Our Ecuadorian Visa and Residency Paperwork

Visa and Residency Paperwork

NOTE:  When you fly to Ecuador to visit us, you do NOT need any paperwork or a special visa for your US Passport.  You will be granted a 90-day visa upon your arrival.  Easy, peasy.  This conversation is only for those wanting information on how we plan to get our permanent visas to live in Ecuador.

I won’t get into all of the various types of entry visas Ecuador offers to foreigners.  Suffice it to say, they make it very easy to move to Ecuador – especially when you compare it to other countries.

When we arrive in Ecuador, we will have the standard 90-day visas I mentioned above.  We will immediately apply for a longer TEMPORARY 6-month visa to give us time to apply for a PERMANENT visa.

Confused yet?  Try to understand all of this in Spanish!!

Regardless of the visa one obtains, much of the same paperwork is needed - birth certificates, marriage certificates, arrest records, fingerprints, bank account statements, etc.  Some of that paperwork is needed while still in the US, some is needed after we arrive in Ecuador.  It can be confusing and intimidating.  It is certainly possible that one may obtain their visas entirely on their own.  Many, like us, hire a facilitator to do the legwork for you.  We still have to gather the paperwork; however, the facilitator makes sure it is correct, translated into Spanish, and is current with the ever-changing Ecuadorian laws/rules/requirements.

There are two main types of permanent visas ex-pats get (very simplified explanations):

       Pensioner Visa.   If you can prove an $800/month pension (either Social Security or private) Ecuador will grant you a visa.  They want to make sure you are able to support yourself while in country.  I’m sure the $800 is set to increase at some point.  Personally, I would not want to have to live on $800/month – even though it is over 2 times the Ecuadorian minimum wage.

   Investor’s Visa.  If you deposit $25,000 in an Ecuadorian bank, Ecuador will grant you a visa.   Again, they want to make sure you have funds at your disposal.  That money cannot be accessed for quite some time.  (It does pay interest, though)   This is probably the easiest visa to get.

We are getting a permanent “Professional Visa.”  Ecuador has a master list of pre-approved universities around the world.  If you have a degree from one of those universities, Ecuador will give you a visa.  There are some other requirements such as proving you have thousands in a bank account (a US bank is fine) but that is the deal in a nutshell.

Why don’t many ex-pats go this route, you ask?  Well, most qualify for a Pensioner Visa because they are retired and drawing Social Security.  Also, it appears the Professional Visa was sort of a seldom talked about secret.  It takes longer than an Investor’s Visa; however, you don’t have $25,000 tied up in a foreign (ie: risky) bank. I'm too much of a Capricorn accountant to be comfortable with that!

      

Tom’s University of North Carolina was on the list.  My school, Ball State University, was not on the pre-approved list.  That means an extra step (ie: slight delay) as they add BSU to the list.  Now that BSU is being added, subsequent alumni seeking a Professional Visa won’t have this delay.  You’re welcome!

Oddly enough, with a Professional Visa you are NOT required to have a job in Ecuador.  They just like the POSSIBILITY that you may work there.  Ecuador obviously values education – it is evident from grade school through the 4 universities in Cuenca alone.  Yes, you read that correctly:  4 universities.

Will we work in Ecuador?  Who knows.  I will be working as an independent contractor for my current company.  That will keep me busy during tax season.   We both may volunteer for something in Cuenca, but for now, our plan is to not work locally.

RESIDENCY

As soon as we get our permanent professional visas, we will then apply to become residents (not citizens) of Ecuador.  Of course, this is a separate piece of paper (and entirely different process)   The “cedula” (sed-u-la) will give us almost all of the rights and responsibilities as a citizen.  Think of it as sort of a national ID card – a lot of information is tied to your cedula number.   The facilitator we hired to do our visas will also help us with the cedula.

We are retaining our US citizenship.  Will we become Ecuadorians?  Who knows.  At this point, I don’t see much benefit – other than getting to meet el Presidente, and being able to carry a cool Ecuadorian passport.  When the hijackers round up the passports, I’ll be handing over my Ecuadorian one…….but somehow I 

suspect they will still know I’m from Indiana!

