Learn from My Mistakes 😭 The Digital Nomad Visa in Ecuador

[@ayngelina]

Love Ecuador? You'll adore these Ecuador t-shirts: ecuador.myspreadshop.com/

[@williamsjara1]

Congratulations 👏. You should get the Ecuadorian citizen, you deserve it because You loves, promote our country, and knows Ecuador more than most of the Ecuadorian including me !..

[@ayngelina]

Thank you Brig for the biggest compliment of all!

[@larrypicard8802]

Congratulations!! Getting my retirement visa was a bit difficult. The main reason for that was because I had to do it all from Ecuador. I had no idea most of the paperwork could have been done in the US even before I arrived. My next visa will be my permanent one. I’ll be starting that process next June. Love your content.

[@ayngelina]

Thanks so much Larry! I also think it would have been easier in Canada one of the biggest expenses was just fingerprints. And also my challenge was that the agent handling my case had no idea what a digital nomad was and no one in the department knew how to validate me, even though I offered to show my 2021 taxes, which showed that my incomes was exponentially more than what they required. I've heard since I received mine others have had issues too so I just hope they can iron the kinks out as the most helpful people were actually Notary 80.

[@r.patrickgrimm7684]

You may be number 3 on visa, but number 1 in our hearts! At least it done!!

[@ayngelina]

Thank you for the kind words. 💜

[@michaelreid8857]

I totally agree

[@proyectonuevo7487]

Exactly, she is very cute and nice.. Ecuador loves her

[@John-qn5tz]

Congratulations. Do you watch Amelia and JP's youtube channe? They are a USA couple who have been in Ecuador for 4 or 5 years. They offer lots of information about their experiences, too. Please keep making your VLOGs. Great stuff.

[@ayngelina]

Yes they are great, I love seeing other people's perspective. Capture Joseph, Flynn's on the Fly, Shane and Tonia and Don Shader are also great and I actually watch a lot of Ecuadorian KZbinrs to practice my Spanish and get an Ecuadorian's perspective on travel :)

[@CaptureJoseph]

@@ayngelina Thanks for the shoutout!

[@bela-sofia34]

You are so kind, honest, helpful and realistic. Thanks as always for the share.

[@ayngelina]

Happy to help!

[@didaralyjainil7286]

Merci Ayngelina! You are actually #1 to get it from Ecuador and in Ecuador ;-), so congrats! Is it true that this Digit Nomad visa is not extendable after the two years, unlike other resident visas? Keep smiling, you're amazing^^

[@ayngelina]

Thank you I appreciate that. So I was told the digital nomad visa is like the other temporary residency visas and I think legally part of the rentista format. But like the other visas you can’t leave the country for an extended period of time, which I have to do for my website as I travel for a living. To be honest I didn’t really need to get it because I’m not planning to exceed 180 days a year. I just wanted to do it to help promote it as an option and then when I realized it was going to be costly I had already paid too much to turn back. This is why I think the professional visa is a better option for self employed people who have a degree as it’s a straight forward established visa.

[@nellie...]

Congratulations Ayngelina! Another great video.

[@ayngelina]

Thanks so much Nellie 🙏

[@estelamino6356]

Wow...congratulations...about. time .nothing in Quito..w papers issues always too slow...don't why....happy to see u ..very .happy about the news...

[@ayngelina]

It was very slow and four visits to get things done. I hope it gets easier for others

[@heidyrivero5807]

Congrats Canada! You did it! Can’t wait to visit Ecuador in late Jan. I hope the weather holds up. Thank you so much for all your videos they help a lot.

[@ayngelina]

January is such a great time to visit, you’ll love it!

[@k_and_m8745]

I am glad you did not give up on the Nomad Visa, I think you have so much more to show about Ecuador's diversities, people and food.

[@ayngelina]

Well it's like once you've paid 2k, what's another 212.50 😭

[@k_and_m8745]

@@ayngelina Kind of my thought too.

[@ellarae6450]

Gracias Ayngelina y felicidades!

[@ayngelina]

de nada 😊

[@aaronml8298]

Thanks for the info...beginning the investor visa process at the moment myself. For me the frustration is just time. Congrats on your new Visa.

[@ayngelina]

I think there it will be easier because it's so well established. If I wanted temp residency I would definitely go that route or professional.

