Investment Visa by Getting Ecuadorian CD

@N.Barley

Oh, I would live as a tourist wherever at least until after the next presidential elections in 2024. Otherwise consider going to Paraguay and get your temporary residents visa with low money down.

Dear Bible,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of Expat.com ...

COSEDE has been guaranteeing only 32K of the 42K investment.

The other problem I have encountered is that after opening my

co-op account at CPN, I learned that I could not do international

transfers directly to the account beyond a 5K limit per transaction.

The convoluted process involved transferring 5K from my

USA bank to Banco Guayaquil and then doing intra-city transfers

(a 15-day process) into the CPN account.

You might want to figure out whether you quality for

a professional visa by way of a university degree .. or a

visa based on studying Spanish or another subject.

The duration of such visas is beyond the scope of this post.

A visa specialist could probably advise you gratis.

cccmedia

@Bible 1611 Hi! Yes. The investor visa requires a $42k  investment. This can be property or high rate CD's.

My wife and I have bought a nice condo in Manta. We also plan on depositing some funds into cd's due to the present 8% rate of return. Be advised, banks

up to $32k max. So how to invest for your visa is the challenge.

@Bible 1611 Although I’m just completing the investor visa process, when I started in June of this year the minimum CD deposit was $42,500, to be held for two years (21 months), And you had to show a minimum of $425 a month income; This income can be working income, a pension, or in my case an investment annuity providing a monthly income, leading up to a government pension (OAS & CPP) once I reach official retirement age in Canada.

This is the first time I've been advised that both

a CD deposit and monthly income are required.

I would run that by a visa specialist to confirm

that both the deposit and the income are

current requirements.

cccmedia

Possible answer to the Zen-type 'koan'

posed by Mr. Barley to Poster Bible

a few posts back...

Mr. Barley asked, if you are not in

Canada and you are not in Ecuador,

where are you?

---

If Poster Bible has not yet left Canada,

he can surely predict he will not move

back to Canada even before he splits

for Ecuador.

cccmedia, currently not in Canada

                           and not in Ecuador

Possible answer to the Zen-type 'koan'
posed by Mr. Barley to Poster Bible
a few posts back...

-@cccmedia

LOL.  It occurred to me as I read your comment I should have checked Bible1611's profile before posting my comment.  She is in Jordan, apparently.   

@Bible 1611 Although I’m just completing the investor visa process, when I started in June of this year the minimum CD deposit was $42,500, to be held for two years (21 months), And you had to show a minimum of $425 a month income; This income can be working income, a pension, or in my case an investment annuity providing a monthly income, leading up to a government pension (OAS & CPP) once I reach official retirement age in Canada.
-@rkg695

Hello, rkg695

So, when you say "to be held for two years", does that mean the government will return your deposit to you after two years? That is new. When I got my investors visa some 9 years or so ago, the deposit was to be held indefinitely by the government or until I got my citizenship, and I had to renew the CD every year ,which required multiple trips to  the Ministry of foreign relations, to Banco Central and to Banco Pichincha.  However, there was no income requirement then. If there was, I would probably be in Colombia right now.

Please can I get Ecuador visa am from Gambia I living in turkey who can help me

@cccmedia yes these are requirements according to the process I had to follow per Gringos Visas - (Maite Duran). I had to provide the ministry 6 months bank statements with proof of income… This was for the investment visa, as processed in Quito. I understand that every province in Ecuador operates almost like an independent nation however (?) and each can have slightly different requirements when it comes down to the details. I also had to make a formal statement signed by a notary as to my civil status (Single, divorced, etc.) which I’m sure is common anywhere, as in South America civil status plays a much larger role in estate and legal Contracts and disputes, certainly more than in Canada.

@N.Barley … I’m not sure if “returned” is the right word. I am only going through this process for the first time, so I’m not sure the steps to maintain my visa over the next couple years or so. from what I’ve read once permanent residency is obtained, the CD investment can be withdrawn. My plan is to reinvest in CDs on a regular basis, at 8 to 10% interest why not? I can’t even make that money investing in Canada in the stock market! It’s definitely a good question to ask, you can contact Maite Duran at Gringo Visas, with offices in Quito and (main) Cuenca. is there a requirement to re-deposit? I’ll be asking her the same question!

Here are my notes, gleaned from Gringo Visas, Immigration websites, etc. , but please don’t take my word for it, confirm with a professional! As I’m sure everyone is aware by now who’s gone through this process, rules change constantly!

