Drivers license validity

Ecuadorian law says that you can drive on your foreign license for 90 days- then you should get an Ecuadorian license. You can either take a driving course then take the test or you can do some paperwork to apply and take the test using your foreign drivers license. I did it recently- you have to have your license and driving record translated and notarized- you need a blood type card (you can get it here from Red Cross)- and copy of your passport or cedula- you pay $38 and take the tests.

Hi Amyf,
Thanks very much for taking time and posting valuable info... 

I have notice something.

If a Police stops a car, always, always the drivers hands him:
License
Registration
SOAT (basic insurance)

If the driver is a expat or a foreign or "gringo looking" they does not ask anything else, they dont ask for visa or passport or ecuadorian license.

Why?
They assume the driver is a tourist. They assume the car is rented. So, why to have a ecuadorian license if the driver is going to stay, lets say 3months?

I know a person who have been in Ecuador since 2009 and his gringo license works perfect everytime in police check points.

Now, I will highly recomend get the ecuadorian license. A trick would not last forever.

Yeah, my Washington State license stopped being valid here 7 months ago. I still use it. I hit police checkpoints all the time because my home is about an hour from the Columbia border. Before I had a cedula I got hassled a little and had to do some fast talking. Since I got the cedula I've had no trouble even though I am driving illegally.

I have a friend that does a transportation business here in Cuenca. He usually runs between Cuenca and GYE. He gets stopped all the time. He has a US license. They only ask him for registration and proof of insurance, never his drivers license. We just traveled to Peru, and at none of the check points was he questioned. He had to tape a proof of insurance for Peru to his windshield. Minimum amount we could buy was 10 days. 10 bucks, so pretty cheap at a dollar a day.
Neil

Cheers for the reply... I thought it wouldn't be so drastic.. After all we all just wana peace...

My good driving luck almost ran out. I got stopped for a cracked windshield and the cop wanted to impound my car. I could tell he wanted to take the $20 I offered him, but there were 5 other cops there. After some pleading, he came round d to the passenger side out of view of the other cops and took the $20.

Good for you!! We have a trick for that kind of offer, I dont know if you know it.

We hand him the money under the license or under the registration, so its out of the view.
That never happen to me, hope I will be able to do it right!

My husband got stopped when he was ridding a motorcylce that had the (Ecuadorian border) permit expire (hope my broken english is working in this explanation) He did not offer money, he just beg.. haha

He said: Por favor, por favor, por favor, yo regreso moto a Peru 1 semana (broken spanish)
Please, I will send the bike back to Perú in 1 week.
The Police said: Vaya, vaya! (go, go!)

Dont you think guys, Police in Ecuador are much nicer/kind/respectfull than other countries?

Haha? Sorry, I don't think bribing cops is cute. Just get your ecua-license already, it's not that hard.

chrisf29 wrote:

Haha? Sorry, I don't think bribing cops is cute. Just get your ecua-license already, it's not that hard.

Ok, it is a bit of a hassle getting all the papers, but way ahead of taking the class.  I did it here in Cuenca and the person at ANT was very helpful.  And by the by, attempting to bribe a law enforcement official is a felony (delito).  Conviction can result in prison and/or deportation.  Of course such an experience might be just the ticket to end your memoirs about your time in Ecuador.

Mike

chrisf29 wrote:

Haha? Sorry, I don't think bribing cops is cute. Just get your ecua-license already, it's not that hard.

I'm afraid, though, that this puts those of us who are trying to raise our Cultural Sensitivity Quotient in a bind. We are told by our betters that we must adopt Ecuadorian ways or else be labelled Ugly Gringos. If the Ecuadorian practice is to bribe the cops, then shouldn't we join in and do the same?

Bob, removing tongue from cheek

Bobh,

I think is common fr ecuadorians to bribe the cops.. But, I have noticed something:

Ecuadorian Police are nice people (at least, much nicer than the one up north) They are not hidding in a dark spot waiting someone make a mistake. They go everywhere with the ligths on like saying: Im comin guys!! Be good! Im coooming!!!

They dont really want to stop anybody. If they stop someone they expect us to have all our paperwork together. If we did something wrong they will say: Did you realize that... yadayada?

So, depending of how bad is the mistake there is chance to "negociate" with the Police in order to let you go, the fine, taking the vehicle or whateverer.

