Retirement visa in Ecuador

• The retiree category is for foreigners who want to settle in Ecuador and live on a retirement pension paid by a public or private institution abroad, in an amount that covers the cost of their stay.
• The page sets no minimum age and no deposit, and the Law's category refers to the pension, not to age. Income from rents or investment titles belongs to the separate rentista category, which uses the same three-salary test.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026.

• The pension test is a monthly pension from abroad of at least three unified basic salaries. The 2026 basic salary is US$482, so the test is about US$1,400 a month. To be safe, have more than US$1,500 a month.
• You must also hold health insurance, local or foreign, valid for the same period as the visa, and a foreign policy must state that it covers you in Ecuador. To cover other people you must show about US$300 a month more for each person covered; to be safe, have more than US$300 a month more for each.
• The page asks for a pension only. It states no savings balance, deposit or property requirement.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026.

• The key document is an official statement from the institution abroad that pays your pension, certifying the monthly payment to you. It must be apostilled if issued in a Hague Apostille Convention country, or legalised if not.
• You also need a recent colour photo (JPG, up to 1 MB, 5 x 5 cm, white background), a passport valid for at least six months, and a criminal record certificate from your country of origin or any country you lived in during the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalised, valid 180 days from issue to your last entry. Federal certificates count if they cover national records.
• Bank and pension documents issued abroad with an electronic signature need no apostille. Without one, a private document must be notarised and then apostilled or legalised. The sources we read name no specific pension document for any one country.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026.

• You apply online only, through the Ministry's e-VISAS platform, with an email address, a verification code and a password. You pay the first fee right after registering the request; card payments are accepted until 23:55 Ecuador time that day, and an unpaid request is deleted.
• If you are already in Ecuador, you must show regular status: a tourist authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior or a valid visa. A tourist stay is up to 90 days in the year from first entry, extendable once by up to 90 days, and tourists may not work.
• The page gives no processing time, so how long a decision takes is unknown.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), Asamblea Nacional / Registro Oficial. Checked 17 October 2026.

• The government fee is US$50 when you submit the application and US$270 when the visa is granted, with no VAT.
• People aged 65 or over get a 50% reduction, which covers most retirees, and people with a disability of 30% or more are exempt. A spouse who joins you on a dependant (amparo) visa pays US$50 to apply and US$200 when it is granted.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026.

• The retiree visa is valid for two years. The 2021 text of the Law says temporary residence is renewable on multiple occasions; we found no change to that in the October 2025 reform, and the page lists no renewal documents, so the renewal steps are unknown.
• A dependant's visa lasts as long as yours has left, and renews with it. The Law lets a dependant keep the visa if the holder dies, or if a marriage ends for reasons attributable to the holder.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), Asamblea Nacional / Registro Oficial. Checked 17 October 2026.

• After 21 continuous months of temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence, which has no end date, before the temporary visa ends. The regulation allows no more than 90 days away from Ecuador in total across the temporary visa.
• The permanent visa costs US$50 to apply and US$225 when granted. It asks for an Ecuadorian criminal record certificate and proof of a pension or other income of at least one basic salary a month over the last three months, about US$500 in 2026; to be safe, show more than US$500 a month.
• A permanent resident may be abroad no more than 180 days in each of the first two years; after that, two continuous years away ends the status. Naturalisation can be requested after at least three years of regular domicile in Ecuador with permanent residence.

Sources: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026.

• You are an Ecuadorian tax resident for a year if you spend 183 days or more in Ecuador in it, or 183 days or more in any 12 months spanning two tax years unless you prove tax residence elsewhere. Residents are taxed on income earned abroad as well as at home, with a credit up to the Ecuadorian tax for tax paid abroad.
• We found no rule exempting foreign pensions from Ecuadorian income tax, so how a particular pension is treated is unknown; ask an Ecuadorian adviser. The 2026 income tax table runs, in US dollars a year, from 0% up to 12,208 through 5% to 15,549 and 10% to 20,188 to 37% above 109,956.
• A five-year temporary tax residence, taxed only on Ecuadorian-source income, is open to people never before resident who show about US$2,500 a month of income from outside Ecuador (to be safe, more than US$2,600) with social security affiliation.
• A foreigner with an identity card can join voluntary IESS cover; a news report puts the 2026 minimum contribution at US$84.83 a month.

