Ecuador: Professional Visa (Remote Work)
Remote workers and their family can move permanently to Ecuador with a Professional Visa, with the right to work and start a business.
Benefits
- Bring family
- Path to Permanent Residence
- Renewable after 2 years
- No physical residency requirements
- Includes right to work
- Low required income
Introduction
If you earn just $400 per month working online (and you have a degree), you qualify for Ecuador’s Professional Visa. With this visa, you can travel in and out of Ecuador as much as you want, you can work locally in Ecuador, and you have a path to permanent residency and citizenship. This visa’s accessibility and flexibility make Ecuador one of the world’s best places to start your journey as a digital nomad.
With year-round tropical weather, beautiful nature from the coast to the rainforest and mountains, well-developed infrastructure, UNESCO recognized historical sites, and a low cost of living, Ecuador is an ideal long-term home. Its location also makes it a perfect base to explore Central and South America.
Direct flights connect Ecuador to North America and Europe, and Ecuador is in a convenient time zone for communication with the U.S.A.
Internet Speed
Fixed broadband: 32.33 Mbps download/27.97 Mbps upload
Mobile: 25.98 Mbps download/10.79 Mbps upload
Cost of living
No. 89 globally
Requirements
$400 per month remote income (proven for last 6 months)
Or
$1,500 bank deposit
Undergraduate or graduate degree from a university approved by Senescyt
Fees
- $450 ($50 to apply and $400 upon issuance)
Application Process
Apply at your local Ecuadorean embassy or consulate. You can also apply from inside Ecuador.
You may be able to make an online appointment here.
This visa takes 3+ months to process.
Documents Required
- Filled out and notarized application form, completed in Spanish
- Passport
- Passport photos
- Fingerprints
- Police check (less than 6 months old), from every country in which you lived in the past 5 years
- Proof of relationship to dependents, such as marriage and birth certificates, apostilled in the past 6 months
- Diploma (notarized and apostilled)
- University transcript (notarized and apostilled)
- Letter from university certifying diploma and transcript are correct (notarized and apostilled)
Many documents should be apostilled or legalized in the 6 months before you apply. It is much easier to gather these documents in your home country than after you arrive in Ecuador.
