Ecuador Forum

ginarnold
Joined 2012
Posts: 109

11 years ago

Visas and the problems

11 years ago

We first came to Ecuador in 2010 from Columbia after spending a month there. We spent a month in EC and bused from Otavalo to Peru. Returned in 2011 and spent 4 months, spending a month in Cuenca and many days along the road ending up in Vilcabamba and then returning to Otavalo. We heard 100’s of visa stories and no 2 were exactly alike. We know people that got residency visas in the U.S. before even coming. We came in, in 2011 on a T-3 or 90 day visa, thinking we could cross the border and renew like the year before, only to find we had to either leave after 3 months are get a T-12 6 months visa. This cost us a lawyer fee of $700 for the extra month. We decided that we did want to live in Ecuador, and before leaving the country, we got the lawyer to give us a list of everything we needed. This took about 6 months in the U.S., a trip to Atlanta to the Ecuadorian Consulate and maybe $500 for all the translations and apostilles. We then sent PDF file with all docs and the lawyer said it looked fine. We returned to EC in Oct 2012 and soon found out we needed our birth certificates apostilled. More work and more money. The good news is, we have been approved for our residency visas.

Here is the point: EVERY VISA STORY IS DIFFERENT. My suggestion is, talk to as many gringos as possible-----not to people selling services. Then decide the best route for you. In the end, you will have your own visa story. Here is a link to a forum that is not selling anything but people’s experiences. This is a brand new endeavor done by some old gringos, and has nothing to sell. The adds unfortunately are the cost of a free hosting-----pay no attention. http://ecuadortruth.forums.com/default/facts-and-fiction-about-living-in-ecuador

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Help others in Ecuador by answering questions about the challenges and adventures of living in Ecuador.