NOTE:  During the first couple of years after being granted your visa, Ecuador limits the number of days you may spend out of Ecuador.  They don’t want you to get your visa, then hardly ever return to Ecuador.  They granted you a visa to live in Ecuador and contribute to its society and economy!  Remember:   they WELCOME and WANT you here!

Preparing to (somewhat) Disconnect

Preparing to (somewhat) Disconnect

A lot goes into moving abroad.  We’ve both done it before, but this is the first time we’ve done so together.  
The basic principals are:

•        Downsize possessions to become lean and light
•        Mentally prepare to be a very long way from family, existing friends and your comfort zones
•        Making plans to remain connected to “the grid” once you move abroad

Downsizing was relatively easy for us.  For some looking to move abroad, this is tough!  Here’s what I suggest people do as they make this transition:  rather than stress over leaving grandma’s silver behind, instead take with you what grandma REALLY gave you - your love of travel, your stubbornness, your ability to adapt to change, etc.  I think she would be much happier, because that was her real gift to you – not silver that anyone can buy on eBay!  I like my “stuff” so this was something I had to teach myself to embrace!

Mentally preparing yourself for a move abroad is tough for just about anyone.  Many people love the idea of moving abroad….then the first grandchild is born back in Iowa.  Suddenly, being a day’s travel time away from the grand kids becomes a prison sentence.  Inevitably, someone is going to become ill or pass away back home.  You then have to make the decision to do an unplanned, expensive, international trip back home.  Add complicated visa requirements that may limit your time out of your new country, and suddenly you are dealing with a lot of new issues. 

It’s been a very long time since Tom and I have lived in cities with other family members.  We’re now used to the idea that family = airline.  Granted, it will be a much longer trip now, but we’ve never grown accustomed to simply stopping by a relative’s house while out running errands.  Family will continue to equal airline.

We are going to miss our friends as well.  Most of our friends are diehard RVers.  By nature, they are travelers and wanderers, so we hope they will fly to Ecuador! Taking an RV to Ecuador IS possible – we’ve seen them on the streets – but I would NOT want to make the trip!  

We have a secret bet as to which family member or friend will be the first to visit.  Smart money is on one of our globe trotting nephews!

Making plans to remain connected to “the grid” has been a very long, well-thought out process (done entirely by Tom with A LOT of help from current ex-pats in Cuenca) We still have American bank accounts – how will be access the money while in Ecuador?   What about our internet, satellite TV,  cell phones, mail, email, taxes, telephone numbers, Netflix, Amazon?  ….on and on.

Since staying connected is such an important (and detailed) plan, I’ll separate it out to another post.  For now, just know that we've put a lot of thought and planning into this relocation.  I'm sure something will come up (it always does!) but - hopefully - we already have a contingency plan for that as well!

Where Exactly is Cuenca and Ecuador?

Where Exactly is Cuenca and Ecuador?

Tom and I have both lived abroad, and have been around the globe a few times.  We have always loved long distance travel; however, South America was never really on our radar – other than Buenos Aires or Rio.

I knew Ecuador was somewhere in South America.  That was about it.  I didn’t know that the Galapagos Islands were part of Ecuador (I thought Peru)  I knew nothing about the history, culture, people, etc. 

I’ll save you the trouble of Googling a few items.   Ecuador is on the northwest side of the South American continent.    It is south of Columbia, north of Peru, and west of Brazil. The equator goes through the northern section of the country near the capital city of Quito; therefore, most of the country is actually in the Southern Hemisphere.   Equator.  Ecuador.  Get it?  

Seasons are reversed from those of North America.  For example, the US is in autumn, and Ecuador is in spring.  Because it is on the equator, the weather doesn’t change that much.  Many describe Cuenca’s weather as spring-like year-round.  “Spring-like” varies from person to person, but houses do not have air conditioning or furnaces.   Think of San Francisco or Pacific Northwest weather....sort of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador

Ecuador is about the size as New Mexico.   15 million people.   It has hot beaches on the Pacific Ocean, Andes Mountains running along the middle spine of the country, and Amazon jungle on the eastern side of the country.  No wonder tourism is so popular!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuenca,_Ecuador

Cuenca is the 3^rd largest city.  333,000 people.  It is located in the south, at about 8,400 feet in the Andes.   I would compare it to our San Francisco:  highly educated, cultural, architecture galore, historical, artsy, wealthy, fashionable, defined neighborhoods……and fiercely independent.  It has a nice airport (no international flights yet) big malls, international businesses, nice parks, great healthcare, on and on.   All of these reasons drew us to Cuenca over the capital of Quito.

