What do you need to know about Ecuador's naturalization?

 

Following moving to Ecuador and obtaining one’s Ecuador Permanent Residency Visa in and of their first few years of life in our beautiful country, many an expat simply elects to remain as a permanent resident of Ecuador, and not jump through the next procedural hoop in sequence, which is of course to become an Ecuadorian citizen, who is then also able to obtain an Ecuadorian passport.

Main rules

Very truly, it is no doubt permitted to just remain only as a Permanent Resident of Ecuador for the rest of one’s days here in Ecuador, because as you likely already know, Permanent Residency in Ecuador is generally valid for a lifetime, subject to one not leaving Ecuador for more than 180 days during either of one’s first two years as a Permanent Resident of Ecuador, nor leaving Ecuador for more than 5 years in a single trip thereafter one’s first two years of Permanent Residency are completed.

Rumors in Ecuador visa application

Despite many rumors to the contrary, one is permitted by the Citizenship Law in Ecuador, to have Dual Citizenship in Ecuador, regardless of what other country he/she is currently a citizen of, though one’s country of origin might have something to say about it. But really, as both the US and Canada have always been fully “thumps up” concerning this issue for all of my clients, very truly its no issue at all for US citizens, Canadians and most other countrymen, in my experience. And so, it is to each his/her own, as per if or when he/she will later apply for Ecuadorian citizenship, once again following one’s first three years of permanent Ecuadorian residency, since citizenship is not able to be applied for before that time.

The above constitutes the same exact rules for foreigners who are married to an Ecuadorian Citizen (i.e. needing to wait 3 years since the date of receiving one’s Permanent Residency so as to be able to apply for Ecuadorian Citizenship at that time). The only exception to this, is that any foreigner who marries an Ecuadorian citizen and becomes a Permanent Resident via an “Amparo Marriage Visa”, can instantly (i.e. immediately thereafter becoming a Permanent Resident of Ecuador) apply to become a Citizen of Ecuador themselves.

Other points to consider

As one might be curious, the benefits of obtaining citizenship in Ecuador with Ecuador visa application, begin with the fact that you become eligible to receive an Ecuadorian Passport (provided you comply with the then easy to fulfill Ecuadorian passport requirements). In this way of how to get an Ecuadorian Passport, that then, in turn, permits you to be able to travel to another country in South America only, without your other country of origin’s passport that you would otherwise need if/when only remaining a resident of Ecuador. This is very convenient, because in such case you no longer have any need for a Visa to visit any other country in South America if you have your Ecuadorian passport (or just Ecuadorian Cedula at that point, which would also show you are a citizen of Ecuador).

Conclusion

If by chance for your Ecuador Permanent Residency Visa qualification, you happened to have selected an investor visa in an Ecuadorian bank CD or Ecuadorian real estate property; once you are an Ecuadorian Citizen, you are automatically permitted to liquidate or sell that such asset and spend it as you wish. One small drawback of becoming an Ecuadorian citizen is that you MUST vote in every national election of Ecuador. Technically you can still SKIP voting in Ecuadorian elections if you really want to, as the remedy at law is simply that you be subject to paying a small fine.