3 month restriction on staying in Equator?

1POSTS

12 years ago

We are a Canadian couple flying to Quito in October (2013). We are hoping to stay in South America for 3 - 6 months. Our question is about our return flight? When our plans are a bit open-ended, do we have to have a return flight to Canada from Quito within a specified time? For example, we read online that we can only stay in Ecuador as visitors for 3 months and then we have to leave. We plan to visit Peru, Panama and/or Costa Rica. We do not intend to return to Canada until April of 2014.

We would greatly appreciate any direction on this matter as we assume that others have been in this situation as well.

Moise & Ter

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BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

12 years ago

Moise & Ter:

Welcome to the forum.

You can get a six-month visa in advance from your nearest Ecuadorian consulate, or you can extend the three-month visa for another three months.

You don't necessarily have to have a return ticket to Canada, but you need to have an onward ticket from Ecuador to another country. The enforcement of this is up to the airlines and I hear differing stories as to how much it is enforced.

If you have a ticket from, say, Quito to Panama City, that would suffice. If your plans are fluid, you might wish to buy tickets that have no or little cost for a date change.

All countries (that I know of) have some variation of the 'onward ticket' rule, so presumably you will face the same issue in Panama and Costa Rica.

defuera Active member

71POSTS

12 years ago

Lot's of countries have onward ticket rules, but in my travels throughout the Americas over the last dozen years, I've never seen it enforced.

As Bob says, you can get a 3 month extension, or get the 6 month 12-IX visa before arriving at the border.

Nards Barley ViP

1633POSTS

12 years ago

BobH wrote:
or you can extend the three-month visa for another three months.

I could swear that they gave me a 6 month extension above and beyond the 3 month I got on entry into Ecuador.聽 Of course that was then and this is now.

j600rr Serial expat

579POSTS

12 years ago

defuera wrote:
Lot's of countries have onward ticket rules, but in my travels throughout the Americas over the last dozen years, I've never seen it enforced.

As Bob says, you can get a 3 month extension, or get the 6 month 12-IX visa before arriving at the border.

Have to agree with the above statement (kind of). Personally have never been asked when arriving in any country to show proof of onward travel.

Where one may encounter problems is with the airlines themselves. Have first hand experience with this as back in the day when traveling to Costa Rica with a one way ticket the Airline would not let me board unless I bought a return ticket.

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

12 years ago

j600rr wrote:
Where one may encounter problems is with the airlines themselves. Have first hand experience with this as back in the day when traveling to Costa Rica with a one way ticket the Airline would not let me board unless I bought a return ticket.

The way it has been explained to me is that the airline that flies you in is responsible for taking you out if you are refused entry. If CR, for whatever reason, had refused you entry, the airline would have had to return you -- which is why they wanted you to have a ticket.

Or so I am told.

FriendlyHusband New member

4POSTS

12 years ago

That is correct.聽 That is the basis for new ESTA requirement for persons from visa waiver countries (entering the USA).聽 They are 'pre-cleared' before they leave their countries so that the airline will not have to return them to the originating country at their expense if the person is deemed inadmissible to the USA.聽 CR (and other countries) may or may not follow the USA example.

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

12 years ago

FriendlyHusband wrote:
That is the basis for new ESTA requirement for persons from visa waiver countries (entering the USA).

I had heard about new rules, but wasn't aware what they would mean. It would be nice if the need to play the onward ticket game could be avoided. At present many of us just buy throwaways or refundables or go through various ploys.

amj5376 Member

2POSTS

12 years ago

I got the six-month extension visa last year around this time when I arrived in Ecuador. I was here for three months and then applied for the extension visa, giving me a total of nine months in Ecuador.聽 Unless they have changed the rules in the past year, that's the way that visa works. It extends your three-month tourist visa by six months, not three (so you have a total of nine months, not six).

Hope this helps!

Followupguy Member

11POSTS

12 years ago

#10

My wife Kisch and I are in the process of doing the same thing (leaving Vancouver Oct 4 2013, returning March 31 2014) and just this morning finalized our 6 month (180 day) visa through the Consulate General of Ecuador here in Vancouver BC.

Not difficult at all to attain. All you need are valid passports along with two additional Canadian passport size photos per person for consulate records, return airline tickets showing that you will leave Ecuador no later than 180 days after entering (whether or not you stayed in Ecuador the whole time), a letter from your financial institution confirming that you have $1,000 per month per person available, only $100 per month for spouse (as dependent) with proof of marriage (letter from financial institution must be dated no more than 3 months prior to visa application), and a money order for $310 in US funds (if a married couple) to cover the cost of the visas.

If you would like more detailed information regarding our experience please feel free to private message me (Reg).

