What is Ecuador's Temporary residence — Profesional?

Holders of a recognised higher-education degree who want to live and work in Ecuador without being tied to one employer. The most-used route for qualified people moving independently. It lasts two years of temporary residence, renewable. Yes. After 21 months of continuous residence on a temporary visa you may apply for permanent residence, which is open-ended.

What is Ecuador's Temporary residence — Trabajador (employment contract)?

People hired by an Ecuadorian employer under a contract registered with the Ministerio del Trabajo. It lasts two years of temporary residence, renewable, tied to the employment. Yes — the 21-month clock to permanent residence runs the same way.

GlobeQuest

Moving from Bulgaria to Ecuador

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

Bulgaria

EcuadorShort stay

Visa-free · 90 days

Bulgaria passport holders can enter Ecuador without a visa and stay up to 90 days.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in Ecuador — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026Ecuador's official immigration service

Long stay

How you actually move to Ecuador

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Profesional

Holders of a recognised higher-education degree who want to live and work in Ecuador without being tied to one employer. The most-used route for qualified people moving independently.

What you need

A third-level (bachelor's or higher) degree, apostilled, translated and registered with SENESCYT — Ecuador's higher-education authority
Evidence of lawful means of subsistence; the baseline is one salario básico unificado a month, USD 482 in 2026
Apostilled criminal-record certificate covering the last five years of residence
Health cover valid in Ecuador for the duration of the visa
Valid passport and the visa application fees

How long it lasts: Two years of temporary residence, renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Yes. After 21 months of continuous residence on a temporary visa you may apply for permanent residence, which is open-ended.
Cost: A non-refundable application fee plus a visa issue fee, both payable to the MREMH, and then the cédula issue at the Registro Civil. Legalisation, apostilles and the SENESCYT degree registration usually cost more than the visa itself.
Processing time: Weeks once the file is complete. The SENESCYT degree registration is the bottleneck and should be started months before you plan to file.

Worth knowing

SENESCYT registration of the foreign degree is the whole ballgame. Degrees from institutions not on SENESCYT's recognised list either need a lengthy individual recognition or are refused, and people discover this after moving.
A temporary resident may not be outside Ecuador for more than 90 days in a year, cumulative across the validity of the visa. Exceeding it can cost the status. Ecuador is the country in the region where residence is most commonly lost this way.
The reforming law published on 24 October 2025 amended more than 25 articles of the LOMH, tightening loss of residence, adding criminal-record requirements at entry and broadening deportation grounds. Anything written before that date should be re-verified.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)

RetirementMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Rentista / Jubilado (passive income or pension)

Retirees on a pension and anyone living on rents, dividends or other passive income arising outside Ecuador. Long the most popular route for North Americans and Europeans settling on the coast or in the sierra.

What you need

Certified proof of permanent lawful income of at least three salarios básicos unificados a month — USD 1,446 in 2026 — from pension, rents or other passive sources
An additional amount per dependent included in the application
Apostilled documentation of the income source, translated into Spanish
Apostilled criminal-record certificate and health cover valid in Ecuador

How long it lasts: Two years of temporary residence, renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — permanent residence after 21 months of continuous temporary residence.
Cost: MREMH application and issue fees, plus apostilles, sworn translations and the cédula.
Processing time: Weeks once documents are apostilled; the apostille and translation stage abroad dominates the timeline.

Worth knowing

The threshold is expressed in SBU multiples, and the SBU is reset by ministerial agreement each December — USD 470 for 2025, USD 482 for 2026. Plan against the multiple, not last year's dollar figure.
The income must be permanent and documented as such. A large balance in a savings account does not satisfy a rentista test anywhere in the Andes, and Ecuador is no exception.
The same 90-day annual absence limit applies as on every temporary residence. Retirees who spend half the year back home lose status regularly.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)Ministerio del Trabajo — salario básico unificado

Digital nomadMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Rentista para trabajo remoto (digital nomad)

Remote employees and freelancers paid by clients or employers outside Ecuador. Created by executive decree in 2022 and genuinely operational, unlike several of its regional neighbours' announcements.

What you need

Proof of remote income of at least three salarios básicos unificados a month — USD 1,446 in 2026 — from an employer or clients outside Ecuador
An employment contract or client contracts evidencing the remote arrangement
Apostilled criminal-record certificate covering recent residence
Health cover valid in Ecuador for the whole stay

How long it lasts: Two years, renewable once for a further two years.
Path to permanent residence: Yes, and this is what distinguishes it from most nomad visas: it is a residence visa under the LOMH, so the time counts toward the 21 months that open permanent residence.
Cost: MREMH application and issue fees, plus apostille and translation costs.
Processing time: Weeks. Applications can be filed at an Ecuadorian consulate abroad or inside the country.

