Previously, a conservative interpretation of the rules was widely posted online as saying:
To prevent losing a residency visa, the visa holder may be outside Ecuador for only 90 days in each of the first two years after obtaining the visa, and a maximum total of 18 months during the first five years -- including time outside EC during Years 1 and 2.
However, the Cuenca-based Gringo Visas company, which aids Expats in obtaining such visas, has a different take:
"For the first two years, a person cannot be out of the country for more than 90 days each 12-month period.
"But starting from the third year forward, a person can leave the country for as much as 18 months at one time, and not lose their visa. For example, in the third year a person can leave for 16 months, return to Ecuador for a few days, and have another 18 months available to leave the country."
source: gringovisas.com
The Maximum Time a Visa Holder Can Be Outside EC: A Different Take
cccmedia wrote:In the third year a person can leave for 16 months, return to Ecuador for a few days, and have another 18 months available to leave the country.
source: gringovisas.com
The stay-in-the-country requirements have been changed, according to a June 2014 update from Cuenca Residency, which says that one result is that fewer resident Expats will be applying for citizenship going forward.
The Cuenca Residency website details the new, higher barriers to citizenship that have been widely reported on the Internet and elsewhere, including Spanish-language competency and some knowledge of EC history.
"The only real advantage (of the citizenship-requirements changes) is that it removes the 18 months allowable-absence period so most Expats will not bother going for citizenship -- which is a long and frustrating process that will cost you about $2,000 including the required trips to Quito."
source: cuencaresidency.blogspot.com
Many if not most resident Expats who apply for citizenship do it so they can leave Ecuador whenever and for as long as they want. Given that that incentive is gone, you now understand why citizenship applications are predicted to go way down.
cccmedia in Quito
cccmedia wrote:]"The only real advantage (of the citizenship-requirements changes) is that it removes the 18 months allowable-absence period so most Expats will not bother going for citizenship -- which is a long and frustrating process that will cost you about $2,000 including the required trips to Quito."
source: cuencaresidency.blogspot.com
That blogger is wrong. Expats who are here on an investors visa, and there are many, may want to be citizens to get control of their money or property again.
I mentioned this in another thread... I'm still within my first two years of my visa. I left Ecuador for 9 months. I returned to Ecuador through the Quito airport twice since then. I don't know if I got through because I asked nicely, of if it is because their record keeping isn't very good, or if it is because my type of visa allows me to come and go as I please. I have residency by marriage, but from what I read about my visa I was not supposed to leave for more than 90 days in the first two years, same as investor and real estate visas.
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