For 2018 - Visas & Immigration in CUENCE - Easier now ???

Please, learn to spell CUENCA properly.  No one knows anything about CUENCE.

With the new laws I suggest you get in touch with an immigration attorney or two in CUENCA, and not rely on well-intentioned but hardly definitive advice from an internet forum.

This link shows some information of what's available on the internet - but as I said, I'd trust in a knowledgeable immigration attorney in Ecuador before putting all my eggs in the internet basket.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ecuador … p;ie=UTF-8

I cannot stress this enough.

The Visa system is currently overburdened with refugees from Venezuela.  With times to get a TICKET to get on the line to speak to Immigration can be a staggering 6 hours long.

Visas are backlogged with many folks having to get an additional Tourist extension to remain in the country to have their paperwork filed.

If your pet is unable to be alone for more than 5 hours, it may be time to consider remaining where you are, at least until this crisis is over or things get substantially better in the Visa offices throughout Ecuador: including Azogues (Cuenca), Manta, Quito, and Guayaquil.

The question was about greater ease in obtaining Visas due to the fact (which I was questioning) that Cuenca now has it's own Visa & Immigration office?

Why on earth would I seek out the high cost of an immigration attorney, if my wife and I reside in a city with an immigration office nearby, along with all ... in advance procurred documents ... already translated into the Spanish language?

The pets aren't a problem for 6 to 8 hours. That's one of my reasons for asking that question. I know that at some point in the past, Expats who lived in Cuenca had to travel to Quito for their immigration and visa services. For something like that my wife and I are envisioning spending hours on a bus one-way, followed by being in an immigration office until it closes, possibly without getting everything accomplished which would then require an overnight stay, followed by more time the next day and another long bus trip back to Cuenca. In that case, it wouldn't be 6 or 8 hours, but more likely 36+ hours.

Allow me to rephrase my response:  You will be spending days at any office merely waiting for the numbered ticket you will need to continue waiting on line to maybe be seen or you may need to return another day...to get a new ticket.

If you have animals that require care more often than every eight hours...or six hours... or simply require care throughout the day which you will be unavailable to provide, do work in the expense of hiring someone to see to their needs as an important line item in your budget for a Visa.

As previously mentioned, the office is no longer in Cuenca.  Has not been for over 5 years.  It is in Azogues.

The Cuenca area has had an office for about three decades or more so I am curious where you read the information about traveling to Quito.  That level of misinformation is indicative of many online sites, and it highlights why you cannot rely on just computer research for information on Ecuador.

It appears that you make many assumptions about how the internet and online information are sufficient to preparing for your trip. I must respectfully disagree:

I too did my research on Ecuador starting in 2005 on the old Yahoo Ecuador Expats group and read everything related to Ecuador I could find.  My first trip here was in 2006 and I soon learned the online sites were misleading (some just through negligence and laziness and more through criminal intent.)

I moved to Ecuador permanently almost a decade ago, in June of 2008 and immediately started reporting back my experiences and findings.  At a time when a few others were making some bucks selling About Ecuador booklets on Amazon I chose instead to give my experiences and increasing knowledge base freely. 

I have been doing so now for the entire time I have lived here and now Moderate the Ecuador Forum of ExpatExchange and am Administrator of the two largest Ecuador sites on Facebook (Ecuador Expat with over 17,000 members, and Ecuador Coast with over 2,700.  And as you see, I also post here. 

But before you jump on that timeline allow me to backdate a bit, since it was so very important for you to call out being "on the internet sin 1990".

My history extends back farther than yours:  I first started my exploration of what would eventually be the web in 1982 at Harvard (which is where I learned about PLUGH and XYZZY).   I was active on Compuserve since 1985 (with a three digit suffix, 116) and my SIG was SciFi, and I dabbled in the local BBS scene in South Florida.  My first Mod position (which promoted me to Super Mod) began in 1999 and continued into 2005.

Why am I making this a point?  Because I will state unequivocally that, based on much of what you have written, the information you are quoting from websites is just as inaccurate as it was back in the day.

And I can also point out that  your continued insistence that you are correct, when you are not, does not draw posters to help you in your research.  In fact the opposite is going to occur folks will withhold information from you.  And that is regrettable because as many of us know the only places you will find accurate and up-to-date information are on the Forum type sites like this one.  Sites where monetary compensation is not given for sharing information  and all access is free of charge.

Free access to accurate information recorded by  first generation experiencers.  That's what the internet, the web, the world wide web, the www, was always supposed to be about.  That's why I do contribute to the knowledge base whenever I can, because I have been around cyberspace since the days when we all knew that was its purpose.  And some of us never stopped believing.

Do visit Cuenca (which seem an appropriate choice for you) but might I suggest you pack lightly and leave your pets at home.

Susan

Thank you. I ask questions, hoping for answers. I don't expect nonsense answers about multiple extended trips which would require 5000 to 10.000 dollars worth of advance expenses for each trip,  which I am 100% positive is *NOT* how most people go about moving to Ecuador, since many if not most people simply don't have those kinds of funds available. I have read dozens of personal Expat pages, from people who have nothing to sell and no reason to "pretty up" their experiences ... people who also moved to Ecuador ... and nobody else has ever suggested multiple advance trips on their pages. I don't know of anyone who has that kind of extra cash laying around, but hey, my wife and I aren't rubbernecking with rich Gringos either.

Unless I have forgotten how to read and became senile within the past 30 days or so, I don't disagree with many things here, but I do have a mind of my own and I do believe in freedom of speech, especially on the Internet. If I do disagree with something, it's usually based on first-hand personal experience or I can usually back it up, as was the case with the car importation to Ecuador, which I later realized and admitted to being incorrectly understood ... official Ecuador & State Department information that nobody here on the forum provided.

To me, a forum, and I too am a member of several, mostly technical forums, is about discussions, ideas, exchanges, and answers. Being human, this means things will be said that some posters won't agree with. If their egos can't handle that and their response is to ignore providing valuable information that can be beneficial TO OTHERS AS WELL, then so be it. It's a character flaw that they obviously have to live with. There's a lot to be said for being able to maintain a measure of neutrality while not holding things against people just because you don't like what they say .... I'm talking about you experienced folks with years of wisdom to provide information. When someone states something ridiculous, there'S nothing wrong with pointing that out.

Granted, the Internet existed since the 70s. But the WWW World Wide Web didn't exist with its first actual html web pages until 1989, fewer than 500 pages back then. I know, because I had one of the very first large sites back then, which later received a Lycos top 5% award in 1992.

I don't appreciate answers that don't make any sense and I'm not afraid to use plain ol' english language to say so. It's called being honest, direct, and open minded. That's how I was raised. If people here want to hold that against me because they expect to be coddled and/or bowed down to, then so be it. I'm sure that my wife and I can get the proper information from other sourses as well. Expat.com is by no means the gospel of Expat travel resources. There are plenty of private non-commerical people who post their own stories of moving, living, regional information, etc. I'd say at least 65% of my answers have come from Wikipedia and such private resources. One thing that truly doesn't speak well for any forum, regardless what the topic is, is the disconcerted feeling that I get when I see that 95% of all answers come from the same group of 4 or 5 people, which has been the case here.

I have no problem taking my research elsewhere, and I have no problem with being "punished" for being direct and questioning some of the things that are being reported. With that said, I wish you a wonderful Ecuadorian day.