New Immigration Law in Ecuador

The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, signed this Saturday, January 28, to execute the new Human Mobility Act, during his weekly Enlace Ciudadano program, broadcast from Barcelona, Spain. In the case of foreigners residing in Ecuador, they can obtain two types of residence: temporary or permanent. According to article 54 from the said law there are 3 categories for temporary visitors in Ecuador: - TRANSIENT - TOURIST - APPLICANTS REQUESTING INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION Art.55 TRANSIENT: People who goes through the Ecuadorian territory as a passenger, international transport crew, or people who lives on the border area. Art. 56 TOURIST: People who arrives in the country for tourism purposes, they are not allowed to work in Ecuador. The tourist will be allowed to stay in the country for 90 days for FREE, if they want to extend their stay in the country, they can get an extension period for 90 extra days, this extension has a GOVERNMENT FEE. There is a special tourist visa that can be requested just once every 5 years, this will be valid for a period of one year and it also has a GOVERNMENT FEE. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]