Legalized Documents?

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Ps. this ain't gonna be your last question. < smile >

Not even my last question of the day. Can I just run the text of the letter through Google Translate (probably not) or does the consulate have a list of authorized translators, or ... how do I get the SS letter translated?

I never thought about the marriage docs. I'm a widower -- do I need my wife's death certificate?

I don't have the slightest idea where my HS diploma is (I suppose I could get a dupe from the school, maybe). But I don't plan on driving anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter.

Bob

Bob,
You MUST go to the consulate for the confirmation and translation. I think the confusing issue is, we think it's for the translation, when in fact, that's not what it's about. It is the Consulate here, verifying to the Ecuadorian government that you do in fact have X  amount of income. They verify in Spanish, but the main issue is the verification, not the translation itself.
You will want your wives Death Certificate, and have it Apostille. I'm sorry to learn of your loss, and it seems a bit callous to put it in these terms, but.....it's the law in Ecuador. It seems all things evolve around the family unit. Lets just say that you wanted to purchase a property in Ecuador. They want to know your marital status, and if you have any children, as they become the automatic heirs. You don't have a  say in Ecuador that you want to exclude your wife, or children from you're real estate holding's.
One weird aspect of it is this. Some of these large apartment complexes going up may have a ton of " shareholders' due to familial relations. Mine did. So often times, they take their " credit " as an apartment in the building, and then sign off on their portion of legal ownership.
Geeze.... this was a pretty long winded response to a simple question.

Bob,
Follow up. I had no idea where my high school diploma was either. I just contacted the school board here, and they gave me a dup. 5 bucks. They didn't require my College Diploma.... just high school.
I look back at how it was stressed to us in our youth that you have a high school education, and now a college diploma is required. I can honestly say that I was never asked to show either, for any job I ever had. My resume was never questioned.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Bob,
Follow up. I had no idea where my high school diploma was either. I just contacted the school board here, and they gave me a dup. 5 bucks. They didn't require my College Diploma.... just high school.
I look back at how it was stressed to us in our youth that you have a high school education, and now a college diploma is required. I can honestly say that I was never asked to show either, for any job I ever had. My resume was never questioned.

I got a $600/year increase in 1993 in alcohol and drug treatment work by showing my college diploma indicating my degree in secondary education with a major in history.  Can't see how that helped in treating addicts just out of prison, but its just how the system works.

So if you did not graduate high school you cannot drive in Ecuador?

As in all things Ecuador, I can't say that is 100% clear. I just heard it was a requirement, and to cover my butt, I'm bringing it. That was the last piece of the puzzle, or my life, that wasn't documented. I am getting an International Drivers License again before I leave, but I have heard your state license is accepted for the same amount of time? I guess I could do the college diploma also, as that adds some benefits, but I don't plan on working, and see no reason to.

Zenspike, so glad to read your post on the current visa process. If you can bear with my questions, you may have to reiterate some information, I would so appreciate your help.

We live in the US Pacific northwest. We spent a month in Ecuador in November. We have every intention of applying for Ecuador pensioner's visas within the next 12-18 months. The nearest Ecuadoran consulate is in San Francisco, so that's an expensive haul from here. We are having a very difficult time figuring how to complete the process while in the US.

As I understand it, Pensioner's visa application must include:

Birth certificates
Marriage certificate
Proof of income
Police report from current jurisdiction of the last 5 years, which cannot be issued more than 90 days previous to the application.

All these documents must be notarized and apostilled, translated into Spanish, and the translations notarized and apostilled.

I'm stuck on several points. I have no idea how to get the Spanish translations notarized and apostilled, AND with the ticking clock on the police report, I don't know how long the whole process will take, what if the 90 days expires before the visa is issued?

Ideally, we would like to have the entire process completed here in the US with the assurance that the visas are issued, get rid of all possessions in the US, and leave for Ecuador visas in hand.

Do you have any light to shed on my quandry? We have sent several emails to the Ecuadoran consulate in SF with some of these questions but no answers were returned.

And if you have any further advice or hot tips, I sure do want to hear them.

You have the list of required documents correct. I would contact your state police, and find out how long the process in your state takes. Mine took like 15 minutes. I waited for it.
Don't be concerned with the Spanish translation. The only thing you need to submit is your proof of income, and they will translate that at the consulate as an additional document. Other than that, most attorney's will advise you to wait until you get to Ecuador for translations.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Stay Well,
Neil

ZenSPIKE wrote:

I  Other than that, most attorney's will advise you to wait until you get to Ecuador for translations.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Stay Well,
Neil

If I have to get the translations in Ecuador, how can I possibly get the pensioner's visa in the US before departing? Seems like catch-22.