[@vicentepacheco2196]

Congratulations Ayngelina!!! Sorry for what you had to go through! not surpriced, been there done that in other areas when it comes to goverment procedures, sad but it is what it is. Appreciate when you say "I love this country and I think you will too". 🙂🙂🙂😉

[@ayngelina]

I don’t think working with any government around the world is easy. In the end I’m glad I did it and I can help others with expectations.

[@ginaagui4375]

Muchas gracias por todo Ayngelina❤

[@ayngelina]

De nada

[@kimberleyoshaughnessy8088]

Thanks Ayngelina. Very informative. As you know, I've been looking into it as well. Two different sources, one an Ecuadorian lawyer have said I need a 2 year work contract from my employer. Do you think this detail didn't affect you because you are self employed? Thank for getting this video out, I really appreciate it. Great information!

[@ayngelina]

So being self employed was more difficult because they essentially didn't understand what a content creator is and so I think it threw them that I could possibly make enough money to quality. But according to their requirements as long as I have a registered business and can show proof of income then I qualify. And that's what I did with the notarization of my website and then the dashboard of my income for the previous 3 months. I also had my previous year taxes where I made more than 15,300 but for some reason they didn't accept it. So you actually don't need a 2 year contract either, you would just need to show proof of income for the previous 3 months. Pay stubs would do.

[@davidc1961utube]

The Nomad video might be good for a subset of folks in very similar circumstances, but I find the investor visa to be more attractive. If you put $42,500 in government insured, USD denominated CDs, paying 8%, you can come and go as you please, and roll the CDs over every year to stay. The interest from them even counts towards the income requirements! As a person who wants to explore South America by motorcycle, this is an easy way for me to make Ecuador a base country. Congratulations on getting your visa! My own experiences with the government have always been that folks are nice enough, but any process is horrifically complicated. Sometimes I think it is that way just to see how determined you are... All the best, and keep travelling, eh!

[@ayngelina]

Thanks so much!

[@proyectonuevo7487]

That's right.. That's how it all works.. It is normal, also the investment visa is easier to get and incidentally earn money hehe

[@ayngelina]

I could have gotten that one and I qualify for the professional although I don’t actually need either. I just wanted to help promote Ecuador and got burned doing it.

[@davidc1961utube]

@@ayngelina Well, we all appreciate your effort, and your struggle is paving the way for others! Very Canadian of you... Cheers!

[@proyectonuevo7487]

@@ayngelina I regret you have burned in the visa process, the procedures are like this in Ecuador, when I referred to the visa by investor I meant that it is usually easier to obtain and expats earn some money since cooperatives pay very well for fixed term deposits, I think they pay 8.9

[@FlynnsOnTheFly]

Ecuador! 😬 We still think you're Number 1, way to hang in there and perservere! 🤗

[@ayngelina]

That’s a lovely way to put it 😊

[@levi7187]

Thank you for sharing this with us.😇

[@ayngelina]

I hope it helps others 😊.

[@tzipporahwilliams2666]

You're still the first in our book!

[@ayngelina]

Aww thanks so much.

[@itravelers]

Sorry to hear you're not the "first" but you're the best so, that's even better. ☺ We're in the process of obtaining our pensioners visas and are in for about the same dollars then X2 as a couple going through an agency. 😟

[@ayngelina]

I guess it’s like an initiation process to see if you’re tough enough to live there 🤣

[@Chaserkeywest]

Congratulations Ayngelina

[@ayngelina]

Thanks it was an expensive lesson

[@Chaserkeywest]

I’ll be on the streets of Cuenca next week Ayngelina maybe I’ll run in to you

[@ayngelina]

I’m in Malaysia right now but you’ll find Andres there. If you need a guide I’ve listed his WhatsApp in all the video descriptions 😊

[@michaelreid8857]

Ayng. I can not believe they charged you $200 for two days overstay. Most countries, forgive the first 3-5 days. Then the cost per day, is much lower! I like Ecuador, but the more I learn of the Government, colour me unimpressed.

[@ayngelina]

What bothered me the most about it is that in Latin America they can always bend the rules. Actually migration bent the rules on my visa extension which too hard to explain here but if you’re on the Live tomorrow I can explain. So their unwillingness to make it go away was doubly annoying because it was everyone’s refusal to help when I didn’t even need this visa I was just doing it to help them and then ended up dropping a couple grand because of it. That said I always try to tell people Ecuador isn’t perfect I know a lot of people try to paint it that way but it has problems and this is definitely one of them. It took me months to kind of get over that.