When (not “IF”) you visit us, you will fly into either Quito or Guayaquil – each about a 4.5-hour flight from the US.   Delta, United and American all fly to Ecuador.  There are also Ecuadorian carriers (primarily LAN and TAME) flying from the US.  

Quito's new airport (UIO)

From Quito (UIO), it is a short 45-minute flight to Cuenca on your choice of outstanding Ecuadorian airlines.  Seriously – they serve a snack and drinks on an Airbus 320 on that short of a flight.  And the flight attendants look like models.  Tom and I are airplane geeks, and I’m telling you: Ecuadorians LOVE their airlines!  English is spoken by everyone you will come into contact with both in the terminal and in the air.  This is a new airport located quite some distance from central Quito.  

Guayaquil's airport (GYE)

From Guayaquil (GYE) (on the coast) it is about a 4+ hour car ride to Cuenca.  No air service (over the years, air service has come/gone between the two)   There are also buses that regularly make the trip; however, most ex-pats just hire a private car or van.   We are doing this option when we arrive in February because of the amount of luggage we will be carrying (more on that later!)  We’ve never flown via Guayaquil, but by all accounts, it is a very large, modern airport.

Cuenca's airport (CUE)

Cuenca’s airport is much smaller.  It is located smack dab in the city itself.  Surrounding neighborhoods quickly learn flight schedules, I’m sure!  It is very clean and modern.  All signage is in English as well as Spanish (of course)  Again, everyone you come into contact with in the terminal will speak English.

Selling Everything We Own

Selling Everything We Own

We’re no strangers to downsizing. We gave up thousands of square feet when we sold the house and moved into the condo 8-years ago. This move out of the country, however, is a major downsize! 

When we first became serious about moving to Ecuador, we immediately sold our motorhome in December 2013.  It was a quick, easy sale to a great new owner.  That freed up our time to concentrate on getting our other ducks lined up to make the move.

Itasca Horizon "Winney"

We began the downsizing as soon as we put our condo on the market in July.  We did three sorts:  1) take to Ecuador, 2) sell, and 3) donate to Goodwill.

1.      First round was setting aside things we wanted to take to Ecuador.  (clothes, knickknacks, etc.)  Due to luggage size and weight restrictions, this selection was small.  We have done a lot of window shopping in Ecuador – in large malls and small shops – so we have a feel for what we can easily find in Ecuador.   Buying a fully furnished household already in Ecuador really helped narrow this list down.  More on the items going to Cuenca later.

2.       Second round was selling.  This was actually divided into 3 phases:

a.       Selling to the purchaser of the condo.  We gave her first dibs on anything in the condo. 

b.      Selling to our coworkers.  Between our two companies, we sold nearly everything.

c.       Selling to the public.  We sold the grand piano and a few remaining items on Craigslist.

3.      Third round was donating to Goodwill.  Anything left was donated to Goodwill.  We have already donated a lot of clothing to Goodwill.  We’ll donate the rest (office and dress clothes no longer needed) immediately prior to our departure.  Goodwill got some really nice things!

As of today, we only own our two cars and the items we are taking to Ecuador.   We already have buyers for the cars.  We’ll sell the Mini Cooper on February 14.  We’ll sell the Subaru Outback on Feb 20.  We fly to Ecuador on February 21.

It is odd going to a store and knowing that you have no house to put something AND there’s no room left to take something to Ecuador.  It certainly makes shopping easier!   We now look at everything from the perspective:  will we use it up by the time we leave?

What will we buy in Ecuador?  Once we get settled, we'll buy new furniture and artwork for the apartment in Cuenca.