FriendlyHusband New member

4POSTS

12 years ago

#11

Hey Reg / Followupguy, do you know if I can apply for the same 180 day tourist visa as a U S Citizen at the Ecuador Consulate in Vancouver, BC?聽 I'll do some checking myself, too.

orcabison / Turns

Followupguy Member

11POSTS

12 years ago

#12

Hmmm, good question. Are you in Vancouver now? If so, I suggest you call Senior Etienne E. V. Walter, the consulate general, and ask for his advice. He has been very helpful with us. (604 299 6600)

FriendlyHusband New member

4POSTS

12 years ago

#13

Thanks.聽 I live in Blaine, WA.

stick1947 Contributor

142POSTS

12 years ago

#14

I just talked to an agent at American Airlines and I was told that I had to have a return ticket to enter Ecuador.聽 I wanted to leave my return plans a bit open ended but the way he explained it, it would be cheaper to pay the date change fee than to buy two one way tickets and after some checking, he was right.聽 Still a ripoff but what can you do.

ChecMark Active member

32POSTS

12 years ago

#15

Reg, I have been going through an appeal with CPP about them denying me a disability pension. My goal was to get my current pension increased to meet the entry requirements for Ecuador, which I was told was $800 a month. You state $1,000 a month. Has this been changed recently. Where did you get this information?

On the return ticket issue, I flew from Vancouver to Panama on a one-way ticket. When I went to board from Mexico City to Panama the airline insisted on a return flight, so I bought the cheapest one I could find, which was to Costa Rica. When I arrived in Panama I immediately applied for a refund, which took me a couple of months. Panama would only have required a bus ticket out for entry, so it is the airlines who require the return flight.

Denise in Denver Active member

77POSTS

12 years ago

#16

That is truly the way to go as when you apply for the visa extension in Ecuador you have to do it separately even if married and pay the 200.00 each, so it is less expensive if you do it from home.

We took our copy of our visa, extra pictures, our entry stamp picture, x2, and the application is 30.00 each, with our copy of our bank statement, and paid 200.00 each and 5 days later we were good for another 6 months, but it is less expensive if you do it before you get here.

I got an open ticket for each of us,, that is refundable totally, just in case they asked for one,, but we didn't and weren't ask for it.. Whew.. but refunded it and now we are good.

Denise

Metaurus Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#17

"That is truly the way to go as when you apply for the visa extension in Ecuador you have to do it separately even if married and pay the 200.00 each, so it is less expensive if you do it from home."

"We took our copy of our visa, extra pictures, our entry stamp picture, x2, and the application is 30.00 each, with our copy of our bank statement, and paid 200.00 each and 5 days later we were good for another 6 months, but it is less expensive if you do it before you get here. "

I'm confused about this information.聽 Did I understand it right that we will pay 200.00 each (my spouse and I) if we apply in Ecuador for the extension and we will get a 6 month extension on top of the initial 3 month visa versus applying in the US which will cost 200.00 plus 30.00 for each of us and we will get a 6 month visa?

I love your open ticket plan.聽 What airline did you use?

Followupguy Member

11POSTS

12 years ago

#18

Hi ChecMarc,

The $1,000 I was referring to relates to acquiring a 6 month tourist visa and this information was provided to me by the Ecuador Consulate here in Vancouver BC. It doesn't relate to pension income, but rather funds available in our bank account. It's $1,000 per single person per month we will be in the country (in our case, 6 months X $1000 = $6,000) and with a marriage certificate, the spouse requires only an additional $100 per month for each month in the country. So in our case, a 6 month visa required a letter from our financial institution verifying that we had $6,600 in our account (dated no more than 3 months prior to applying for our visa).

Based on what we learned yesterday from the consulate, if we wished to apply for residency (rather than a 6 month tourist visa) we would need proof of pension income of $800 for the family head plus $100 for the spouse. In other words, if my wife and I had $900 in pension income we could qualify for residency. This seems consistent with your information. Another option is, instead of the pension income requirement, we could purchase real estate for a minimum of $25,000 and qualify for residency.

Hope this is helpful.
Reg

JOYSOUNDS New member

8POSTS

12 years ago

#19

Do Visas operate on a calendar year or by the date you first entered?

ChecMark Active member

32POSTS

12 years ago

#20

Thanks for the additional information, Reg. I just want to be perfectly clear on this because, not only for me, but I mentioned this to a friend in the US who's planning to go to Ecuador for three years with her son and grandchildren. She was aware of the proof of income requirement and qualifies with her pension, but she kind of freaked out when I mentioned the need to have the $1,000 in the bank for each month. She said that after flights and so on she will not have this kind of funds on hand.