[@michaelreid8857]

@@ayngelina i think that they could easily have reduced it to say $25.00

[@ayngelina]

Well especially since it wasn’t my fault. I almost walked away I had to think about it for a few days before I agreed to pay.

[@miguelmiguel4042]

Unfortunately agents in the public sector are corrupt, for instance for a passport the tell you ate least 4 months if you want sooner 3 hundred dollars under the table 🤦‍♂️

[@ayngelina]

I am accustomed to that, $300 would have saved me 2 grand!

[@bram992]

Awesome! gurl

[@vtbiker7246]

We just returned from an amazing trip to Ecuador. We saw Quito, Papallacta, and Banos. What would you recommend for a return trip? We are thinking Cuenca, but we would like to see somewhere else as well.

[@ayngelina]

You're in luck as I have over 100 videos from Ecuador! It's a pretty diverse country so now that you've seen some of northern Ecuador I'd definitely recommend the south or along the coast.

[@pippigreenheart]

I have the professional visa and yes, I cried many times. For both the temporary and permanent. I got the temp in NYC before moving to Ecuador with some assistance. But that assistance didn't register my diploma with Senesyct. I didn't know until I went for my permanent visa appt and then I had to figure out why they sent me away with a bunch of paperwork. I paid about $1500 total for each visa. The first time I paid $300 for someone to help me and the second time about $200 just to ask someone questions. I did most of the work myself. The temp visa took me 6 months to get. The permanent took longer because of Senesyct and the Pandemic. The first Russian to get the Nomad Visa (in Russia) is staying in Olon right now. I wonder if he got it before you!?

[@ayngelina]

Agh I am so sorry to hear that and somehow I am not surprised at all. According to my contacts although I was the first to apply, I was the second to get it because someone applied for it in Chicago and got it right away. I've recently spoken to two others who tried to get their permanent residency in Ecuador and are having so many problems they are considering leaving. It's really a shame that the process is discouraging so many people from staying.

[@pippigreenheart]

@@ayngelina Go Chicago! Another solution is 6 months in Ecuador and 6 months in Argentina or another country nearby. 2 extensions a year.

[@ayngelina]

Or a much easier Colombia digital visa

[@michaelreid8857]

Ayng. A question for you. First. How do you go about getting the RCMP Criminal Check. And how long does it take? Second. When it is complete. Do you have to pick it up, or can you have it sent to you by courier? Thank You

[@ayngelina]

So it’s a million times easier to do in Canada. You call your local rcmp office and it takes a couple weeks. Then you need to send or take it to (I think ) the department of foreign affairs and they certify it. Then when you go to Ecuador the department of foreign affairs will certify the certification of the check for $25

[@miamijefe7793]

Hi. Thank you for this information. I'm a future nomad from USA. Do they require the original documents or will they accept scanned documents? I plan to submit all my documents when I'm in Ecuador with help from an attorney. I dont wamt to be traveling with all these important documents. Thank you

[@ayngelina]

The easiest way to do it is applying while you’re in the US with the embassy and final submitting documents in Ecuador. Then you can clarify if you can provide copies or scanned documents.

[@miamijefe7793]

@@ayngelina Ok I will do that. Thank you for the advice

[@pedroblanco8311]

We look forward to watching this. Are you able to facilitate Spanish (Latin American) subtitles? Thanks for your consideration.

[@ayngelina]

I’m currently working my way through the Nova Scotia videos. Some are done but I’ll let you know when they are all done. My hope is by the end of the week.

[@pedroblanco8311]

@@ayngelina No worries, however your recently published "Learn from my Mistakes" video currently only has English subtitles? Could you please configure it for Spanish?

[@ayngelina]

nooooo I did it for 10 languages, I don't know what happened. Let me fix.

[@pedroblanco8311]

@@ayngelina Excellent, and thanks for fixing this! We'll plan to watch this next. (Like # 122)

[@pedroblanco8311]

Thanks for sharing your honest experience with this painful process. You did a really good job. Based upon what you went through, do you see yourself putting together a video for "How you can work with your U.S. or Canadian Embassy to get your documents in the system before you even arrive to Ecuador?"

