Ecuador country guide
General investment · Last checked 2026-08-08
Inversionista
A qualifying fixed-term financial instrument, Ecuadorian real estate, company equity, or current contract with the Ecuadorian State
Ecuador’s investor visa is temporary residence for a person using an eligible financial instrument, Ecuadorian real estate, company equity, or a qualifying current contract with the Ecuadorian State.
- Country
- Ecuador
- Applicant basis
- A qualifying fixed-term financial instrument, Ecuadorian real estate, company equity, or current contract with the Ecuadorian State
- Responsible authority
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana
- Official route status
- Current official route
- Information available
- Detailed guide
- Last checked
- 2026-08-08
Supported requirements
What the current source supports
- Financial-instrument branch: provide a title, policy, or dematerialized deposit certificate issued for at least 730 days by a qualifying supervised financial institution, with a value of at least 100 Unified Basic Salaries (SBU).
- Real-estate branch: provide the registered purchase deed for Ecuadorian property. The applicant’s ownership share must be worth at least 100 SBU. After approval, the property must carry the required registry notation that it supports the visa and cannot be transferred while the visa remains valid.
- Company-equity branch: document shares or participations in an Ecuadorian company worth at least 100 SBU and registered with the competent supervisory or property authority. The investment must receive the required non-transfer notation before the visa is issued.
- State-contract branches: provide a current public deed for an investment contract with the Ecuadorian State, a current delegated-management contract with central or autonomous government, or another qualifying administrative contract with the State. The cited regulation does not state a universal numeric floor for these contract branches.
- Provide the current photograph and identity document, together with the national-level criminal-record evidence and migratory-registration certificate required by the 2025 statutory reform. Foreign public documents must be translated and apostilled or legalized as applicable.
- Show lawful means of life under Agreement 0000070. For investor and other lucrative temporary categories, the accepted evidence generally must support at least one current SBU; the qualifying investment threshold is a separate requirement.
- Apply through eVisas, upload the required evidence, make the non-refundable application payment, cure a notified incomplete file within ten working days, complete an interview if requested, and pay the grant and cedulation amounts only after approval.
- Maintain the qualifying investment for the visa’s full validity. Failure to maintain it is a cancellation ground, and releasing the investment requires the mobility authority’s instruction after cancellation.
Applicant scope
Who this route generally serves
- Generally designed for
- Applicants able to document and maintain one of the investment structures recognized by Ecuador’s current investor-residence regulation.
- Legal basis named by the authority
- Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana, Articles 60 and 63–68, as amended through the reform published in Registro Oficial No. 151, Séptimo Suplemento; Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana, Articles 58–60, 66, 79, and 83–84; Acuerdos Ministeriales 0000070 (2024) and 0000035 (2026); and procedures MREMH-008-10-35 and MREMH-008-01-10.
Route lifecycle
What to confirm from application onward
- Financial basis
- At least 100 current SBU for the qualifying 730-day financial-instrument, Ecuadorian real-estate, and Ecuadorian-company equity branches. The regulation does not state one universal numeric floor for the three qualifying State-contract branches. SBU is left unconverted because it is indexed.
- Government service fees
- The official procedure last updated 13 August 2024 lists USD 50 for the application and USD 270 for the visa grant, with the stated age and disability concessions. The 2026 digital-services reform changes filing and payment operations but does not publish replacement amounts. Confirm the live eVisas charges before paying.
- Initial status
- Temporary residence for up to two years with multiple entries, subject to the individual grant and continued investment.
- Renewal
- The current law permits temporary residence to be renewed on multiple occasions. Each renewal is a separate decision and requires the qualifying basis to remain in force.
- Dependents
- A qualifying spouse, legally recognized partner, or child may use the separate temporary-residence amparo category. Dependent residence is not automatic under the investor application and cannot outlast the principal status.
- Work rights
- The investor category expressly covers productive or commercial activity and specified business representatives or administrators. This page does not infer unrestricted employment or professional-practice rights outside the approved basis.
- Presence considerations
- Temporary residence permits multiple entries and exits and is not subject to a general absence cap under Article 65. A later time-based permanent-residence application applies a separate continuity test that limits total absence during temporary residence to 90 days.
- Permanent residence
- Permanent residence is a separate application after at least 21 months of qualifying continuous temporary residence. The applicant must file before the temporary status expires, preserve the visa’s qualifying basis, satisfy the continuity rule, and meet the then-current requirements; conversion is not automatic.
- Citizenship relationship
- Naturalization is a separate legal process and is not established by the investor visa.
Official evidence
Sources for this route
Concesión de visa de residencia temporal inversionistaMinisterio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana / Registro Único de Trámites y Regulaciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Visa de residencia temporalMinisterio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana · ES · Last checked 2026-08-07Ley Orgánica de Movilidad HumanaAsamblea Nacional / Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Ley Orgánica Reformatoria a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad HumanaAsamblea Nacional / Registro Oficial · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad HumanaPresidencia de la República / Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Acuerdo Ministerial 0000070Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Acuerdo Ministerial 0000035Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana / Registro Oficial · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Concesión de visa de residencia permanente por permanencia mayor a 21 mesesMinisterio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana / Registro Único de Trámites y Regulaciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08
General planning information only—not legal, tax, or investment advice. A listed route does not determine eligibility. Verify current rules with the responsible authority before acting.