I’m a proud owner of a Professional Visa here (woohoo!). It’s an Ecuador Temporary Resident Visa. I did the whole process without an attorney and honestly found it extremely easy.
To give some background, I’m an American citizen. How to get Ecuador visa for US citizens is something a lot of Americans have questions about. This article will cover the requirements and everything that can happen.
Definitely, no lawyers needed on that visa, especially if you speak Spanish. In my opinion, the solicitors are just relying on clients who don’t speak Spanish very well — of which there are many in the expat community.
But I have friends who do speak Spanish who also hired an attorney. So, I think laziness might be a factor too lol.
I got the Ecuador 9-V visa or professional visa, which is a temporary residence visa.
Why Ecuador Professional Visa?
If you do not have a Pension sufficient for a Pensioner Visa for Ecuador and/or sufficient funds to invest in an Investor Visa, but have a degree from a foreign university or college, this visa will allow you to be in Ecuador for long.
If you want to be a digital nomad in Ecuador, this is by far the best visa. While many foreigners use this visa to teach English in Ecuador, you can get any other jobs or run your own business freely. Want to run your Etsy store or sell stuff on Shopify, go ahead.
This article is written for someone who would want to get a professional visa while being in Ecuador.
But it is also possible to get one from a consulate of Ecuador in your home country although you might need the help of an attorney/facilitator to help with the paperwork(translation/notarization) to be done in Ecuador.
Table of Contents
Ecuador Visa for US Citizens: Where to Apply?
Note that US citizens don’t need a visa to enter Ecuador for tourism or sightseeing.
I applied for the Ecuador resident visa in Ecuador only. Many expats from the United States usually apply for a resident visa when they are already here and decide to move to Ecuador.
But you can also submit the Ecuador visa application in an Ecuador embassy in the USA or a consulate. Ecuador has consulates in Washington DC, Miami, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Pheonix, Houston, San Francisco, and other places.
Ecuador 9-V Visa Requirements
Apostilled and Notarized Diploma and Official Transcripts from US
The Secretary of State in the state where the diploma was issued, would be able to apostille/notarize the diploma and official transcripts.
For this, I mailed the original copy of the diploma and official transcripts to the Secretary of State. They make the official copy and apostille it. I brought everything to SENESCYT and let them sort out what they wanted.
You need these to register your degree or registro de tutulus en SENESCYT.
Do I Need to Break the Frame and Send the Original Diploma?
Not really.
You can call your university and ask them to make a copy of the diploma and apostille it and send it to you. I have heard accounts of expats who have taken pics of the degree and sent it to their school as proof and that had worked out for them.
Once you have that, you can even notarize them in Ecuador. SENESCYT will keep the notarized copies of your apostilled diploma and return the originals.
Also, note that some secretaries of state won’t apostille documents that are over a year old. There is no solution that would work out for everyone.
So you should really get in touch with the secretary of state and get the answer.
FBI Background Check
I got it apostilled in the US BEFORE coming to Ecuador AND translated/notarized into Spanish here in Ecuador.
All FBI Background checks need to be notarized and apostilled by the Office of Authentications. When you mail in your FBI background check, you need to also include a self-addressed envelope with postage for them to mail it back to you.
At the time of this article, they were charging $8 / document (NOT per page). I’ve included their info below:
US Department of StateOffice of Authentications
44132 Mercure Circle
PO Box 1206
Sterling VA 20166
Phone: 202-485-8000
State Background Check
I had it apostilled in the US BEFORE coming to Ecuador. When I ordered my Florida background check online, it gave me the option to order both English and Spanish and have it notarized.
So I had both English and Spanish notarized by them and got it apostilled by the Department of State.
Bank Statements
I showed the bank statements for the last 3 months showing I could afford to live here (it was in English, I didn’t translate it since everyone understands numbers and even more so, dollars $$$ LOL).
Ecuador 9-V Visa Fees
The Ecuador 9-V visa costs $450 ($400 for the visa and $50 processing fee).
For each dependent, you need to pay $250 extra.
All fees must be paid in cash only.
Application Process for Ecuador Professional Visa
The processes are not very logical, but in Ecuador, they do follow a step-by-step method and it’s much more transparent and accountable than applying for British citizenship.
Step 1: Register Your Diploma with SENESCYT.
The first thing you need to do is register your diploma with SENESCYT. For this, your university should be on the list of approved educational institutions on SENESCYT.
If it’s not on the list of approved institutions, you can still apply for the visa but there’d be an additional step for you to complete, which I’m not familiar with.
My university was on SENESCYT’s list of approved schools.
For this, you need to do the following.
Create a SENESCYT account
Create an account on the SENESCYT website: https://siau-online.senescyt.gob.ec/. Once you find the type of transaction you want to make (registering your title as an extranjero), select it and upload all the required documents.
Upload Documents
Upload a copy of your passport, your highest level diploma (I only did my Masters) apostilled and notarized, and your certified transcripts (also apostilled and notarized). I got these documents apostilled / notarized in the United States BEFORE arriving in Ecuador.
Payment
I think it was a few days later I got an email about paying for the transaction. I believe it was $25 which needed to be paid at a Banco Pacifico in cash. They give you 2 days to do this after you print the document you need to take to the bank.
After paying, a few days later I got an email about selecting a date/ time for my in-person appointment to present my documents.