[@ayngelina]

No because I didn't have any experience with that and it's not within the scope of content on my channel. There are other KZbin channels that focus on Visas and getting residency in Ecuador. We do talk about some of these things on Patreon (YT Membership is also now live) as well as other topics that don't fit into my scope of travel and food in other countries. And I really see that as the best place to discuss that content.

[@pedroblanco8311]

​@@ayngelina OK. Which KZbin channels focusing on residency in Ecuador did you find most helpful? Also, on the Patreon + YT Membership, these are connected right? If we join, we'll be able to have access to bonus content on KZbin (via Roku) right? Are you able to send us the updated link, so we can see how close you are to your present goal, and see our potential contribution help?

[@dougb8325]

The little guy gets stuck in the end through no fault of their own. Bummer. Gotta love bureaucracy...anywhere in the world. Glad you got through it. I'm curious: I noticed you started out your expat adventures in Mexico but seem to be putting down some roots in Ecuador. What motivated you to pick Ecuador? And would you have chosen Mexico if it weren't for a particular issue(s)?

[@ayngelina]

I ADORE Mexico and definitely plan to spend a lot of time there in 2023. I spent so much time in Ecuador in 2022 because I had previously been there 6 times and have been friends with Andres for 10 years and he wasn't working as much so I hired him to help me with videos. I haven't retired yet but Ecuador and Mexico are at the top of my list. Mexico is getting a bit more complicated for residency, the income requirements are 2-3 times Ecuador, but I understand why and thankfully I stil would qualify. But no matter where I go I would NEVER buy. It's so cheap to rent great spots in both countries and then if you find our there's something wrong with the foundation or neighbourhood etc it's much easier to just pick up and go.

[@dougb8325]

@@ayngelina Thanks for the feedback! Love your videos. You've got quite a bit of content out there, so once your channel becomes a bit more well known, it should take off.

[@ayngelina]

Thank you :) I really love sharing Ecuador. If you have more questions I'm hosting my last KZbin live this summer tomorrow at 5PM EST and we'll be chatting about Ecuador.

[@malku65]

So sorry to hear all the red tape youbhave to do to get that visa, in our eyes you are the first!

[@ayngelina]

Aww thank you. I keep reminding myself that at least I can help others with it.

[@markswanson1564]

Typical gov’t bureaucracy! *Couldn’t you have exited the country (e.g. taken a bus ride into Peru), then re-entered for another 90-days? {I’m not being critical, but want to know for myself & others if we’re ever in this situation.}

[@ayngelina]

No that’s a great question! So Ecuador was once like this but changed its rules. In one calendar year you get 90 days for free. You can come in and out and it freezes when you leave. But if you want to stay longer on the 91st day you need to pay for an extension. It’s $133 I think. It gives you another 90 Days but when you exit it doesn’t freeze. So for example in days 91-180 I went to Canada and the clock was still ticking while I was there. The rough thing was I didn’t actually need the visa. I was planning to leave anyway for six months so I could have just left and come back on the original 90 days. But I love Ecuador and wanted to help them promote the visa. I just thought it would cost 500-600 And would be much easier.

[@force10jc]

Is it worth it to use a reputable Visa agent to handle the process?

[@ayngelina]

So in my case it wouldn't have been because the issue was the agent processing my case had just been briefed on what the visa was 10 minutes before I arrived and didn't want to risk their job approving me when they had no idea what a digital nomad was. I did have the unique advantage of the Ministry of Tourism helping me in the background but they don't have a set of rules that would approve someone who is self employed - even though my taxes (which I submitted) show that I make significantly more than the 15,300 that they require. I attribute it to lack of training and unwillingness to help problem solve issues. My agent was really unpleasant, which made it worse.

[@henryle1940]

Congratulations girl

[@ayngelina]

Aww thanks, it certainly was quite the effort to get it!

[@henryle1940]

@@ayngelina i bet but now is done and thanks for choosing ecuador

[@ayngelina]

Always, well at least for the next two years!

[@henryle1940]

@@ayngelina when you be back

[@ayngelina]

back end of October for Dia de los Difuntos and Cuenca Independence Day, I hope you stick around for the Indonesia series

[@Hamelic]

👏👏👏

[@Lost1nTranslation]

What if you're a remote worker with a degree? Which visa would be best? Hopefully everything has been smooth since then. I'm sorry there was so much trouble getting it and it was so expensive.

