Irish Moving to Ecuador. Where to live etc?

There's lots of good and detailed information on cost of living throughout the forum. It varies greatly and example is housing which can range from 300-2500+ and depends on area, type of housing, etc. As for where to live, I think you should start doing your research based on the type of environment and climate you like, for example coast or mountains, cities of rural. I'm a city person and love living in the city so that's my bias.

As for visas you can enter Ecuador and remain for 90 days, after that you can extend your stay for an additional 3-6 months on a non-immigrant visa. This duration is at the discretion of visa officials, so you can remain here in total for 6-9 months a year. If you want to be a resident you can achieve this by a pensioner visa with minimum monthly income of $800, plus more for each dependent. Another option is an investment visa with an investment of $25,000 in a bank for primary applicant and $1000 for each dependent. There's also a professional visa that's issued to applicants with college degrees from an approved list of universities. Everything related to visas is online and updated from government sources with all the requirements.

For an easy-read introduction to residency visas, google vivatropical ecuador visas.

Spanish students at approved universities and volunteers working with an approved non-profit organization can stay in Ecuador for their first 12 months.

cccmedia in Quito

sothern1 wrote:

Also what visas are necessary as we are Irish and if there is an Irish expat community we could get in touch with.

The overwhelming majority of English-speaking Expats in Quito are from North America, far fewer from Ireland or the U.K.  There might be an Expat-owned bar or two in Mariscal sector, Quito, to network your way to meeting some folks from home. Look in places within two blocks of Plaza Foch to the East of Avenida Amazonas.

Areas in Quito popular with resident Expats include Mariscal, Gonzáles Suárez and the somewhat-lower-altitude suburbs including Tumbaco and Cumbayá.

cccmedia

Thank you for this information, very much appreciated

Hello and welcome on board Expat.com sothern1

Our living in Ecuador guide may prove helpful.

To have an idea about price of rentals, you can check out rental adverts in our Housing in Ecuador section.

You can read experiences shared by members by browsing the Ecuador forum by categories.

Wish you all the best

Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com

Thanks for the information. My husband and I are trying to learn all we can.  Should we decide that we want to live in Ecuador, we will get a residency visa.

CCMedia placed a link on this blog giving more information.

One question we do have for anyone is -
Is the government stable? We know that it is more socialistic.  Does anyone have comments or information about the government stability in general and how it might impact expats living there?

We really appreciate all information - positive and negative.

Thanks,
Robin

Is the government stable? We know that it is more socialistic.  Does anyone have comments or information about the government stability in general and how it might impact expats living there?


Although we don't evaluate and discuss the politics of Ecuador on this forum, you can keep up with events in the presidential election of 2017 and other political stories at cuencahighlife.com “Ecuador News."

cccmedia

RobinJoel wrote:

My husband and I are trying to learn all we can.  Should we decide that we want to live in Ecuador, we will get a residency visa.

CCMedia placed a link on this blog giving more information.

Based on our PM exchange, here are some phrases you could use at GYE or UIO airport and at the airport taxi stand in Quito....

Where can we find the luggage from LAN flight 945?  ¿Donde se encuentra el equipaje (ek-ee-PAH-hay) de vuelo LAN nueve-cuarenta-y-cinco?

Where are the taxis? ¿Donde están los taxis?

Where is Terminal 2?  ¿Donde está Terminal Dos?

We would like to find a hotel near the airport for tonight for under $60. Queríamos quedarnos en un hotel cerca del aeropuerto para esta noche con tarifa de menos de seisenta dólares.

Taxi driver, we are headed to Quito Airport Suites.  Do you know the way to that hotel?  Taxista, se dirige hacia (say dih-REE-hay AH-see-uh) Quito Airport Suites.  ¿Conoce usted la ruta hacia ese hotel?

  --- cccmedia

Taking notes! Thanks!

Hello,
As you should know, you can come to Ecuador with a tourist visa which allows you to be in the country for 90 days. That's a period in which you can discover some nice areas in Ecuador.
There are some beautiful places to live such us Cotacachi, Vilcabamba, Malacatos, Cuenca, Mindo, and some others. If you're planning to stay more you can obtain an extension visa which will give you 180 extra days to stay here. if you're planning to move Ecuador there are some residency visas you can apply depending of what you qualify for. Pensioner visa, investment visa, professional visa, they are the most common.
I live in Cuenca since January and so far I really love Ecuador, I got my pensioner visa which is indefinite. The rule says I cannot leave more than 90 days during the first 2 years after your visa was issued. After the third year you can leave for 18 months.
If you need assistance with your visa, I highly recommend to Attorney Pablo Espinoza and his team Helping Expats Group. They are a great team and they will charge you a reasonable price.
Contact them at    [email protected]

Good Luck!

James Caj wrote:

I got my pensioner visa which is indefinite. The rule says I cannot leave more than 90 days during the first 2 years after your visa was issued. After the third year you can leave for 18 months.

To clarify:  a new visa-holder may be outside Ecuador for up to 90 days out of the first 365 days without losing visa privileges.  He or she may then be outside Ecuador for up to an additional 90 days in Year 2, the second 365-day cycle.  After Year 2, the Expat may be outside Ecuador for up to 18 months in a five-year period, which -- during Years 1 to 5 -- includes any months already spent outside La República in Years 1 and 2.

cccmedia in Quito