Country topic
Visas in Ecuador
Passport holders from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are not on the Cancillería's list of nationalities that must have a visa to enter Ecuador. The October 2025 reform of the Law of Human Mobility sets a tourist stay of up to 90 days in the one-year period counted from your first entry, extendable once, on request and for a fee, by up to 90 continuous days. Tourists may not work. [V1] [V2] Canada's government says a Canadian needs no tourist visa for up to 90 days per period of 12 months, that you must get a stay extension from the immigration authorities before your entry stamp expires, and that an overstay can mean a fine and a one-year ban on entry. It advises making sure your passport is stamped on arrival and holding a passport valid for at least six months beyond the date you expect to leave. We found no Ecuadorian government page stating a tourist passport-validity rule for the other three passports, so check with your airline or an Ecuadorian consulate. [V3]
What we found
The research, with its sources.
Research information, not advice. Rules change, so check the source before you act on one.
- Passport holders from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are not on the Cancillería's list of nationalities that must have a visa to enter Ecuador. The October 2025 reform of the Law of Human Mobility sets a tourist stay of up to 90 days in the one-year period counted from your first entry, extendable once, on request and for a fee, by up to 90 continuous days. Tourists may not work. [V1] [V2]
- Canada's government says a Canadian needs no tourist visa for up to 90 days per period of 12 months, that you must get a stay extension from the immigration authorities before your entry stamp expires, and that an overstay can mean a fine and a one-year ban on entry. It advises making sure your passport is stamped on arrival and holding a passport valid for at least six months beyond the date you expect to leave. We found no Ecuadorian government page stating a tourist passport-validity rule for the other three passports, so check with your airline or an Ecuadorian consulate. [V3]
- The temporary residence for remote work (rentista para trabajo remoto, the Visa Nómada) asks for foreign-source income of at least three unified basic salaries a month for the three months before applying, or 36 salaries in a year. The 2026 basic salary is US$482, so three salaries are about US$1,400 a month (to be safe, have more than US$1,500) and 36 are about US$17,400 a year (to be safe, more than US$18,000). You must show work for a foreign employer or clients, or ownership of a foreign company, and hold health insurance valid in Ecuador for the whole visa. Each person covered needs about US$300 a month more (to be safe, more than US$300). It lasts up to two years, with fees of US$50 to apply and US$270 when it is granted. [V4] [V5] [V6] [V7]
- The gob.ec page says nationals of the countries on a Ministry of Tourism list may apply for the remote-work residence, and records that list as all countries (letters of February and March 2022). The ecuador.travel page still says the list "is to be drawn up", so confirm with the Cancillería that your passport qualifies. You apply online only, through the e-VISAS platform, and an application not paid by 23:55 Ecuador time the same day is deleted. We found no official processing time, so it is unknown. [V4] [V5] [V8]
- The temporary residence for retirees (jubilado) asks for a pension from abroad of at least three unified basic salaries a month: about US$1,400 in 2026 (to be safe, have more than US$1,500). You also need health insurance for the period of the visa, and each person covered needs about US$300 a month more (to be safe, more than US$300). It lasts two years, with fees of US$50 and US$270. The official page states no age minimum and no deposit. [V9] [V6]
- The temporary residence for rentistas counts monthly income from rents, investment titles and similar, in Ecuador or abroad, of at least three basic salaries (US$1,446 in 2026; to be safe, more than US$1,500), with health insurance and US$250 a month more for each person covered. The investor residence asks for at least 100 salaries, about US$48,200 in 2026 (to be safe, more than US$49,000), as a fixed-term deposit of at least 730 days, a property purchase or shares in an Ecuadorian company. Neither page states an age minimum. [V10] [V11] [V7]
- Permanent residence is open to people with at least 21 continuous months of temporary residence, who apply before the temporary status ends; the visa has no end date. The regulation (article 84) allows no more than 90 days away in total across the temporary visa. The Ministry's June 2024 agreement on lawful means of living asks for proof of income of at least one basic salary a month over the last three months, about US$500 in 2026 (to be safe, more than US$500). The page we read is an archive copy last updated in December 2024 and lists fees of US$50 and US$225, so confirm them. [V12] [V7] [V13] [V6]
- For the remote-work residence the documents include a passport valid for at least six months and criminal record certificates from your home country and any country you lived in for the last five years, translated and apostilled and valid 180 days from issue. The Cancillería lists other temporary categories, such as work under an employer, professionals, technicians and craft workers, and autonomous work, but we did not read their requirements. The renewal limit for temporary residence is stated differently in two official texts (renewable "on multiple occasions" in the 2021 law, once only in the text quoted on gob.ec), so it is unconfirmed. [V8] [V2] [V14] [V15]
The Fernshore Index
How the Index grades visas, by passport.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for NZ passports is being checked
The country
More on Ecuador.
