The Ecuador Insider – Page 92 – Everything you need to know before you move to or invest in Ecuador

Ecuador Residency: 8 Mistakes that’ll Cost You

I know the feeling.

That feeling you get when you look around a country and think “man, I love it here.” …

…And then for immigration reasons, or due to a lack of legal residency, you got to go.

It’s happened to me, but I hope it doesn’t happen to you.

One big plus of moving to Ecuador is the ease with which you can get legal residency. A pension of at least $800 a month or an investment of $25k or more will qualify you!

In Panama, for instance, the minimum investment to get a resident visa is several times larger.

But it’s not a “breeze” by any means, there’s a lot of mis-information out there… learn from my mistakes and follow these 8 “don’t dos”to save yourself hundreds, even thousands of dollars when applying for your Ecuador residency:

8. Don’t have others apostille your documents in your home country. Before coming to Ecuador you’ll need a few documents apostilled by your local Secretary of State. Others like your document translator will probably offer to apostille your documents, but for around 5 times what you’d pay if you just did it yourself.

7. Don’t do official translations in the US. Wait for Ecuador to translate official documents, there are translators outside the immigration offices in Quito and Guayaquil that will do the official translating for a small fraction of what you’d pay per page in the US. Just don’t give them your documents and leave, see the job through!

6. Don’t try to notarize your passport in the US. Wait for Ecuador to try to notarize copies of documents like your passport, in Ecuador it will cost $1 per notarized copy, if done in the US you’d have to mail it to DC (because local notaries can’t notarize a national document) and pay $50 or more. Talk about a pain in the a$$.

5. Upon arrival don’t wait to submit your residency application. You must submit your resident visa application at least 30 days before your actual visa expires or you will have to leave country and come back before applying.

4. Don’t apply for an investor’s visa if a pensioner’s visa is an option for you, because with an investor’s visa you are tied to that property, if you sell your investment you will lose your residency visa and have to apply for a new one.

3. Don’t apply from outside of Ecuador. Just don’t. Trying to get people in Ecuador to move if you aren’t breathing down their neck is like trying to train a cat, it just ain’t gonna happen! Get the few docs you need from your home country, then come here and finish the process and you can get it done in a month.

2. Don’t apply for Pensioner visas in Cuenca just yet, because the immigration office in Cuenca is so new it’s not correctly attached to the nationwide records system so come time to get your “cedula”(your Ecuadorian ID card) you may have trouble in Guayaquil or Quito (as of now, July 2012, you can’t get cedulas in Cuenca).

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$45k, 1 bedr, Manta Ocean-view condo

Asking $45k, 1 bedroom, Manta Ocean-view condo.

My take: The condo is a few blocks off the beach, in a nice area of Manta and has an ocean view (only from the bedroom). The building is relatively new, well-cared and has an elevator which is a big plus. Most condos sell for a bit more in this area.

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$55k, Beachfront lot in San Clemente 1000 m2

Beachfront lot in San Clemente 1000 m2 asking $55k negotiable.

My take: Can’t go wrong with beachfront property and with this sized lot (not in any gated community) you could do a lot of things, plus its in a good area (near a large expat development) on one of the sunniest beaches in Ecuador (San Clemente). Especially if you get the seller down say $5-10k more, if the title checks out, it could be an excellent buy based on what i know about market prices in the area.

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Montanita Ecuador Real Estate For Sale

MONTANITA HOUSE FOR RENT

One price for WHOLE HOUSE, more private than a hotel and fit as many people as you wish!…

3 bedroom with one queen bed each, 2 full bathrooms, fully furnished kitchen with dining table and mini-refrigerator, patio with hammocks overlooking the ocean, dining area…

House has internet and WIFI.

This quiant house has a 180 degree ocean view and has a great location in a quiet area just outside of the hustle of nearby Montanita. It is 25 minutes by walking along the beach to Montanita (shares same beach), or 2 minutes by car (or a $1.50 taxi ride). See map below.

Furnished kitchen with plates, fridge, refrigerator and gas stove.

Pets OK, garden, yard, parking area.

$30 per day, $180 per week, $380 per month (including internet).

$100 security deposit, can rent for days, weeks or months.

After reservation you will be emailed the key pick up instructions and our caretaker will let you in the house the day of your arrival and help you get acquainted.

Click here to check availability and reserve now!

Or call Dom at 0969251257 or write us below:

[contact-form 16 “montanitaVacRen”]

manglaralto beach — The nearby beach, just south of Montanita.

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They came, they left, an expat family story in Ecuador

Biking Cotopaxi, Ecuador in Family

I see it all the time working in a hotel in Guayaquil.

They arrived, a young expat family with two parents in their 30’s and 2 little kids.

They had never been to Ecuador.

But they were planning on making a life here.

They had read all the fluffy speak of Ecuador online. Visited the blogs.

But when they got here it was a different story, almost right from the start.

The landlord they were going to rent from over the net kind of stiffed them, then someone else overcharged them.

Then the mother, up-tight already, got uneasy seeing all the nudy magazines in the streets and the people kissing in public (common in many countries in the world, not just in Ecuador).

Then the father, who didn’t quite grasp yet that pedestrians DON’T have the right of way in Ecuador, got hit by a car… luckily it wasn’t serious and he was OK.

All the while feeling a bit isolated by the language barrier, and disappointed that prices weren’t as low as they were led to believe online before arriving.

They came.

They left.

They made it less than a month.

My advice so this doesn’t happen to you?

Commit to 6 months here no matter what!

In that time you should get over the learning curve, learn how to spend less to live here and make some local friends and learn at least a bit of the language.

If you do that, you’ll find Ecuador an amazing place to live, and I bet, no matter where else in the world you go, you’ll keep coming back. (Like me!)

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