and that overstaying can mean a fine and a one-year ban on entry. Tourists may not work. If you plan to work for a year, research the residence route below instead of relying on repeated tourist entries. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date you expect to leave Ecuador (Canada's government), so check with your airline too. Make sure your passport is stamped on arrival. If you enter by land from Colombia or Peru, Canada's government says you must show an apostilled criminal record check from your country of origin or residence covering the past five years.

The Law of Human Mobility says temporary residence is renewable, but the 2021 text says on multiple occasions and the text quoted on gob.ec says once only, so the renewal limit is unconfirmed. Other temporary routes: the rentista category for rents or investment income at the same three salaries; the retiree category for a foreign pension at the same three salaries; and the investor category, which asks for at least 100 salaries (to be safe, have more than US$49,000) as a fixed-term deposit of at least 730 days, a property purchase or shares in an Ecuadorian company. After more than 21 continuous months as a resident you can apply for permanent residence before the temporary visa expires; the regulation (article 84) does not let you be away more than 90 days in total across the temporary visa, and the ministry's June 2024 means-of-living agreement asks for proof of income of at least one salary a month over the last three months. The online fee for permanent residence on gob.ec (US$50 plus US$225) comes from a 2023 page, so it may have changed.

Canada has applied the Apostille Convention since 11 January 2024: Global Affairs Canada issues the apostille, and Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan do so for documents issued in their own province. Global Affairs Canada says it is processing requests received about 25 business days ago, plus 5 to 10 business days of mailing, so the 180-day clock matters. The ministry's page says a certificate issued by a federal government is valid only if it covers criminal records at national level, which fits the RCMP check; we did not confirm whether Ecuador accepts a name-based check, or which Canadian authority should apostille yours. You also need foreign bank statements showing the income, documents proving you work for a foreign employer or clients or own a foreign company, and health insurance valid for the same period as the visa that states cover in Ecuador. Documents that are not in Spanish need a translation. If you are already in Ecuador when you apply, you must be in regular status, as a tourist or on a visa. The Law now also asks for a migratory record certificate, as set out in the regulation, and we did not find what that is for a Canadian citizen. You apply online only, through the e-VISAS platform, and the page says all nationalities may apply. After registering the request you pay straight away, online or at Banco del Pacífico; requests not paid by 23:55 Ecuador time the same day are deleted. The fees are US$50 for the application and US$270 when the visa is granted, with no VAT, and half price from age 65 (the page was last updated on 31 December 2024). After the visa is issued, the regulation says you must send the original supporting documents to the office that issued it within one month, or the visa can be cancelled; how that works with online filing is unconfirmed. Ecuador has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate in Toronto, whose area covers Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Alberta, British Columbia and the territories. Toronto's home page lists passports, powers of attorney, sworn declarations and apostilles among its services, and we did not find visa applications there, which fits the online-only rule. A page for a Montréal consulate on the same site now says it is no longer available, and the Toronto area does not name Québec or the Atlantic provinces, so which office serves you there is unconfirmed. Once the visa is issued, an order to get your Ecuadorian identity card follows (see the setup section). We found no official processing time, so it is unknown.

The tax year is the calendar year, and individuals file in March. The 2026 table for individuals taxes the first US$12,208 at 0%, then 5% to 35% in steps, and 37% above US$109,956. Residents who pay tax abroad on the same income can claim a credit up to the Ecuadorian tax on it.

If you keep significant ties you are usually still a factual resident, for example while working temporarily abroad. When you leave to settle elsewhere you usually become a non-resident on the latest of the day you leave, the day your spouse or partner and dependants leave, and the day you become resident in the new country. Because Canada has a tax treaty with Ecuador, someone who keeps ties but is also an Ecuadorian resident can be treated as a deemed non-resident of Canada, and the CRA applies the emigrant rules to them. Form NR73 asks the CRA for its opinion on your status. If you give up residence, tell the CRA your departure date and tell Canadian payers and banks you are no longer resident.

Form T1161 applies if everything you owned when you left was worth more than CA$25,000, and Form T1244 lets you defer the tax until you sell, with security needed if the federal tax owing is more than CA$16,500. This describes the mechanism, not your bill.

You need it to join the IESS. We could not open the Registro Civil's pages, so the fee and the appointment steps are unknown.

We did not find a bank's published requirements for a personal account for foreigners, so what a bank asks for is unknown. Canada's government says you can drive in Ecuador for up to six months on a valid Canadian driver's licence and should carry an international driving permit. If you emigrate, tell the CRA your departure date and tell Canadian banks and payers that you are no longer resident.