Topics
More about Ecuador.
Questions about Visas in Ecuador.
How long can I stay in Ecuador without a visa?
US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports are not on the Cancillería list of nationalities that need a visa. Since the October 2025 reform, a tourist stay is up to 90 days in the one-year period from first entry, extendable once by up to 90 days. Tourists may not work. Overstaying can bring a fine.
Does Ecuador have a digital nomad visa, and what income does it need?
Yes: the remote-work temporary residence (Visa Nómada), up to two years. It needs foreign income of three basic wages a month (to be safe, more than US$1,500), or 36 basic wages a year (more than US$18,000), plus proof of foreign work and insurance. Confirm eligibility with the Cancillería.
What does the pensioner (jubilado) visa require?
A pension from abroad of at least three basic wages a month (to be safe, more than US$1,500), plus health insurance for the visa period. Each person covered adds a further amount (to be safe, more than US$300 a month). It lasts two years; fees are US$50 and US$270. The page states no age minimum and no deposit.
Can I live in Ecuador on rental or investment income?
The rentista residence counts monthly income from rents, investment titles and similar, in Ecuador or abroad, at three basic wages a month (to be safe, more than US$1,500). The investor residence asks 100 basic wages invested (more than US$49,000), as a deposit of 730 days or more, property or shares.
How do I get permanent residence in Ecuador?
Apply, before your temporary status ends, after at least 21 continuous months as a temporary resident. The regulation allows no more than 90 days away in total across the temporary visa. Permanent residence has no end date. The archive copy we read (updated December 2024) lists fees of US$50 and US$225; confirm them.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [V1] List of countries whose nationals need a visa to enter Ecuador, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), Ecuador. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. The page carries a 2020 date in its address but lists China, Chad and other countries added since, so it has been updated; it shows no date of its own. Australia is not on the list.
- [V2] Organic Reform Law to the Organic Law of Human Mobility (Official Register 7th Supplement 151, 24 October 2025): articles 15 and 17, Asamblea Nacional / Registro Oficial. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026 (an image-only PDF, read with text recognition). Article 15 of the reform law (which replaces article 56 of the Law) sets the tourist stay at up to 90 days in the one-year period from first entry, extendable once by up to 90 continuous days, with no work. Article 17 changes article 64 of the Law: a national-level criminal record certificate valid 180 days from issue, and a migratory record certificate as set in the regulation.
- [V3] Ecuador travel advice and advisories, Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca). Checked 15 October 2026. Written for Canadian travellers; last updated 14 October 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Used for safety, the state of exception, power outages, the rainy season and El Nino, which apply to any foreign resident.
- [V4] Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada), Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, via the Guía Oficial de Trámites (gob.ec). Checked 15 October 2026. gob.ec refused connections from here on 15 October 2026, so the text was read from the Internet Archive copy taken on 11 October 2026. Foreign-source income of at least three basic wages a month for the three previous months (or 36 a year), proof of work for a foreign employer or client, health insurance; valid up to 2 years; fees US$50 and US$270. Open to nationals of the countries on a Ministry of Tourism list, which the page records as all countries (2022 letters).
- [V5] Nomad Visa, Ministerio de Turismo del Ecuador (ecuador.travel, the official international promotion site). Checked 15 October 2026. Two years of legal residency while working remotely; foreign-source income of at least 3 unified basic salaries a month for the 3 months before applying, or 36 a year; proof of remote work for a company or person abroad.
