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Ecuador provides several visa options for expats wanting to stay in the country for more than 6 months. The most popular options for obtaining temporary residency in Ecuador are ‘Investor Visa’, ‘Retirement/Pensioner Visa’, ‘Professional Visa’, 'Rentista Visa' and ‘Dependant Visa’.
Each of these visas has its own requirements and bureaucratic processes. Our article on Ecuador's visa requirements provides an overview of the different visa types, but today we’re only focusing on the Professional Visa requirements for Ecuador.
Before diving into the details of applying for a Professional Visa, let’s take a minute to discuss your options before you need to apply for a temporary resident (migrant) visa.
Visitors from most countries (incl US, CAN, AU, EUR) can visit Ecuador for the first 90 days on a Tourist Stamp obtained upon entry. Residents of 34 countries need to obtain a permit prior to entry.
Once your initial 90 days are up, you can then get a ‘Tourist Visa Extension’ whilst in Ecuador for an additional 90 days. Bringing your total stay in Ecuador to 180 days. New regulations were introduced in 2024 to apply for the tourist visa extension. Be sure to apply for the extension when you are between day 80-89 of your tourist visa. A facilitator can make the process easier if you need this help and the rules do change a bit.
After the initial 6 months, it used to be possible to obtain a ‘Special Tourist 6 Month Visa’ which allowed you to stay for another 180 days.
But, this visa no longer exists, so if you want to stay more than 180 days (6 months) you must apply for a temporary visa before this time expires.
6 months in Ecuador is definitely long enough to apply for your temporary residency, but you'd want to consider bringing all of your documents with you as this will work out a lot cheaper than trying to organize them from Ecuador.
In case you apply for a Professional Visa its not necessary you’ve to work in Ecuador. If you have a Professional title, a technician or technologist title; which may be equivalent to Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate degrees, you can apply for this visa. It’s necessary have it registered in SENESCYT, which is the government entity that approves your in-person studies.
The main requirements that separate the professional visa from other temporary resident visas are:
The other main consideration is ensuring you allow enough time for the documents to be apostilled in your home country and brought into Ecuador. You can post them via DHL (or similar) if you’re already in Ecuador, but it can be expensive.
You can bring the documents with you, BUT you may have a problem with the police record expiring as it’s only valid for 6 months. So, unless you’re making a visit back to your home country or have friends coming to visit in Ecuador to bring it for you, sending via private courier might be your only option.
Note, you should also peruse the official requirements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (“the Ministry”), but also note that this information still requires interpretation and is not regularly updated. I wasted two trips to the Ministry in the South of Quito trying to find out first-hand information because there was a discrepancy between the requirements they’d posted online and what they actually needed. But actually they can ask for extra documents in case they want check it, they have the power to do it.
The full list of requirements and an explanation is provided below.
All the documents in other lenguaje need a certified translation in Ecuador.
Get these documents issued and apostilled in your home country before sending to Ecuador:
Available from your home country. Only valid for 6 months. Time this well or you’ll need to send another apostilled criminal report.
Available from your university. They may charge a fee for this. Ideally, your university is already on the list of SENESYCT approved universities (download here or here). If not, then you can still apply and SENESYCT will most likely accept it if it’s from the US, Australia, Canada, or Europe, but it may take longer.
Available from your university. They may charge a fee for this.
The mode of study letter needs to be issued from your university and needs to indicate that you took the course in-person. For some reason, SENESYCT does not like to recognize online-based learning.
When I applied for my professional visa there was a lot of back and forth with SENESYCT before they were satisfied that my course was taught in-person. The uncertainly arose because although I completed two degrees, I only needed one to satisfy the professional visa requirements and decided to just register that degree with SENESYCT. It proved difficult for SENESYCT to separate the transcription results for each course, and then ensure that all of those subjects were taught in-person.
The lesson here is that if your application doesn’t fit very neatly within the requirements, then you are likely to face issues and delays.
We've had several people request an example Mode of Study letter. You can download the letter I used as an example. This example is only 1 page, but there are 5 similar pages to cover the entire course duration (1 year per page). Each page needed to be apostilled.
But please note that my example is a little more complicated than it needs to be. Whilst I studied two degrees, I only wanted to use one when applying for my professional visa because this simplified the process. Having the two degrees nominated in my Mode of Study letter did complicate the process, resulting in an additional 2 emails back and forth with SENESYCT.
If I was doing this over, I would request my university only included the degree I wanted to register with SENESYCT.
Regardless of whether you hire a facilitator or go down the DIY route, you’re going to be largely on your own to ensure you have the above documents at the time of application.
Once you’ve got all of the documents, including those that needed to be apostilled, the basic process is:
It take around 3 months, you’ve finish this process before you apply to the temporary visa. Mine took longer than this because there was a lot of back and forth with SENESYCT about the specific degrees I studied.