If she applies for residency, in addition to proof of income, does she also need to show she has $6,000 in a bank account, or is this only if she is applying to stay for six months?

Thanks!

Gary

Followupguy Member

11POSTS

12 years ago

#21

Hi Joy and Gary,

Joy - The Ecuador 6 month visa is not based on a calendar year ... the clock starts ticking the day you enter the country and continues until the 6 months are up, whether you leave the country in between or not. For example, we intend to visit Peru for a couple of weeks once we've settled into our rented house in Ecuador but the time we're out of the country does not get tacked onto the end of our 6 month visa. 180 days from the first day we enter Ecuador our visa expires. The consulate recommended that we arrange for our departure flight to be 179 days from our date of entry, which we did. He suggested this just in case something were to go wrong with the flight's departure because if we overstay by even an hour we are subject to detention and a hefty fine.

Gary - Based on the information I received from the Ecuador Consulate, the cash in the bank requirement only applies to the 6 month tourist visa. My understanding is that when applying for residency, you need proof of government or other pension in the amount of $800 per month plus $100 per month per dependent. I recommend checking in with the consulate to verify.

Hope this is helpful.
Reg

Babassi New member

4POSTS

12 years ago

#22

[Moderated: off topic]

docputter Active member

48POSTS

12 years ago

#23

You may only stay in Ecuador for three months in any calendar year.聽 If your other three months of the six are spent outside of Ecuador, you will be fine.聽 If you wish to spend more than three months in Ecuador, you need to apply for a 12-X visa before flying into Ecuador.聽 You can get this in an Ecuadorian consulate in Canada.聽 Search for a location near where you currently reside.

Denise in Denver Active member

77POSTS

12 years ago

#24

Yes it was 200.00 each here for the extension, we thought we would have our retirement visa in the 90 days, but it just didn't happen due to someone in Pennsylvania not being the certified person to sign our reissued marriage license.聽 Talk about checking your work!!聽
So, we applied for another visa the 12x, it gave us an additional 6 months to stay and get this worked out.聽

It is another visa, not an extension.聽 It cost us 30.00 each to apply, you need to fill out a request form and do a separate page request form to ask to stay an additional 180 days, and you take your passport like pictures of both of you and your husband (6.00), with two copies of your colored passport picture page and your entry stamp page, your most current bank statement, we took 3 months just in case,
and you get interviewed and they give you a stub to take to the cashier that you will pay the 200.00 each and hand in your passport and 5 days later, we got聽 our passport returned with our new visa in it.聽

That was it.聽 I was not asked for a plane ticket, but I had an open one on Delta just in case.. when we got home I refunded it and breathed a sigh of relief.聽

They didn't make it complicated, it was relatively easy.

JOYSOUNDS New member

8POSTS

12 years ago

#25

Does anyone know what the lastest requirements are for senior residency (papers)?聽 If I start the process now for a Sept. - October 2014 will I be too early?

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

12 years ago

#26

Joysounds:

You will want to verify this with the consulate, but I am fairly certain that some documents cannot be more than 90 days old at time of filing.

Bob

PS: I enjoyed eating at Oma's Haus in New Braunfels when living in Austin (and of course the kids loved Schlitterbahn).

The Columbian Active member

33POSTS

12 years ago

#27

I have been in Ecuador for 77 days in 3 prior trips and am allowed to stay 90 days without a Visa.聽 I am currently in Ecuador聽 i am being told it is very easy to get a toutist visa and will be apply for one next week as my plans are to be her till 02/2014.聽 Enjoy your trip.

jessekimmerling Guest

0POSTS

12 years ago

#28

Nards Barley wrote:
BobH wrote:
or you can extend the three-month visa for another three months.

I could swear that they gave me a 6 month extension above and beyond the 3 month I got on entry into Ecuador.聽 Of course that was then and this is now.

Me too. I got a total of 9 months. I don't think it was supposed to work like that, but it did.

jessekimmerling Guest

0POSTS

12 years ago

#29

As for entering without a return ticket, I'd buy a refundable return ticket at the last minute, show it if you have to, then return it once you're in. I had to do this at the airport to enter Columbia. It's hit or miss, usually there's no problem, but sometimes you have to do this. It might be wise to research refundable tickets ahead of time. I got lucky and got a very helpful person from Spirit Airlines on the phone who walked me through just what type of ticket to buy and how to time it so I could get through immigration and return the ticket without any penalty.

ChecMark Active member

32POSTS

12 years ago

#30

Don't believe it's on this thread and my apologies to who posted it, but the return ticket is usually required by the airlines because if you are denied entry into a country the airline doesn't want to foot the bill.