If the Police has a checkpoint will be much difficult to negociate anything. Like in Cuenca, they put a radar in Loja Av and in just 1 morning they catch 30 people for speeding. I bet too many people was watching and even if someone tried to negociate could be very difficult for them let someone go.

It always depend. I have never negociate anything with any Police because I try to have everything in order, dont speed and be nice.

My husband friend told me that few months ago (my husband and him, before we met) they were traveling to Salinas, my husband was speeding and the Police stop them in the "peaje" so, my husbandŽs friend got out of the car, negociate with the Police and come back running and saying: Get into the car!!! Hurry up, lets go, lets go!!!

By negociate I mean: Ask as a favor, or giving a "tip"

I'm a hardcore motorcyclist and wonder about the pretty curvy roads to ride and if there are any expat rider groups that get together.

In the northwest the San Lorenzo to Ibarra road and the Quito to Mindo road are both crazy curvy and have good pavement and light traffic.

I've been riding for 50 years, and yeah, there are some roads here that challenge " The Tail of The Dragon". < not as tight though > Don't know about expat riding groups here in Cuenca, but there are many groups that ride together.
Don't know what your plans are for a bike. I am picking up a BMW Daker in Colombia. Most bikes here are in the  125/250 cc range. 650 Yammi's and Suzuki's are available, but kinda  spendy. And, there is a Royal Enfield dealer here in Cuenca. ( 500 cc )
Luckily, the guys I ride with have an emergency room doc in the group. Always handy!
Rubber Side Down

Jesse

Sounds similar, riding 50plus years, advanced track instructor for 15 years, most of the time we have an EMT who is one of the more crazy of the group.  I can live with 500 plus cc, but prefer liter sport tourers .
We will have to stay in touch as plans come together, nothing better then friends who appreciate two wheels, curves and the great outdoors:)

Hi.  I have been to about 15 countries and lived in many of them for long term.  I am definitely not an authority on the subject but I can say from my experience that having a foreign driver's licence has gotten me out of way more trouble than in trouble.
  I am Canadian but spent 5 years in California for college and I used my Canadian licence.  I got a few tickets and they were evidently sent up to Canada ...but their were no tickets waiting for me.
I was just in Thailand for a year.  Got a ticket, a huge accident ....and having a local DL was never even asked for or discussed by the police or insurance.  I even got insurance with my foreign DL.
  All the same goes for Japan, Philippines, Cuba, and on and on....
  Now,  this is not to say that all of your experiences will be the same but it has been my experience that a foreign DL is probably too much for a cop to deal with and there's nothing in it for them(and it never hurts to only speak English because in some countries the police officer may not speak English and be embarrassed about this like when I was in Taipei)    You may have the odd cop who may try to scare ya to get some "tip"  ....
  Foreign DL and insurance seems to do the trick . 
  Again , getting a local DL would be a good idea for valuable peace of mind also.  You never know when or why my experience may not become your own.   

re mackbutter's post.  It's on target.  Two papers that you have to have with you here in Ecuador driving any motorized vehicle are the registration (matricula) and insurance (SOAT)  Unless you have them with your passport number it is your cedula number.  Having an EC cedula and matricula with the cedula number might make for an awkward moment if you have a foreign driver's license,

Getting the Ecuadorian license using your foreign license to avoid ding dong school is a bit of a pain, but not overly burdensome.

Mike

Hey guys!
I found the requirements for the ecuadorian driverŽs license.

You only need original and copies of:
Passport
Visa
Your driverŽs license
Cedula

And you need:
Aprove the drivers test (a list of 215 questions) they take 20 questions by random
Get a eye test (in the Trasit Agency)
Get a doc from a ecuadorian hosp that show your blood type. They dont want you to say what is your blood type, they want a doc that show it.

More info:
Licencia de Conducir Tipo B para Extranjeros con Visa Superior a 90 Días

I suggest that everyone get the ecuadorian driverŽs license if you are driving your own car.
No speak spanish is not going to stop a cop of taking your car away or sending someone to jail.

Cops in Ecuador are kind and helpfull, but anyway, better get things straight than having a pain in your... (you understand)

Hey guys!
I found the requirements for the ecuadorian driverŽs license.