- [V6] Salario Básico se fija en USD 482 para el 2026 en Ecuador, Vistazo (news magazine), reporting the Ministerio del Trabajo announcement of 15 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026. The 2026 basic wage is US$482, so three basic wages is US$1,446 a month. The article gives no ministerial agreement number.
- [V7] Regulation to the Organic Law of Human Mobility (Executive Decree 354, Official Register 3rd Supplement 18, 10 March 2022): articles 46, 59, 63 to 66, 83 and 84, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), copy of the Official Register text. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026; the copy is marked 'not amended'. Article 64: remote-worker residence (3 salaries a month, or 36 a year, plus health insurance and US$250 a month more per dependant); article 63: rentista; article 65: retiree; article 66: investor (100 salaries); articles 83 and 84: permanent residence after 21 continuous months, with no more than 90 days away across the visa. gob.ec cites a '2025' version of article 64 that we could not open, so confirm the text has not changed.
- [V8] Residence for remote workers (rentista for remote work, "Visa Nómada"): requirements, procedure and fees, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), on the government procedures portal gob.ec; Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 11 October 2026, read on 15 October 2026; gob.ec does not connect from our network, so it was not compared with the live page. The page shows a last update of 31 December 2024. Says: foreign income of at least three unified basic salaries a month for the three months before applying, or 36 a year; online application only, through the e-VISAS platform; application US$50 plus US$270 when the visa is granted; validity up to two years; all nationalities may apply.
- [V9] Concesión de visa de residencia temporal jubilado, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, via the Guía Oficial de Trámites (gob.ec). Checked 15 October 2026. gob.ec refused connections from here on 15 October 2026, so the text was read from the Internet Archive copy taken on 27 February 2026. A pension from abroad of at least three basic wages a month; health insurance for the period of the visa; US$250 a month more for each person covered; valid 2 years; fees US$50 and US$270. The page states no age minimum and no deposit.
- [V10] Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, via the Guía Oficial de Trámites (gob.ec). Checked 15 October 2026. gob.ec refused connections from here on 15 October 2026, so the text was read from the Internet Archive copy taken on 28 January 2026. Monthly income from rents, investment titles and similar, in Ecuador or abroad, of at least three basic wages; health insurance; US$250 a month more for each person covered. The page states no age minimum and no deposit.
- [V11] Temporary residence for investors (inversionista): requirements and fees, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), on gob.ec; Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 28 January 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Investment of not less than 100 unified basic salaries: a fixed-term deposit of at least 730 days, a property purchase, or shares in an Ecuadorian company; US$50 plus US$270.
- [V12] Concesión de visa de residencia permanente por tiempo de permanencia mayor a 21 meses, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, via the Guía Oficial de Trámites (gob.ec). Checked 15 October 2026. gob.ec refused connections from here on 15 October 2026, so the text was read from the Internet Archive copy taken on 28 January 2026. Permanent residence for people with temporary residence of at least 21 continuous months, applied for before the temporary status ends; the visa has no end date; fees US$50 and US$225; the archive copy shows a last update of 31 December 2024.
- [V13] Ministerial Agreement 70 of 28 June 2024 on lawful means of living for visa applications: articles 16 to 22, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026 (a scanned PDF, read with text recognition). For temporary residence it accepts, among other proofs, a bank statement showing income of at least one unified basic salary a month; the higher multiples for each category come from the regulation (V2). For permanent residence after 21 months (article 22) it asks for proof of at least one salary a month over the last three months.
- [V14] Organic Law of Human Mobility, consolidated text to 14 May 2021: articles 60, 63, 64 and 65, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), copy of the Official Register text. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. It predates the October 2025 reform (V4). Article 60 as amended in 2021 says temporary residence lasts up to two years and is renewable on multiple occasions; the gob.ec page (V1) quotes article 60 as renewable once only, so the renewal limit is unconfirmed.
- [V15] Visa Residencia Temporal: categories, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (Cancillería del Ecuador). Checked 15 October 2026. Opened live on 15 October 2026. Lists the temporary residence categories, among them work under an employer (relación de dependencia), professional, technical, technologist or craft worker (artesano), autonomous work and professional services, rentista, jubilado, investor, rentista for remote work (Visa Nómada) and a work-and-holiday agreement with Australia. It gives no requirements for the work categories.