Worth knowing

Work must be for an employer or clients outside Ecuador. It does not authorise taking a job with an Ecuadorian company.
Being a resident is not the same as being outside the tax system. Ecuador taxes residents on worldwide income, and residence for tax purposes is tested separately from your visa — take advice before assuming remote income arrives untaxed.
The 90-day annual absence limit applies here too, and remote workers are precisely the people most likely to break it.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Trabajador (employment contract)

People hired by an Ecuadorian employer under a contract registered with the Ministerio del Trabajo.

What you need

An employment contract with an Ecuadorian employer, registered in the labour ministry's system
Proof the employer is up to date with IESS social-security obligations
Apostilled criminal-record certificate
Health cover valid in Ecuador

How long it lasts: Two years of temporary residence, renewable, tied to the employment.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — the 21-month clock to permanent residence runs the same way.
Cost: MREMH fees; employers commonly carry them for professional hires.
Processing time: Weeks after the contract is registered.

Worth knowing

Enrolment in IESS is mandatory from the first day of employment and is the employer's legal obligation — it is not an optional benefit, and an employer who suggests otherwise is exposing you as well as themselves.
Ending the employment puts the residence at risk. Ecuador's professional visa exists precisely so that qualified people are not tied to one employer; if your degree is registrable with SENESCYT, it is usually the stronger status to hold.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana Ministerio del Trabajo — salario básico unificado

InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Inversionista

People who would rather qualify on assets than income — through Ecuadorian property, a locked bank deposit, or shares in an Ecuadorian company.

What you need

An investment of at least 100 salarios básicos unificados — USD 48,200 in 2026 — in one of the accepted forms
For property: a registered title deed with a value at or above the threshold
For a bank deposit: a certificate of deposit at an Ecuadorian bank, blocked for the visa period
For shares: proof of holding in a company registered with the Superintendencia de Compañías
Apostilled criminal-record certificate and health cover

How long it lasts: Two years of temporary residence, renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Yes — permanent residence after 21 months of continuous residence.
Cost: MREMH fees on top of the investment itself and its transaction costs.
Processing time: Weeks after the investment is documented and registered.

Worth knowing

Because the threshold is 100 × SBU and the SBU is dollar-denominated, this is one of the cheapest genuine investor residence routes in the Americas — and it moves upward every January when the SBU is reset.
The investment must be maintained. Selling the property or unblocking the deposit before permanent residence is granted puts the status at risk.
This buys residence, not a passport. Ecuadorian naturalisation is a separate process with its own residence and language requirements.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)Ministerio del Trabajo — salario básico unificado

StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Temporary residence — Estudiante

People enrolled in an Ecuadorian university, institute or recognised long-form course, including Spanish programmes of sufficient length.

What you need

Enrolment or admission letter from a recognised Ecuadorian institution
Proof of means of subsistence for the study period
Apostilled criminal-record certificate and health cover

How long it lasts: Aligned with the programme, within the two-year temporary residence framework, renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Study time is temporary residence and counts toward the 21-month clock, though most students switch to a professional or work visa on graduating.
Cost: MREMH fees on top of tuition.
Processing time: Weeks once enrolment is confirmed.

Worth knowing

Student status does not carry general work authorisation.
The 90-day annual absence rule catches students who go home for long summers.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)

FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Residence by family ties (Ecuadorian spouse, partner or child)

Spouses and recognised de facto partners of Ecuadorian nationals or of resident foreigners, and parents of Ecuadorian children.

What you need

Marriage certificate, unión de hecho registered in Ecuador, or the child's Ecuadorian birth registration
Apostilled criminal-record certificate
Proof of means of subsistence for the household

How long it lasts: Family ties to an Ecuadorian national can support permanent residence directly rather than requiring the two-year temporary stage first.
Path to permanent residence: Yes, and by the shortest route available in Ecuador.
Cost: MREMH fees plus civil-registry costs for registering a foreign marriage or a unión de hecho.
Processing time: Weeks, once the civil-registry steps are done.

Worth knowing

A unión de hecho must be formally registered in Ecuador to be relied on; simply living together is not enough for immigration purposes.
Permanent residents face absence limits too, and they are the reason people lose the status they worked two years for. The rule is not more than 180 days outside Ecuador in each of the first two years of permanent residence — double the temporary allowance, but still a real constraint. Beyond that period the October 2025 reform provides that permanent residence is lost where the holder stays outside Ecuador for two or more continuous years. Keep the same day-count record you kept as a temporary resident; nothing about becoming permanent switches the obligation off.

Sources:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana gob.ec — visa procedures (MREMH)

On the ground