This was actually a fairly frustrating exchange because it wasn’t clear exactly what SENESYCT wanted from my university. We provided everything, but as my case was a little bit different (2 degrees studied simultaneously), SENESYCT didn’t know how to process it. I’m still not convinced they got the answers they wanted, but they eventually approved my application after a bit of pressure.
There’s no shortage of official notaries in Ecuador. Don’t forget your completed visa application form in Spanish.
Go to the immigration office and ask for the Migratory Movement Certificate. They’ll give you an invoice you need to pay at a bank and then return to collect your certificate.
The immigration office may not be very close to the Ministry. For example, in Quito the Ministry is in South Quito (near Terminal Quitumbe) whilst the Immigration office is near Parque Carolina (opposite Mall de Jardin). There’s a 45-minute taxi ride between the two offices so don’t get confused!
This is easiest done by booking an appointment online. This also gives you the ability to choose the office where you’d like your appointment. Waiting times can vary significantly between offices, so it may be worthwhile traveling further than your closest Ministry.
Hiring a visa facilitator really helped me decrease the waiting time for an appointment. I booked an appointment online, but the closest available appointment was 2 months away. My facilitator was able to reschedule my appointment for the following week! Now, I have no proof, but I assume some money changes hands for this to happen.
Today is the big day! Armed with all of your documents (including translations and apostilles), take yourself to the Ministry office where you’ll be directed where to go. Be prepared to visit several different officers to complete various procedures.
Wait times can vary a lot at the appointment. My facilitator was again able to bump me ahead in some lines which helped reduce my total time at the Ministry to 2 hours.
Ask at the Ministry what payment options are available. I was able to pay in cash directly at the Ministry in Quito. The payments are separated into a non-refundable $50 visa application fee and a $270 visa fee if your visa is approved.
Processing times can vary. I was able to collect my cedula the very same day as the last part of the process at the Ministry.
Now, I was only able to pick up my cedula the same day because I was ok with my education level being stated on my cedula as ‘inicial’, which is the lowest level of education. This is despite applying for a professional visa that requires a higher level of education.
This happens because SENESYCT then needs to go through their education verification requirements. I could have waited until SENESYCT approved my application and then printed off my cedula with my appropriate level of education, but I decided a cedula in my hand was better than waiting and I could always apply for a replacement cedula if I wanted. The biggest impact of having ‘inicial’ as my education level on my cedula was that it makes it harder to transfer your existing driver’s license to an Ecuadorian license.
But in other case you just can bring your certified copy of the Original Apostille University certificate and show the senescyt registration.
Whilst at my Ministry appointment, I received an email from them with a copy of my new visa attached. I was expected them to print out a sticker and attach it to my passport. But no, I needed to print it out and keep it with my passport.
I’ve actually forgotten to carry a copy of my digital temporary residency visa when entering Quito on an international flight. The customs officer asked a few questions but when he saw I also had my cedula, he eased up a bit and eventually let me through without seeing the visa. I’m not saying that your customs officer will be as sympathetic, so always try to keep your printed visa with your passport to avoid these uncomfortable situations.
So, now you know the requirements and the process, getting a professional visa should be a breeze right? Woooah, slow down there! I also thought it would be fairly straight forward to apply on my own.
But, after doing the research, realizing there is a gap in what the Ministry says on the website and what they actually expect, two trips to the south of Quito to visit the Ministry to find out the actual requirements, I got frustrated and hired a facilitator.
If your Spanish is below intermediate/advanced, then I’d absolutely recommend at least taking a native Spanish speaker with you because there will be hiccups. One of these can easily derail your entire application.
With a facilitator, you just need to provide the documents and turn up to the Ministry for your appointment and cedula.
Ultimately, I’d generally recommend a facilitator for expats unless they have an advanced level of Spanish, possess lots of patience, and have the luxury of time on their side.
Feel free to contact us If you’d like details for visa facilitators in your area.
Have you applied for a Professional Visa? We’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.
Hi, thanks for all the great information. Could you provide an example of what a "Mode of study letter" is? I asked my University about it and they said they do not provide such document and never heard of it
Hi Sandra - I agree that the requirements for the 'Mode of Study' letter are not super clear. They're really just looking for some proof that you've studied in person. I was able to satisfy this by showing that I studied 'Full Time". I've updated the article to include the Mode of Study letter that I used. You can also find it here: https://expatsecuador.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Mode-of-Study-Letter-Professional-Visa-Example.png
Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on with your application 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing your mode of study letter! I finally got a letter from my University saying that I study in person. But it is not "apostillada". They said they only offer apostilles for the diplomas and transcripts. Do you have any recommendations on how to deal with this? I am planning to register my master's from UA, which is a university in the list by Senescyt.