Just a note: probably because of coronavirus, nobody was allowed into either of the 2 appointments with me — they had to wait outside for me at the SENESCYT appointment.
Approval
Not sure exactly when it was approved, but exactly on the 14th day after my in-person appointment, I checked the SENESCYT website: http://senescyt.gob.ec/consulta-titulos-web/faces/vista/consulta/consulta.xhtml?
I noticed the official “Titulo” document that I could print to PDF showing my degree had been registered/ approved.
Here is a detailed guide to register a profession in Senescyt,Ecuador as a foreigner.
Step 2: Apply for the Ecuador Professional Visa
Once you have the official titulo document from Senescyt, you can apply for your visa by doing the following:
Get Appointment
To get the appointment in Quitumbe, I wrote them like 4 weeks ago and still nothing.
You can get an appointment for Ecuador visa by requesting one to the email citasvisas@cancilleria.gob.ec. I got one like on a Thursday to go in-person on Friday but didn’t have the SENESCYT step above completed yet so I had to miss it.
I responded asking for a reschedule and got no reply (typical Ecuador).
I emailed to atencionciudadana@cancilleria.gob.ec and attached all my visa documents and got a response in a few days with a new appointment (received on a Friday for an in-person apt on Monday).
The email specifically referenced this website www.cancilleria.gob.ec for the list of required docs I needed to present at my appointment.
Step 3: Get the Visa
I went to Quitumbe (highly recommend the trolley bus — 25 cents takes you all the way there but allocate at least 1 hour 15 mins to commute from Quito) in person and presented:
Here are the documents I took.
- Formulario de solicitud de visa for Ecuador , signed in blue ink.
- Original passport
- Copy of passport in color
- Passport size photo
- Copy of the PDF showing my degree was approved/ registered with SENESCYT, Ecuador
- FBI background check
- State background check
- Bank statements
The email I received with the appointment specifically said all the required docs needed to be in una carpeta. You can get one in any papeleria. I paid like 35 cents for mine.
The lady (who was not friendly AT ALL) snapped my picture, gave me a paper (another version of my formulario de solicitud de visa with a little ‘$50 paid’ sticker on it) and told me I’d get my visa via email in 10 minutes.
She said to print it and keep it in my passport. I never got the email though LOL.
So I went back a week later to Quitumbe (yes, annoying) and right away was able to tell someone outside what had happened (about no email being received). She brought me right into the building and re-sent the email and I got it instantly.
How Long Does it Take to Get Ecuador Visa for Professionals?
For me it took almost 1 month exactly (SENESCYT appointment July 22 and visa apt / approved visa granted aug 24).
Sometimes the bureaucracy in Ecuador can be a little too much, so the processing time can vary a little.
Ecuador Visa Extension for Temporary Residents
Similar to any temporary resident visa, a professional visa is valid for 2 years. Before it expires, you can extend this Ecuador visa for 2 years.
After 21 months with a temporary resident visa, you also become eligible to apply for permanent residency in Ecuador.
robyne hemingway says
thank you for this information. excellent job.
Joe David says
When you talk about the “original copy of the diploma” are you talking about the actual, physical piece of paper that people often frame and hang on their wall?
If so, did you send the original diploma (I’d hate to have it lost in the mail) or a copy of the diploma to be apostilled? Is it also notarized somehow?
Thanks…
Deb Pati says
Hi Joe,
The thing is that this can vary from state to state. Also depends on your university. You really should contact the secretary of state in the state the diploma was issued and check with them.
They do need the actual physical paper that you have framed, but if you don’t want to break the frame, simply call the university and request them to make a copy of the diploma and apostille it and send it to you. Once you have that, you can even notarize them in Ecuador. Ecuador’s government will keep the notarized copies and return the originals.
Bill says
Thank you for all of the effort that goes into this website and for the information that you provide, it is appreciated.
Question, for the State background check, I’m in Connecticut, do you know if I have to also request fingerprints or does that only apply to the FBI background check?
valerie says
Fingerprints should just be needed for the FBI Background check 🙂 not for the state background check
Bill says
Thank you Valarie!
William says
Happy Monday, is there a website that you can go and check to see if your documents have been submitted? I’m not n ecuador and I have not heard any thing, I used a facilitator? And it makes me go hummm. Every day
valerie says
I’m not aware of a website that can show whether the documents have been submitted. How long ago did the facilitator submit them supposedly? Did you pay them already? I didn’t use a facilitator to get my visa but what I’ve always heard is that once the documents are submitted by a facilitator, the visa is processed very quickly. When I submitted my own documents, I received my visa the same day. If you paid the facilitator with a credit card and suspect they’ve scammed you, perhaps you can file a dispute with the credit card company.
James Booth says
Does the type of degree matter? Mine is from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and is a BS degree in Professional Aeronautics. I have necessary monthly income, do I have show I am actually working?
valerie says
The type of degree doesn’t matter. The important part is to see if your school (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University) is on the approved list of universities. No, you do not need to show you’re working but will need to show recent bank statements to show you have financial stability.
Lisa says
Hi,
Thank you so much for this information. I created a SENESCYT account but did not receive a confirmation email with a password. I also tried to recover my password which gave me the message to check my email … nothing. Is that something that should have been instant, or might I have to wait a day or two?
Jason says
Does anyone know what you need in order to extend the temporary resident visa, instead of applying for the permanent one?