What residency documents or visas did I need if I will be in Ecuador for a while?

"To say the visa and cedula process can be "frustrating" is a mild way of putting it. But, the frustration is in the applicant and is because of expectations. What we in North America are used to sets us up for frustration. A cultural reset is needed...not at all easy. Hire someone who is vetted by a lot of expat experience (please, not by advertising exposure alone) AND by your personal involvement. Most of all have patience. Never give up. Twelve years ago I hired a lawyer in Quito to get the Jubilado visa. She was good. The cedula and visa transfer to a new PP I did myself years later. Great help if you both speak Spanish. Especially if you know the culture. Be friendly with the clerks, they work there, they didn't invent the procedures. If they grease the rails just a little for you it will help. If they put sand on them progress will be delayed. its worth it," wrote a member who made the move to Ecuador.

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"I can only speak of my own experiences with Ecuadorian Bureaucracy. I've been here five years, and currently hold a permanent resident's visa. If they can find a way to make any paperwork-based process more difficult they do. Without fail. From cédulas to driver's licenses, to getting married, which I gather you understand being, like me, married to an Ecuadorian. Or buying a car or land. Months of frustration. For example: my new cédula as a married person. Five trips by bus from Otavalo to Quitumbe (outside Quito) to the Registro Civil which deals with foreigners. Each trip 3-4 hours each way. Each time we went armed with all the documents we felt we could possibly need. Each time there was something lacking. "You were born in the States but are a Canadian?" "Yes, I've lived in Canada since I turned 23 and am a naturalized citizen. " "But can you prove you were born in the US?" "Here are my two passports, Canadian and US, both of which state I was born in New York." "But do you have your birth certificate?" "Yes, but not with me." Another trip back to Cotacachi and back to Quitumbe the next day." "But señor, this is the original." "Yes, by some miracle I still have it 73 years later," "But señor, the original is unacceptable as proof of anything." We need to see a copy, notarized and apostilled by the Secretary of State of New York." At this point, we gave up and contacted the lawyer in Cuenca who had organized my visas for me and she made it happen in two days, in Cuenca. Both the permanent visa and the cédula done on the same day. Worth every penny. And a road trip to boot," explained one expat living in Cotacachi, Ecuador.