Ecuador Digital Nomad Visa

Ecuador's digital nomad visa is officially the Visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto, or Visa Nómada. It's a temporary residence visa for foreigners who work remotely for an employer, clients or their own company based outside Ecuador (gob.ec).

• Status: active
• Income: at least $1,446 a month from foreign sources, three times Ecuador's unified basic salary of $482 a month
• Dependants: $250 a month more for each person covered
• Fees: $50 to apply and $270 on approval
• Stay: up to 2 years, renewable once

The unified basic salary is reset every January, so the dollar threshold changes each year (Contraloría 2026 salary table). The Ecuador guide compares this visa with the pensioner route and tourist stays.

• Nationality: the official page lists all countries as eligible.
• Work: employment or services for an employer, client or company domiciled abroad, carried out remotely, digitally or by telework, or ownership of a company registered and domiciled abroad.
• Income: foreign-source income of at least $1,446 a month in each of the three months before applying, or 36 times the unified basic salary over a year, shown with international bank statements.
• Lawful means of living: required under Ministerial Agreement No. 70 of June 28, 2024.
• Family: Yes, with an extra $250 a month for each person covered.

The category is built around foreign employers and clients; the official page doesn't cover work for Ecuadorian employers (gob.ec).

The ministry asks for these documents on the e-VISAS platform:

• Photo: a recent color JPG of up to 1 MB, 5 x 5 cm, on a white background.
• Passport: valid for at least six months.
• Criminal record certificate: for applicants over 18, from the country of origin or any country of residence in the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalized. It counts as valid for 180 days from its issue date to the applicant's last entry into Ecuador (gob.ec).
• Health insurance: National or foreign health insurance valid for the whole visa period; a foreign policy must state it covers Ecuador.
• Fee payment and any other document the ministry asks for in a given case.
• Income proof: international bank statements showing the foreign-source income.
• Work proof: documents showing the remote work for a foreign employer, client or company, or ownership of a company registered abroad.

• Application fee: $50, paid when filing (gob.ec).
• Issuance fee: $270, paid after approval. No VAT applies to either fee.
• Discounts: 50% off for applicants 65 and older, and 100% off for people with a disability of 30% or more who present the Ministry of Public Health disability card.

Health insurance for the whole visa period, translations, apostilles and any legal help come on top and vary by provider.

1. Register and file online. Online only, on the Foreign Ministry e-VISAS platform (serviciosciudadanos.cancilleria.gob.ec); visas are issued by zonal offices in Ecuador or consulates abroad. Applicants already in Ecuador must be in regular status, for example with a tourist permit or another visa. A legal representative files for minors.
2. Pay the same day. The $50 application fee is due right after filing, online or by deposit at Banco del Pacífico. Requests not paid by 23:55 Ecuador time that day are deleted and must be entered again.
3. Review. Once paid, the request moves to "Revisión de Información" and the ministry may ask for more documents. No official processing time is published.
4. Issue. After approval the $270 issuance fee is paid and the visa is issued by a zonal office in Ecuador or a consulate abroad.

Steps follow the official gob.ec procedure page.

• First visa: up to 2 years.
• Renewal: Temporary residence lasts two years and can be renewed once (Organic Law on Human Mobility, Art. 60).
• Longest stay in this status: 4 years.
• Next step: Permanent residence after at least 21 continuous months as a resident, applied for before the current residence expires.

The visa comes with no tax regime of its own, and no official source grants its holders an income tax exemption. Tax residence follows the general rule: a person is resident after 183 days or more in Ecuador in a fiscal year, or in a 12-month span across two fiscal years unless they prove tax residence elsewhere, or when their main economic interests are in Ecuador (SRI, Art. 4.1).

A remote worker who becomes resident should check with the SRI how foreign earnings are treated and whether a tax treaty applies. The Ecuador guide covers the basics.