pensionado visa

She can be a dependent on your visa. You must have $800/mo. permanent provable income for you and $100/more for her (so $900 total).

thanks ed

The good news is that you can pretty much go through the process yourself in Cuenca as they have bilingual assistance there --


The bad news -- there are some unscrupulous gringos who have hung out shingles claiming to be facilitators who are pretty much just ripping off their fellow gringos.

Always ask:

Do you have YOUR visa and cedula?
The most notorious new visa "expert" in Cuenca does not have his own cedula -- and has a long and rather shadowed history from the USA -- a bit of a conman and someone you will want to avoid.


How long have they been in Ecuador and how long and how many visas have they completed through cedula?  (plus references)
Check the references.  It should rarely take more than a month and unless there are mitigating circumstance -- and most have to do with name changes and foreign birth certificates that need to be found, etc. -- the whole process if you have your paperwork takes 8 weeks.

Do YOU speak Spanish?
Why:  They need to speak Spanish, and speak it fluently and well on the spot! -- they will be the one to walk through the process with you and need to communicate effectively and respectfully with a higher up who does not speak the language0  It is important they are not relying solely on a translator, secretary, friend, fiance, etc. as this loses face in front of a higher up and your application can and will be relegated to a back file

I recommend using Dana Cameron, a visa facilitator who has been doing this for almost 10 years.  Besides working with gringos she also works also for a number of universities in Guayaquil as their visa facilitator for students and professionals and is a university professor in the English Department.  She is also a US Consular Warden.  She can be reached at agua_plata@hotmail.com

Susan

I am leaving in 2 months with the visa for 6 months and the pensionado visa cost is only 40.00 here in the USA.

Thank you very much Susan for the information on Ms Cameron. I just e-mailed her to see what she would charge me to help me with my paperwork.

Thanks again,

Darlene

your pension visa is a 9-I and your dependents is a 9-VI.
And it is way more than $40.

Leaving_GA wrote:

your pension visa is a 9-I and your dependents is a 9-VI.
And it is way more than $40.

Yeah, I just paid $40.00  for my letter that confirmed my income from Social Security to be translated and confirmed. I think it's $450.00 to initiate the process in Ecuador, and there are other governmental fees as well, plus, all the docs being translated, at 10 to 15 dollars a page. It adds up, but in the end, waaaaaay easier than what the US  demands of immigrants. I'm always surprised at all the complaints I hear about the process in Ecuador when you  compare it to what the US requires.
Zen

I do not understand you are saying that it is 450.00 per person to get the residency? thank you....

So ZenSpike, what was the final outcome with the police report issue?

Will Ecuador accept the local police backround check or are they requiring an FBI report?

And the Spanish translation of the documents, you're doing that in the US and the prices you quoted are per page in America, yes?

And then you're going to get the Spanish translations notarized in Ecuador?

pele6254 wrote:

I do not understand you are saying that it is 450.00 per person to get the residency? thank you....

There are some other fees also. Not as much. I will have the hard figures for you on June3rd if you want to contact me.
Safe Travels
Neil

gardener1 wrote:

So ZenSpike, what was the final outcome with the police report issue?

Will Ecuador accept the local police backround check or are they requiring an FBI report?

And the Spanish translation of the documents, you're doing that in the US and the prices you quoted are per page in America, yes?

And then you're going to get the Spanish translations notarized in Ecuador?

The state police report sufficed for me. I will get my documents translated to Spanish in Ecuador. It seems that everyone suggests you have it done there. If you are dealing with an attorney, they'll have someone do it. If you choose to do it on your own, there are many translators. The language department at the university there has many that can do it, for a fee.
I think the confusion is with the Proof Of Income. THAT MUST BE DONE STATESIDE AT A CONSULATE. They are basically verifying that;
The document has been reviewed by them, that the  Apostille and notarize are correct. At that time they translate and put the government seal on it. The cost for that service is $40.00.
I hope this clears up the confusion.
Good Luck
Neil
PS. Important Note: This info is correct at this time as to my attorney's info, and the Consulate in The States. Please note the time stamp on this posting. The laws are very fluid in Ecuador, and if you're reading this down the road, it could have changed.