Ecuador Digital Nomad Visa 2026: Income, Documents, Fees

Who it is for

The procedure page is titled "Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada)". It describes a temporary-residence authorization, in the rentista category, for foreigners who intend to settle in Ecuador to work remotely and who own a company or work for one or more legal or natural persons domiciled abroad. Regulation Article 64 says nationals of the countries on a list prepared by the Ministry of Tourism may apply. The procedure page marks that list "TODOS LOS PAÍSES" (all countries) and cites official letters of 24 February and 14 March 2022. Applicants already in Ecuador must show regular migration status. Article 64 of the Law also requires every applicant for temporary residence not to be considered a threat or risk to public security and not to have a final conviction in Ecuador for an offence punishable by imprisonment.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica Reformatoria a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (24 October 2025)

Income, remote work and health insurance

Regulation Article 64 asks for foreign-source income of at least three (3) Salarios Básicos Unificados (SBU) per month in the three (3) months before the visa application, or a total of thirty-six (36) SBU per year, shown with copies of international bank statements. On 15 December 2025 the Ministry of Labour announced that the SBU for 2026 would be USD 482. Applicants must also attach documents showing that they work or provide services remotely for a foreign employer, client or company. A person who shows documents proving that they own a company registered and domiciled abroad may also apply for this visa. The procedure page also asks for national or foreign health insurance valid for the same period as the visa; if contracted with a foreign company, the policy or contract must state coverage in Ecuador.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) trabajo.gob.ec: Consenso para fijar el Salario Básico Unificado de 2026 en USD 482

Documents and fees

The procedure page lists general documents: a color photo, a passport valid for at least six months, an original criminal-record certificate (see the next section), payment of the fee and proof of lawful means of living under Ministerial Agreement No. 70 of 28 June 2024. An amending law published on 24 October 2025 adds a migration-record certificate to the essential requirements in Article 64 of the Law, under conditions provided for in the Regulation. The procedure page, last updated 2024/12/31, lists USD 50 for the visa application and USD 270 for the granting of the visa, with no VAT. It also lists a 50% exemption for people aged 65 or over and a 100% exemption for people with a disability of 30% or more who present the disability card issued by Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica Reformatoria a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (24 October 2025)

Criminal-record certificate

An original criminal-record certificate is required from your country of origin or the country where you lived before applying, translated into Spanish and apostilled or legalized, valid for 180 days from its date of issue (Law Article 64, numeral 7, added on 24 October 2025). As a general rule it must cover national-level records; the procedure page says certificates from federal governments are valid as long as they cover national-level records. The procedure page, last updated before that change, still asks for the countries where you lived in the last five years, counts the 180 days up to your last entry into Ecuador, and says the certificate is required only from people over 18. Regulation Article 58 adds that a resident who has lived in Ecuador for at least 21 continuous months presents the Ecuadorian criminal-record certificate when renewing, and that for this certificate the time spent outside Ecuador cannot exceed 90 days in total while the visa is valid.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica Reformatoria a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (24 October 2025)

How to apply and after the visa is issued

The procedure page says the application is made only online, on the e-VISAS platform. The first payment must be made immediately after registering the application, and requests not paid by 23h55 (Ecuador time) the same day are deleted. Once the electronic visa is issued, the holder must physically send to the office that issued the visa, within one (1) month, all the documents that supported its issuance. Under Regulation Article 64, failing to do so is treated as the disappearance of the facts that justified the visa, and the human-mobility authority may cancel it ex officio. If the review of the original documents shows irregularities or a missing document, cancellation ex officio starts, and civil or criminal proceedings may also follow. Article 110 also lets the ministry check the file after issue.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text)

Decision time, validity and renewal

Regulation Article 52 gives the ministry a legal time limit ('término') of sixty (60) days to decide on an application; the article does not say whether these are working or calendar days, and the procedure page gives no processing time. The procedure page gives the validity of what is issued as up to 2 years. The current text of the Law says temporary residence authorizes a stay of up to two years, renewable on multiple occasions. The Legal Basis section of the procedure page still quotes an older wording of Article 60 (two years, renewable only once), which is no longer in the Law; the October 2025 reform did not change this rule. Regulation Article 106 says temporary residences can be renewed multiple times. For a renewal, Article 107 lists a form, a passport valid for at least six months, payment of the fee and proof of lawful means of living determined for each visa under the protocol.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text)

Family members

The Law lists persons covered by the holder: children, and a spouse or legally recognized de facto partner, whose visa cannot last longer than the holder's. Regulation Article 79 lets the holder of a temporary residence visa request this for children, spouse or recognized de facto partner, with documents showing the filiation, marriage or de facto union. The procedure page for this visa asks the holder to show an extra 250 US dollars a month for each person covered, the same rule Regulation Article 63 sets for the rentista category to which this visa belongs. Regulation Article 79, the general rule for family members of temporary residents, asks for an extra 250 US dollars a month for each adult child covered. The official texts do not say which rule prevails for this visa; showing an extra 250 US dollars a month for each family member covered meets both.

gob.ec: Concesión de visa de residencia temporal rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nómada) gob.ec: Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text) gob.ec: Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana (consolidated text)

What this page does not cover

This page does not cover minimum amounts of health-insurance cover, the content of the migration-record certificate, the fee for a renewal, the details of the proof of lawful means of living, or the text of the two official letters cited for the Ministry of Tourism country list. Check the official pages for them.