Hey Sandra - which country are you from? It sounds like your university arranged the apostilles for you? You potentially have more avenues open to you for getting it apostilled - ie the same channel as you're getting your other documents apostilled.
Thanks so much for your prompt response! I am from Peru, but did my master's in the US. Yes, the University handles the documents with the apostilles, I will look into the general "apostille" procedure in the US. The only other document that needs an apostille is the criminal record, I am currently based in Denmark and fortunately it was very easy to get that one.
I have another question about making the appointment online, I just tried login into the online system to get an idea of the waiting times, but when I click in the button for "tramites consulares" I am asked to select a country first, and Ecuador is not on the list :/
Sorry Sandra, I'm not sure why the online system doesn't provide the options you need. I do know the system isn't super stable, so perhaps if you try again you'll find what you need. Frustrating I know.
Thank you very much for these useful informations. I personally have a Bachelor's degree and a masters degree. However, I obtained my bachelor's degree from a non recognized university (according to the lists you provided in the article) but my Masters is from a recognized university in that list. So can I use my MSc degree to obtain the professional visa or it should be through BSc only?
Hey Salah - thanks for the kind words. You can use the masters, but there may be some additional cost with this as I've heard they sometimes make you also apostille/legalize your thesis. This is why we generally recommend the bachelors. I just talked to our recommended visa facilitator and it may be possible to use the bachelor's even though your university it isn't on the list. I'd suggest confirming with a visa facilitator yourself first as this was news to me and is likely a slightly different process when dealing with SENESYCT.
Morning Jason,
I really enjoyed your visa update video it was helpful. I have a question. My wife and I wish to move to Ecuador permanently and also see the sense in the advice you and other give on taking time to purchase property. The time piece seems to prevent the investment visa option from being the most logical first step. I thought for ease of transition I might apply for the professional visa and sponsor my wife as a dependent. It seems this would give us two years to research and buy a property we will be happy with. At that point we would go for the investors visa. Does that make sense or am I off base with my thoughts?
Hey Steve,
Thanks for reaching out and for your kind words.
You're moving in the right direction, but took a little wrong turn towards the end.
I agree the professional visa is generally the better option as it doesn't tie up investment funds. I personally have this even though I'm eligible for the investor & rentista visas too. Your wife can be your dependant on the professional visa.
But, I wouldn't suggest changing visa types to the investor after a few years. After 2 years, you'd simply stick with the professional visa and apply for permanent residency, or renew your temporary residency visa.
If the professional visa doesn't work out, then an investor visa option could be used as a backup. But, I'd suggest against property until you really know that Ecuador is for you long term. Instead, I'd invest $40K in a CD (with around 8.5% interest). This is much more flexible should you need to leave Ecuador and you can take out the interest (but not the principal) over the course of your visa.
Money doesn't need to change hands in hispanic countries, and many others.
I thought it was hinkey when I was in Spain, but in the end it's a niche for citizens to earn income.
I had the absolute worst "translation" on a document in Aussie, that actually changed the meaning of the document, when the actual words are identical to the words in Spanish.
Thank you for your thorough explanation. It does help to be able to cost out things before you're part way through. 🙂
It's especially helpful to know my police check is valid for 6 months, not 3 months as they are in Australia.
It's great to be able to read the transcript of your video. Thank you!
You're welcome Chey. Yeah, translations can certainly be tricky. We normally recommend getting them completed in Ecuador as they're considerably cheaper than in Australia or the US etc.
Dear sir. thanks for the article.
We are two brothers from Iran. we are considering our options for immigration and came across Ecuador. but we are not sure yet. There is a person we have spoken to and he suggested to be our facilitator but we can not be sure to trust him. he told us to have a bank account for each of us having 10000$ in it (this article mentions we need only 2400$ for last 6 months) and translate our documents into Spanish and also name him as our "Plenipotentiary Representative" in a notary office so he could represent us in Ecuador. also he mentioned he take 100$ for each day he does our job.
After reading this article i am afraid that he scam us and to be honest 2*10000$ in Iran is like a life savings. if we announce him as our "Plenipotentiary Representative", can he just take the money from our accounts and disappear?
Thank you for your patience.
Hi Mehrzad, the $10,000 requirement seems a little suspect to me. What is this for? And, what type of visa are you looking at for Ecuador? The Investor Visa requires $40K investment. I do agree that you should be careful with this one as the $10K amounts just seem odd to me. You should definitely be suspect of giving too many rights away to someone you don't trust. Feel free to message me more details about the facilitator here and I can do some research for you if you'd like.
Hello again. sorry, but it seems the contact us section of the website does not open properly. So I reply here. We want to apply for a professional visa with our university degrees. I have a master's degree while my brother has a bachelor. As you have said it seems better for me to apply with my bachelor's only if I have understood correctly. we both have a lot of questions and would like to contact you if possible? would it be possible for you to send me your contact information at my email?