If we are going to liquidate our US existence, I want to know before we get to Ecuador[i][/i] that all the documents are perfect as required and the visas can be counted on. I don't want to get down there to discover that some document which can only be accessed 5,000 miles away is somehow out of order and is not acceptable.

We have been expats and played the visa game before. The cost of travel between Ecuador and the US is too high to get down there and find out something is wrong--then have to come back here and then go back to Ecuador. No.

Need to have the visas here, before we go.[i][/i]

Are you doing it differently? Not getting the visa till you get to Ecuador? I think that seems very risky?

You get your proof of income approved here, it is then translated into Spanish at the consulate, and they register it. There will be 2 seals on it.  That is the only document that must go through the consulate stateside.
I think you would be best served to talk to a consulate agent here, and become comfortable with the whole process. Actually, it's pretty easy, just too many conflicting stories out there.
I am going by real time, with very well respected attorneys in Cuenca. Could change any day. But, with the list that has been presented in this thread, there is no aspect of my life that could be added.

Good Luck

gardener1 wrote:

Are you doing it differently? Not getting the visa till you get to Ecuador? I think that seems very risky?

I understand what you're saying, because I had exactly the same concern, and also intended to get the pensionado visa before departing.

It seems, though, that that isn't how it's done (and I've heard this from several sources).

I agree that it injects a level of risk, but the risk doesn't seem to be high. From what I am told, the process in Ecuador is not THAT difficult -- just standard government red tape and slow-moving bureaucracy.

Of course, I plan to thoroughly review all my documents with the consulate, as Neil has done, before leaving. That lowers my risk, though it doesn't wipe it out, and you may not have that option, not being in a city with a consulate.

You might want to consider two options that come to my mind -- a visit to San Francisco or engaging an Ecuadorian attorney.

Bob

Interesting thanks.

We're going to have to fly to San Francisco I guess, to talk to the consulate. Including roundtrip airfare and at least an overnight stay, that little information jaunt should cost about $1,000 for the two of us.

I was hoping to keep the stateside expenses to a minimum. I can see that's not going to happen.

And ZenSpike, do you by chance have any Ecuador government web links regarding pensioner's visas that might be more useful, other than their embassy pages? I find their embassy website to be lacking in good solid information and instructions for the process.(in English)

*sigh*

BobH wrote:

gardener1 wrote:

Are you doing it differently? Not getting the visa till you get to Ecuador? I think that seems very risky?

I agree that it injects a level of risk, but the risk doesn't seem to be high. From what I am told, the process in Ecuador is not THAT difficult -- just standard government red tape and slow-moving bureaucracy.

Yes, the slow moving process definitely concerns me, especially since the US police report is good for only 90 days. That's probably my biggest concern, the 90 day shelf life of one of the required documents.

Gardener: It would be logical that the 90 days would mean within 90 days before filing. Governments aren't always logical, of course.

Another question I have about the police report. It's supposed to cover the place you've lived for the past five years -- do you need multiple reports if you've lived multiple places? Do I need a police report from the Philippines since I've been here for the past year?

If so, I wonder if my exit clearance would do -- the Philippines requires departing expats who have been here for more than six months to get an exit clearance -- a document that shows there aren't any warrants out for me.

However, my exit clearance, or any other document that I get here will be about ninety days old by the time I get to Ecuador.

Bob

Edit: I wonder if I can get around this by saying (as is true) that my legal residence remained in the States during the period I was here.

BobH wrote:

Edit: I wonder if I can get around this by saying (as is true) that my legal residence remained in the States during the period I was here.

You don't need to spill the beans here, but it sounds like your stay in the Philippines was in some type of US government service? If you are in the Philippines with a US mailing address of an APO or an FPO, these are indeed legal US residence addresses.

If that is your case, I think you would need to obtain the police report from the state you last lived in, or possibly the FBI which should suffice as a backround check for any and all US states.

(I can only imagine that the Ecuadoran government would not hesitate to accept an FBI report. In fact some countries will only accept FBI as an acceptable criminal history document from the US for emigration purposes).

But this is all part of the problem isn't it? The information provided by Ecuadoran government regarding required documents for residency visas is clear as mud as a far as I can tell.

gardener1 wrote:

You don't need to spill the beans here, but it sounds like your stay in the Philippines was in some type of US government service? If you are in the Philippines with a US mailing address of an APO or an FPO, these are indeed legal US residence addresses.

...

But this is all part of the problem isn't it? The information provided by Ecuadoran government regarding required documents for residency visas is clear as mud as a far as I can tell.

No, I'm semi-retired (still do occasional writing/consulting via the web). Social Security sends my checks to a US bank, though, and the IRS thinks I live in Phoenix

I agree about Ecuador's rules, but I think the biggest frustration has to do with changes in rules. In my case, though, I have to admit that it's a complicated situation.

I may just lie.

Bob