Sources: Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI), Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS). Checked 15 October 2026.

• Digital nomad visa in Ecuador
• Work permit in Ecuador
• Family visa in Ecuador
• Investor visa in Ecuador

• Visas in Ecuador
• Ecuador

1. 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.
2. Identity History Summary Checks (FBI criminal record check), Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 6 October 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Gives the US$18 fee and says the FBI does not forward requests to the State Department for the apostille, so the apostille is a separate step.
3. US international Social Security agreements, US Social Security Administration; Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 4 October 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Ecuador is not on the list of agreements in force.
4. US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
5. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 15 October 2026.
6. Criminal record checks: where to go, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Checked 15 October 2026. Date modified 6 August 2024. Certified criminal record check with fingerprints, through a local police service or an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company.
7. Authentication of documents: processing time, Global Affairs Canada. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026: requests received about 25 business days ago, plus 5 to 10 business days of mailing; no expedited service.
8. Republic of Ecuador: Agreement on Social Security, Government of Canada. Checked 15 October 2026. Page details 6 October 2026: the agreement was signed on 24 June 2024 in Quito and will enter into force once both countries have completed their legal procedures.
9. Tax treaties in force, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 15 October 2026. Date modified 18 December 2024; Ecuador is listed (convention signed 28 June 2001).
10. Apply for a National Police Certificate, Australian Federal Police (AFP). Checked 15 October 2026. No date shown; read on 15 October 2026. A$57 online (a digital certificate, with a hard copy on request) or A$114 with fingerprints, which must be posted and take 15 to 30 business days. The certificate lists disclosable court outcomes from all Australian police services, subject to spent-conviction laws.
11. Notarial services and fees (fee schedule from 1 January 2026), Australian Government, DFAT (Smartraveller), Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 7 October 2026, read on 15 October 2026 (the page was updated on 30 September 2026): apostille A$105 per document; payment in Australia by card only.
12. International social security agreements, Australian Government, Department of Social Services, Internet Archive copy. Checked 15 October 2026. Internet Archive capture of 9 September 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Lists agreements with 32 countries (Chile is the only one in South America) and five under negotiation; Ecuador is not listed.
13. Income tax treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 15 October 2026. Table last updated 24 March 2026, read on 15 October 2026; Ecuador is not listed.
14. Get your own criminal record, Ministry of Justice (New Zealand). Checked 15 October 2026. Page last updated 18 December 2025, read on 15 October 2026. It is free to request a copy of your own record; the Ministry aims to answer within 20 working days (around 90% in under a week). If another country asks for it to be authenticated or apostilled, send the record to the Department of Internal Affairs. It does not say whether Ecuador accepts the record as issued.
15. Use your NZ documents overseas: apostille and authentication, Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), on govt.nz. Checked 15 October 2026. Page last updated 15 September 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Apostille NZ$37 a certificate (paper or electronic); processed within 15 working days; urgent service within 5 working days for NZ$120 more, not available if the document needs translating; courier extra (NZ$62 to the rest of the world). Own translations must be notarised by a New Zealand notary public, not a justice of the peace or solicitor. The page does not say whether Ecuador accepts an electronic apostille.
16. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 15 October 2026. Updated 25 August 2026, read on 15 October 2026. Eleven agreements listed (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United Kingdom); Ecuador is not one of them.
17. Tax treaties: double tax agreements and tax information exchange agreements, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026; the page shows no update date. 41 double tax agreements in force, plus agreements signed and under negotiation; Ecuador is in none of the lists, nor among the tax information exchange agreements.
18. Temporary residence for retirees (jubilado): requirements and fees, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), on the government procedures portal gob.ec; Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture, opened 17 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. Capture of 27 February 2026. A foreign pension of at least three unified basic salaries a month (US$1,446 in 2026); apostilled pension document; health insurance; US$250 a month more for each person covered; US$50 plus US$270; valid 2 years; online only. The page states no age minimum and no deposit.
