EC
Ecuador · Visa de Residencia Temporal Rentista para Trabajo Remoto · Formal dn visa · apply online · processing 10–30 days
Foreign income must be at least three times the unified basic salary (SBU) a month for the three months before the application, or 36 SBU a year, shown on international bank statements. For 2026 the SBU is USD 482, so the floor is USD 1,446 a month or USD 17,352 a year. It moves every January with the SBU. Ecuador uses the US dollar, so the local and USD amounts are the same. The visa fee is USD 50 to file and USD 270 to issue (USD 320), with no VAT. Applicants aged 65 or older pay half. A disability of 30% or more, with the health-ministry card, pays nothing. The identity card is separate: USD 5 the first time and USD 16 to renew. Each grant is up to two years. Current law allows further renewals; the procedure page still quotes an older rule that temporary residence could be renewed only once. Permanent residence is available after 21 continuous months as a resident, if the application is filed before the temporary visa expires. Naturalisation needs three years of permanent residence, Spanish, and an interview. Temporary residents may enter and leave during the visa. The 180-day absence limit applies after permanent residence, not on this visa. The visa does not authorise work for an employer in Ecuador. Remote employees, freelancers and owners of a company domiciled abroad qualify. A spouse or legally recognised partner and children can be included, with USD 250 more income a month for each person. Health insurance must cover the whole visa and, if it is a foreign policy, must say that it covers Ecuador. Applicants aged 18 or older need a criminal-record certificate, apostilled or legalised and translated, valid for 180 days. Apply only on e-VISAS and pay the same day, by 23:55 Ecuador time, or the draft is deleted. Someone already in Ecuador needs a regular tourist stay or a current visa. Within one month of the electronic visa, the originals must reach the office that granted it. This is not a territorial tax visa. Tax residence is generally 183 days, and residents are taxed on worldwide income at 0–37%. An optional five-year temporary fiscal residence, limited to Ecuador-source income, is a separate election for first-time residents who invest USD 150,000 or show about USD 2,500 a month from outside Ecuador and join social security. It does not come with the visa. Work performed in Ecuador can still be Ecuador-source income.
Ecuador also offers these long-term residency programs
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Last changed Oct 10, 2026 Source
application channel set to online only, and the application URL set to e-VISAS. The Cancillería no longer describes an embassy filing step (serviciosdigitales.cancilleria.gob.ec).
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