Hi Mehrzad. Sure, I've emailed you.
Hi, Jason.
This is the most helpful intro to get professional visa since I read ever. Thank you.
I live in China, and I have a friend who knows Spanish well and lives in China too. And I intend to try DIY. I have several questions below and ask you for help:
1. Without leaving China, Can I get all things done?
Appointment with the Ministry, submitting documents, and getting Migratory Movement Certificate from immigration, have all these things to be done in Ecuador? Does it work thru internet and express service like FedEx?
2. I notice that embassy is not mentioned in your words above. Almost all Chinese info in China I read mention Ecuador embassy in China. That confuses me. What role does embassy play? What difference between what they do and what the Ministry and immigration.
Thank you. Have a good one.
Hey Mike - appreciate the kind words. You can either apply for your residency visa at an Ecuadorian consulate or from within Ecuador. So yes, you can apply for your visa without leaving China. Many find it a lot easier and quicker to apply for their visas in Ecuador as the processing time is generally considerably less. Our guide mainly focuses on the Ecuadorian option.
I really appreciate your other comment alerting us to the caching issue that had affected several pages. I believe I've fixed the issue, so please feel free to try those pages again (here and here).
BTW, some pages in your website have layout problem. The nav bar that should be in top center appears in the left now. And, all these pages cannot be scrolled down so that the rest content cannot be showed. I test them with FireFox and Google Chrome.
Here is 2 URLs:
Residency Visa Calculator
About Us
Hi Mike - thanks a bunch for the heads up. We've noticed this too and have since resolved the issue. Do feel free to let us know if you still experience issues. Thanks!
I'm interested in applying for the freelance visa but I only have an associate's degree. I teach English online from home. Will they not accept an associate's degree? I don't want to go through the process of gathering documents to be denied.
Hey Veronica - an associate's degree is fine for the Professional Visa. Feel free to sing out if you need help.
Good afternoon Sir. I want to ask you one question, if you please. You said, that you can apply for a visa, even if my university is not on the list. Do you know, what the chances are that the visa will be approved, if I am a bachelor of a university that is not on the list? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Thank you for sharing all the information here Jason. Appreciate it.
I was just in Ecuador for 6 month and now I am back in the states and can not enter country until I have spent 6 months out of Ecuador.
I wanted to know if I do end up getting a professional visa, Can I enter before the 6 months end? or if there is an option for me to go back to Ecuador and pay a fee to be able to enter the country.
Thank you for you help
One more question, do we need to copies of the Diplomas with apostilles? One for the ministry and one for Senecyt? Or the Ministry won't keep the Diplomas? Thanks again!
Thank you for sharing all this useful information. I have a question. I already have a professional visa and soon I will apply for a permanent visa. What are the requirements and do I need to go to a notary? Because I need to translate my bank account documents.
Hey Ger - yeah, there's a lot of paperwork you'll need to sort out your permanent residency. Feel free to get in contact with me if you need personal guidance (if so, please provide following: nationality, where you obtained your temporary residency, date of expiry).
Greetings and thanks u def rock for all ur kind help!
Does Investor Visa require proof of monthly income? If I have lived in Vietnam the last five years how can I get my local police report? On avg how much more expensive is it to just get all the paperwork done in Ec considering how expensive it is to live in the states.. and finally If I do end up in the states for a bit what paperwork is essential to get done at Ec embassy.
Thank You for posting all this valuable information! I have questions about SENESYCT and my DAOM (doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine) degree from Emperor's College in Santa Monica, California. Do you know if they will accept acupuncture degrees? How do I find out? Where do I look for such information? Kindest Regards. Jad.
Hello, Jason, thanks for all this wonderful information and work you've put in! Are you still responding to comments? If so, what would you advise regarding degrees: should I register just my master's degree, or do I need to also register my bachelor's too (they're in the same field, engineering, and the master's university is on their list, while the bachelor's univ is not.)
Diplomas for notarizing & apostille are not required to be originals, correct? (Does a printed version of a digital color copy suffice?)
Also, what level or type of health insurance is required (I understand that's for getting the cedula)? Can it be a temporary plan (if that exists)? Again, thanks for any help!
Do you have to get state and FBI criminal checks in the US? And where do you get the FBI check apostillled? In DC? Thanks!
Hi there, do you have insight on renewing the professional visa?
And what do you mean by indefinite upon renewal, i didn't think that was still possible? Thank you so much!
Hi Mika, you can renew multiple the temporary residency visa multiple times. You also have the option to moving to Permanent Residency. I normally suggest permanent residency if that's an option for you. The main area where people get tripped up is by staying outside of Ecuador for more than 90 days during their temporary residency, making them ineligble for permanent residency. Hope this helps! Feel free to schedule a consult with Joseph Guznay from Expat Law Group if you more questions.