A) Retirement Visa (60-III)

   Long Term Opt.1

   - Temp. 2 year, requires:

   * Health insurance to obtain Cedula (ID card)

   • 1. Private insurance

   • 2. Cedula to obtain IESS (National HC)

         (copy to Ministry Foreign Affairs)

   * Travel insurance

   * Retirement income plan/ pension fund proof

    • min.$425 / Mo

    • + min. $100 / $500 for ea. dependent ? (TBC)

    • annual CanGov statement, sign & stamp

          (8-10 Wk. review)

     * Cedula nat. ID card

   - Apply for perm. res. after 21 months

B) Investment Visa (9-II)

      Long Term Opt.2

   - Temp. 2 Year term, requires:

   * No travel resteictions during 21  Mo.

   * Min. $425/ mo. income

   * Min. $42,500 invested ($53K) (CD)

     + $500 fee/ dependant in one of:

   Opt.1

     • Ecuador CO-OP Cert. of Deposit (CD)

        held min. 730 days (8.5%/Yr. interest!!!)

      . CD only insured up to $32K

      . Wire transfer to Ecuador bank

      . Open account w/ passport + visa appl.

    Opt.2

     • Real estate; Assessed by municipality

        $42,500 USD

     Opt.3

     • Company shares $42,500 USD

- Apply for perm. res. after 21 months

The current law, under the visa 9-II, is to invest your money in a CD. Currently, it requires an investment of 100 minimum wages of $425, which equals a total of $42,500.

The money must stay in the CD until a temporary resident becomes a permanent one. A permanent residency visa means there are no attachments to keeping your visa.

Currently, a person must apply for a temporary visa, and after 21 months of being a resident, they can pursue permanent residency. They are obligated to keep their investment throughout the entire 21 months of their visa, however, once they receive their permanent residency, they have the chance to get their investment back and still remain a legal resident in Ecuador.

A resident who has obtained a visa based on the old Visa Indefinida 9-II (under the Immigration Law before 2017) has the chance to become a permanent resident as well, and is entitled to the aforementioned benefits by switching categories and complying with the following conditions:

- You must show proof that you still have your investment.

- Steady income- you must show that you have one of the following:

                - A monthly income of at least $425 per month for the last 12 months.

                - Latest 6 IESS payments based on a minimum salary of $425

                - Latest 6 VAT tax declarations with an income of $425 or more.

If you comply with these restrictions and requisites, you qualify for permanent residency. Once your visa is approved, you are free to do all it takes to get your investment back. You are free to withdraw that money from that investment or sell the property or shares you acquired and use it as you would like.

CD advisory.

I agree that high interest income makes Ecuador

CD's attractive.  I am in the process of moving

5K at a time via international wires into my

Banco account and then transferring 32K into

my active CPN co-op account.  The end result will be

a CD with solid interest up to the protected limit.

COSEDE guarantees CD's up to 32K.  I don't

recommend exceeding that limit.  One should

check that the 32K protection applies to their

investment, as some CD's may have a

different arrangement with COSEDE.

COSEDE operates along similar lines to

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,

which guarantees for depositors in the U.S.

cccmedia

@cccmedia ahhh smart, Are you keeping your transfers to under $5000 because of reporting rules in the US correct? I understand that the American IRS are “strict” 😬 … in Canada transfers over $10,000 are “carefully observed” for possible money laundering, or other sneakiness

Apparently, it was my USA bank that

limited the withdrawals to 5K apiece.

This was relayed to me at Banco, so I wasn't

cited chapter and verse of FBAR, FATCA, etc.

specifically.

--

I just received a message from Wells Fargo, my

backup USA bank, that they have now closed

my checking account, which I had emptied.

Wells Fargo had notified me around March

that they would be closing the account due to

my not having a USA residential address.

CPN, Cooperativa de Policía Nacional, issued

me a new debit card this year .. so I have

the same number of plastic bank cards

as when I began the year.

cccmedia

@cccmedia

Wells Fargo had notified me around March that they would be closing the account due to my not having a USA residential address.

They keep making it harder on expats to bank. I hope U.S. Global Mail doesn't close down or move to a new location, because I bet I will have a hard time updating my address online with certain financial institutions.

Gambians moving to Ecuador.

Dear Kabba Buba,

I see that your country, Gambia, is the smallest country

within mainland Africa.  So I am guessing there may

not be a consulate near where you are in Turkey to

assist you.

You may contact my Ecuadorian immigration attorney

in Quito, Sebastian Cordero, who successfully

assisted me in obtaining my permanent visa in

Ecuador .. and has also done work for me to obtain

a drivers license and untangle a shipping problem.

sebascordero1975(at)gmail.com

Note that I use (at) instead of @ in order to get the

email address past this site's editor-bot.  You should

use @ when sending to Sr. Cordero.

cccmedia