You only need original and copies of:
Passport
Visa
Your driverŽs license
Cedula

And you need:
Photo
Aprove the drivers test (a list of 215 questions) they take 20 questions by random
Get a eye test (in the Trasit Agency)
Get a doc from a ecuadorian hosp that show your blood type. They dont want you to say what is your blood type, they want a doc that show it.

More info:
Licencia de Conducir Tipo B para Extranjeros con Visa Superior a 90 Días

I suggest that everyone get the ecuadorian driverŽs license if you are driving your own car.
No speak spanish is not going to stop a cop of taking your car away or sending someone to jail.

Cops in Ecuador are kind and helpfull, but anyway, better get things straight than having a pain in your... (you understand)

Here in Cuenca ANT wants (wanted?) the Red Cross blood type card.  Takes a few minutes.

RE: Having an EC cedula and matricula with the cedula number might make for an awkward moment if you have a foreign driver's license,"

  That must be true, I imagine.  I'm only staying here for 1 or 2 years so I don't plan on getting a cedula and I'm only 39.  So I imagine once a cop sees someone 60+ yrs old in Ecuador's retirement capital then all sorts of red flags must go off unless he wants to ignore them.
  So with a cedula I would probably get a local DL.  But for me on a 9 month visa ext.  They don't really care about a local DL even I'm here for 2 yrs. 
Now, not really being a tourist hub, Cuenca cops would probably cause some stir if I have an accident....but I still believe that it would be irrelevant for me on visa extensions/re-entries....

As I understand the visa law (and may be wrong) after six months you have to have some type of visa and then can get your cedula,  My understanding of the DL law is that after 90 days you can no longer drive on a foreign DL. 

I think that one can stay 90 days on a tourist visa (which can be extended for three more months).  After that you have to be out of the country for a year.  So if that is your case then no, probably not a DL issue.

In my experience cops at traffic stops treat the elderly with a lot more consideration then they do younger folks.  But I wouldn't want to test it at a traffic stop or accident.

RE:  As I understand the visa law (and may be wrong) after six months you have to have some type of visa and then can get your cedula,  My understanding of the DL law is that after 90 days you can no longer drive on a foreign DL. 

I think that one can stay 90 days on a tourist visa (which can be extended for three more months).  After that you have to be out of the country for a year.  So if that is your case then no, probably not a DL issue."


    Lots of folks who r visiting long term get a 6mth extension for $200.  So that's a 9 month total.  Then they take a weekend trip to Peru or Columbia and return fresh to start again. 
Of course this is not the Official procedure but neither was it when I was in Thailand , China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, The Philippines etc..
It's called a visa run and that's the deal with the majority of the world including Ecuador.  Of course countries like the US and England are infinitely more restrictive...
I'm only 39 , not retiring, not gonna stay here indefinitely and as long as they know I'm not taking a job from an ecuadorian then it's all good. 
Visa runs are even advertised openly in newspaper and online even though immigration can't and won't advertise it.
Being white obviously helps too.  If I was columbian than its a whole new ballgame,   

What r they gonna say,"no we don't want u to spend $4K / month here...?

I would always guarantee  that a police officer will never say , "I have to impound your vehicle because u need to get your cedula or you've been a tourist too long to drive here." 

If the police in California didn't mind me driving there for 5 yrs on my Canadian DL in 1997 then it's not likely a Ecuadorian police officer will have an issue with it.

Go for it...

Agree... go for it.

mackbutter, I've kept quiet through all of this (and other threads you've posted in), but I just HAVE to know... how do plan on staying in Ecuador for 1-2 years, without getting a residency visa?

There is no visa that allows for "in-and-out-and-in, reset the clock" privileges, other than a "real live" Residency Visa.

But since I'm not an Ecuardorian attorney, I will just sit on the side-lines and see how this all plays out :-) Please, keep us informed! Oh, by the way, quito0819 is very accurate in his visa description and how your plan may be a bit "sideways". I would only add that if you think you might get a pass for being a "white guy", jajajajajajaja.

Good luck in all your future endeavors. Please though, before all the heart break of finding out what Ecuadorian National Police are really like, just remember... we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

symo

That is exactly what happen to us driving from Guyaquil-Cue.
We got stop, Police request the car because we did not have a DL. I mean, ecuadorian DL. Not international, not american, ecuadorian.