[@ayngelina]

I have had a lot of people write me and unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have gotten smoother. But if you’re a remote worker and your company can provide a letter and pay slips you should be fine. This is really a remote worker visa not digital nomad as it doesn’t recognize self employed people without an uphill battle.

[@Lost1nTranslation]

@@ayngelina Thank you for your reply! I think I would qualify then but that's unfortunate to hear that the process has not improved much overall. Can I ask you about your experience with health insurance? Any info in the overall costs and actually using it? Thanks again

[@ayngelina]

I have a link to Safety Wing in the video description. It’s what I use and it’s very good for claims.

[@ayngelina]

Oh one other tip which I mentioned in the video but I think makes a huge difference- apply in your home country.

[@Lost1nTranslation]

@@ayngelina Oh that's perfect! Thank you. Do you have a really rough estimate of the monthly payments? And thank you for the tip as well. I think I might have to apply there anyway.

[@alistairfreedom2456]

Ok so i tried to start the online application for digital nomad visa. And I got stuck at the point where the form only allows the selections of cities they have put into the system. I have emailed them and got no reply so yeah. Its useless, im so glad im not trying this from within Ecuador. It would be very stressful. It cant be that difficult to list all the main cities of New Zealand. It seems they only add them when someone requests them, how stupid

[@ayngelina]

Yeah that doesn't surprise me. At least they changed the website, before it was using a photo that still had the Shutterstock watermark on it because I guess they hadn't purchased the rights to it. The website looks much better and they seem to be endorsing Selina and have young people giving testimonials but I would love to know how many people have been approved.

[@AlissaMalcolm]

did you get your criminal background check authenticated by the department of foreign affairs canada and then legalized by the ecuadorian embassy in canada? if so, how did you do that from ecuador?

[@ayngelina]

No it’s either so it in Canada or the Embassy in Canada. I did it in Ecuador. The criminal check was sent to my mother who couriered it to me. The embassy did certified it same day for $85. Then I paid another $25 for Ecuador to legalize that certification

[@AlissaMalcolm]

@@ayngelina where did you get it legalized in ecuador?

[@ayngelina]

When you apply for the visa it's part of the process. They'll take your certified check and then ask for $25

[@alistairfreedom2456]

I do wonder how safe people feel in Ecuador now that there are 60 day curfews in place for many parts of the country and power outages lasting more than 12 hours in some cases almost daily. I see a few channels mentioning it might not be the most ideal time to visit. But I suppose if having an attitude where things like that stop a person, then they will never do anything. I see you were enjoying travel during the pandemic. I think that the can-do attitude is important in life. I would be in Cuenca

[@ayngelina]

Well I visit late 2021 when the country opened back up because it did shut down quite severely. They tend to be very conservative with action and if there are problems they take action right away. Although it’s a small country because of its geography you can have things happening in one part of the country like Guayaquil Esmeraldas and people in other areas have no idea. But if you’re wondering specifically about Cuenca I would send Andres a message on WhatsApp as he’d be better informed than any expat there. I include his phone number in the video description.

[@alistairfreedom2456]

Thanks Ayngelina. I will report back with how I get on with my online application. I have watched a lot of your videos while in Ecuador, it looks like you really enjoyed yourself:)

[@ayngelina]

I've been to Ecuador several times from 2010 onward, it's changed a lot but still manages to avoid mass tourism. My goal was always to inspire expats to get out of the expat comfort zone to see more and realize the small independent businesses were the best places to eat. So I'm always happy to connect with people that enjoyed what I did there.

[@Donnie-Lee-Gringo]

I think you would have been the first to receive it if the Fine had not popped up.

[@ayngelina]

Probably as it took weeks for them to figure out who should pay the fine and in the meantime the two others applied from the US.

[@ambrosejoseph4843]

#1

[@ayngelina]

You're the best!

[@Jack51971]

So you no longer live in Cuba?

[@ayngelina]

I had to leave Havana when the pandemic hit. I didn’t realize what it would be but the government said all foreigners had to leave. I still haven’t been back because travelling independently is impossible there without access to fuel and there are so many shortages it’s tough for me to recommend tourism. I am hoping for spring 2023 but it’s not looking good at all.

[@lvovodessa]

OMG, that’s an expensive visa!

[@ayngelina]

Tell me about it! Never again!