19. Regulation to the Organic Law of Human Mobility (Executive Decree 354, Official Register 3rd Supplement 18, 10 March 2022): articles 61 to 67, 79, 83 to 87, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), copy of the Official Register text. Checked 17 October 2026. Opened on 17 October 2026; the copy dates from 2022 and may not include later changes. Art. 61: work under an employment relationship; art. 63: rentista and art. 64: remote work (three salaries a month, US$1,446 in 2026, or 36 a year, US$17,352); art. 65: retiree (three salaries); art. 66: investor (100 salaries, US$48,200); art. 79: dependants; arts. 83 to 87: permanent residence.
20. Organic Law of Human Mobility, consolidated text to 14 May 2021: articles 60, 63 to 65, 71 and 73, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), copy of the Official Register text. Checked 17 October 2026. Opened on 17 October 2026. It predates the October 2025 reform. Art. 60: temporary residence up to two years, renewable on multiple occasions, and its categories; art. 63: permanent residence; art. 65: absences; art. 71 and 73: naturalisation.
21. Ministerial Agreement 70 of 28 June 2024 on lawful means of living for visa applications: articles 16 to 24, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH). Checked 17 October 2026. Opened on 17 October 2026 (a scanned PDF, read with text recognition). Article 19 accepts, for the temporary residence categories and for dependants, a registered employment contract paying at least one unified basic salary (US$482 in 2026), bank statements showing income of at least one salary, or pension and rent documents; article 22 asks for one salary a month over the last three months for permanent residence after 21 months; article 24 on foreign electronic-signed statements.
22. Organic Reform Law to the Organic Law of Human Mobility (Official Register 7th Supplement 151, 24 October 2025): articles 15, 17, 21 and 22, Asamblea Nacional / Registro Oficial. Checked 17 October 2026. Opened on 17 October 2026 (an image-only PDF, read with text recognition). Art. 15: tourist stay up to 90 days, extendable once by up to 90; art. 17: national criminal record certificate valid 180 days and a migratory record certificate; art. 21: lawful means of living; art. 22: naturalisation by marriage now also asks for lawful means of living in Ecuador.
23. Temporary residence as a dependant (amparo), all categories: requirements and fees, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), on the government procedures portal gob.ec; Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture, opened 17 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. Capture of 28 January 2026. For children, spouse or registered partner of a temporary resident; US$50 plus US$200; valid for as long as the holder's visa has left; US$250 a month more for each adult child covered.
24. Permanent residence after more than 21 months of temporary residence: requirements and fees, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (MREMH), on the government procedures portal gob.ec; Internet Archive copy. Checked 17 October 2026. Internet Archive capture, opened 17 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. Capture of 28 January 2026. Ecuadorian criminal record certificate, proof of 21 continuous months, application before the temporary visa ends; US$50 plus US$225; no end date.
25. Law of the Internal Tax Regime (LRTI), codification with the latest reform of 1 April 2026: articles 2, 4.1, the temporary tax residence article, 8 and 49, Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI), Ecuador tax authority. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. Article 2: income earned abroad by individuals domiciled in Ecuador is income. Article 4.1: residence tests. The article added by Law 461 of 20 December 2023: five-year temporary tax residence, taxed only on Ecuadorian-source income, for people never previously resident who invest at least US$150,000 or prove at least US$2,500 a month of non-Ecuadorian-source income and join social security, with the conditions met between day 1 and day 120 after entering. Article 8: income from work done in Ecuador is Ecuadorian-source. Article 49: credit for tax paid abroad.
26. Income tax tables for individuals, 2026 (Resolution NAC-DGERCGC25-00000043), Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI), Ecuador tax authority. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. 2026 table in US dollars: 0% up to 12,208; 5% to 15,549; 10% to 20,188; 12% to 26,700; 15% to 35,136; 20% to 46,575; 25% to 62,005; 30% to 82,679; 35% to 109,956; 37% above.
27. Regulation to the LRTI, latest reform 22 May 2026: temporary tax residence articles, Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI), Ecuador tax authority. Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026. The regime can be used once; you notify the SRI under a procedure to be set by a general resolution (we did not find that resolution); it lasts five consecutive years; you must be in Ecuador 183 days or more in each tax year or it stops applying from that year; the conditions are checked up to 120 days after entry; the monthly income must come from a source outside Ecuador and outside tax havens.
28. Voluntary affiliation to the IESS for Ecuadorians and foreigners in Ecuador: who can join and benefits, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS). Checked 15 October 2026. Read on 15 October 2026; the page is undated and gives no contribution rate. Foreigners need an Ecuadorian identity card (cédula) and no unpaid IESS debts; benefits include old-age and disability pensions, work-risk cover and sickness and maternity care; health cover for a spouse costs an extra 3.41%.