He siad, if you are driving with out your passport, I have to put you in jail.

And we beg, and beg, and beg, and beg and beg..

Sorry to offend ya.  I guess you're a bit more emotional than myself.  If I knew you were stressed out about the topic and had trouble keeping quiet on the "sidelines?"  I wouldn't have tried to add my 2 cents from my experience.

It sounds like you're speaking from experience then , correct?
U must know someone being thrown in jail for driving with  a foreign DL perhaps?
Do you know of someone who was kicked out durrin a visa run? 

IF u extend yur visa for 6 month = 9 months.  You must have seen companies here advertising this?  Afterwards, leave and re-enter after a nice vacation somewhere ( somewhere with a beach preferably) and u start again.

I was in Japan for 2 years(start with a 3 month visa), Taipei for 2 years( start with a 3 month visa), Thailand on a diving vacation for 1 year (" ")Philippines, Hong Kong, .....etc  and never once has there been an issue.  In fact most of these countries have many companies which  advertise their visa runs extensively.    My dive instructor has been doing it for 14 years now in Thailand where they have companies driving 1000's of people daily to Burma to get their passports stamped en masse . 
Similar goes for my other countries especially Japan.  I never had my residency visa in any of these countries.  I have known thousands of expats in these countries and with the exception of those with a work visa most just went on visa runs, sometimes for years n years.   But to be fair , I never knew any retired ex-pats retiring in these countries either...
To be honest Im surprised u never heard of this.  Not everyone wants a residency visa do they?

It seems like the discrepancy here is travel vs retirement?  Or do you think that Ecuador is different from the other 14 or so countries I've lived in?
It seems like if my purpose was to retire here and the govt objected to me skirting the immigration/cedula process than it seems like u may have a very good point. 
And not to seem arrogant but I've been to Kansas ...and I drove with a foreign DL    ....Never heard of anyone named toto though...?   

Again,  I have to apologize if my travelling experience disturbed u. 
I'm definitely not an authority on the subject and only have my experiences to reference.

As I said , my experience definitely does not mean it will be others' experience.

I always rely on my own research and hope others will too.

Best wishes!

Give us a break.  It is not your experience but your supposed knowledge of Ecuador's immigration practices. Some of us have lived here for a while and have more than a passing idea of how things are done here.  People have been stopped and turned away at border/air port crossing points because of visa violations.

But good luck.

Good point....

[Moderated]

Yes, I know personally two individuals that were denied entry due to previous Visa violations, but they had not traveled to Japan, Taipei, Hong Kong, or other non-Ecuadorian countries. Perhaps the results would have been different at the airport if they could have just explained how the rest of the world doesn't enforce their immigration laws at Immigration in Quito.

I'm also not sure how "retirement" enters into the picture. I'm not here on a [/b]9-I retirement visa myself, but rather a 9-II Investor Visa. However, just for the record, the 12-X gives you a total of 6 months (180 days) in-country and not 9 months as you incorrectly pointed out previously. But hey, don't take my word for it... this is from the Ecuador Embassy, Washington, DC...

VISA12 – X: Temporary Visitor

Admission subjects

Temporary visitors for the following purposes: tourism, sport, health, education, science or art

Requirements:

Passport with remaining validity of at least 6 months beyond the travel dates
Up to date color picture, passport size with white background
Updated police background check
Roundtrip plane ticket
The applicant must demonstrate financial solvency to remain in the country

Important.

Article 22 of the Aliens Act. - Officers, Foreign Service and the Department and the Immigration Department, will have broad powers to require verification of the statements set out in applications for visas and other immigration documents to ensure and investigate the occurrence of any of the causes of exclusion provided the Migration Act.

Visa Validity:

90 days maximum

Entries: Multiple

Tariff:

Visa application: $ 30
Visa: $ 30
Presence of the applicant is a must

Payment must be done in cash or money order

So, your T-3 gets you 90 days, and the 12-X gets you a 90 day extension. But wait... do check with them, since your previous experience will probably allow them to "be flexible" in administering the law for your benefit.

Have a great visit to Ecuador and may your time here give you many great memories of a lovely country and its people. Oh and we appreciate the $4 grand your going to be dropping every month :-)