Ecuador

Central Bank of Ecuador: on 9 January 2000 the country adopted the US dollar as legal tender in place of the sucre; the BCE stopped issuing a national currency and only mints its own fractional coins. So prices, wages and rents are in dollars, and there is no risk of a local currency devaluation. The currency outflow tax ISD, per the SRI tax service page: a 5% rate on transfers and payments abroad. Cash carried out of the country is exempt up to three SBU per adult, 1446 dollars in 2026, plus one SBU for each accompanying child. Card purchases and cash withdrawals abroad are exempt up to 5188.26 dollars a year (2025-2027), taxed above that. A non-resident foreigner who stayed no more than 90 days and declared the money brought in can take it out tax-free.

SENAE customs page on gob.ec: menaje de casa means furnishings and utensils for a family's daily life; it includes a car or motorcycle, but only for Ecuadorian citizens. Foreigners may clear menaje if they hold a visa. Such goods enter free of all foreign trade taxes (Art. 125 of the COPCI code and Art. 212 of its regulation). Required: an inspection request, a sworn declaration of the goods, an invoice or equivalent; a foreigner files through a customs agent, and the inspection takes place in their presence. No customs fee is charged, but transport, storage and the agent cost money. The same page has a condition of having lived abroad for more than two years - it is written for returning Ecuadorians, and the page does not say directly whether it applies to foreigners. We did not check the rules for foreigners importing cars outside menaje.

Foreign Ministry pages on gob.ec. Permanent (indefinite) residence: on application, once the person has lived on temporary residence for at least 21 continuous months; the application must be filed before the current visa expires; an Ecuadorian criminal record certificate and documents on the grounds for the temporary visa are required; the fee is 50 + 225 dollars. Citizenship (carta de naturalización): under the Human Mobility Law, after three years of lawful and continuous residence, and per the ministry's page, with permanent residence and domicile in Ecuador for at least three years on the date of application. Requirements include age 18 or over, an exam on the history, geography and culture of Ecuador, the ability to speak and write Spanish, lawful means of support and an interview; the fee is 50 + 350 dollars, applications in person. During the first three years of permanent residence, absences may not exceed 180 days a year, otherwise the period is interrupted. In total, 21 months of temporary plus 3 years of permanent residence is at least 4 years and 9 months - our count. The Constitution (Art. 6) states plainly that Ecuadorian nationality is not lost on acquiring another.

Constitution of Ecuador of 2008, Article 7: Ecuadorians by birth are persons born in Ecuador; persons born abroad to a father or mother born in Ecuador, and their descendants up to the third degree of kinship; and members of recognised communities and peoples in border areas. The article has no conditions on the parents' citizenship or status. Article 6: Ecuadorian nationality is not lost through marriage or through acquiring another nationality. We looked at the version with amendments up to 25 January 2021; we did not check later amendments to Articles 6-7.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry's list of "countries that must present a visa on entry" as of 6 October 2026: it has 45 countries, and from the former USSR only Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are not on it, so their citizens enter as visa-free tourists. The length of stay under Article 56 of the Human Mobility Law, quoted on the ministry's gob.ec page: up to 90 days within a year from the first entry, extendable once by up to 90 more days on application and payment. The UK Foreign Office adds that the extension must be arranged before the first 90 days run out, otherwise there is a fine on exit. Tourists may not work. Since 11 January 2024, anyone entering by land or river from Peru or Colombia must show an apostilled criminal record certificate covering the last 5 years (it can be replaced by a check in the SIMIEC database); there is no such requirement when arriving by air. The passport must be valid for another 6 months.

Foreign Ministry pages on gob.ec, 6 October 2026. Rentista: a steady income from rents (leases, deposits, investments) from abroad or from Ecuador of at least three basic unified wages (SBU) a month. Jubilado: a pension from abroad of at least three SBU. Digital nomad visa (rentista for remote work): income from abroad of at least three SBU a month for the three months before applying, or 36 SBU over a year, plus documents showing work for a foreign employer or client; according to Ministry of Tourism letters, citizens of all countries may apply. For all three: health insurance for the whole visa period with cover in Ecuador, a criminal record certificate for 5 years with an apostille, a passport valid for 6 months, and an extra 250 dollars of monthly income for each family member. The SBU in 2026 is 482 dollars (Ministry of Labour), three SBU is 1446 dollars; the tax service SRI gives the same amount. For a family of four this comes to 1446 + 3 × 250 = 2196 dollars a month - our calculation. Applications are online only, in the e-VISAS system; the fee is 50 dollars for the application and 270 for the visa, with a 50% discount from age 65. Temporary residence is granted for 2 years and by law can be renewed once.

According to the UK Foreign Office advice (updated 2 October 2026): Ecuador's public health system gives locals and foreigners the same care free of charge, but it is currently struggling - delays in getting appointments and limited access to medicines due to lack of funds, rising demand and staff shortages. Private treatment can be very expensive, and private hospitals require a credit card guarantee on admission. Standards of care and access to specialists drop sharply outside the big cities. The emergency number is 911, and there is an ECU 911 app. For temporary residence the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry requires health insurance for the whole visa period. We did not check private insurance prices.

UK Foreign Office, advice updated 2 October 2026: for security reasons the government of Ecuador declared a 60-day state of emergency from 15 September in the provinces of Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Pichincha, Esmeraldas and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and in the cantons of La Maná (Cotopaxi), Las Naves (Bolívar) and Camilo Ponce Enríquez (Azuay). This means more police and soldiers on the streets and extra checks on the roads. A curfew from midnight to 5 am from 17 to 30 September applied only in El Oro, Guayas, Los Ríos and Manabí. Since March 2023 criminal gangs have set off small explosions and made false bomb threats in Quito and Guayaquil. This time we did not find comparable official homicide statistics by city.