Below is what I wrote on a travel blog to someone who needed help with their visa here in Ecuador. Having gone through this myself, I thought it might be worth putting it up here in case we get more questions about visas in Ecuador.

You can get extensions on a 90 day tourist VISA if you go to an immigration office, of which there are a few in Quito and other major cities in Ecuador. You will however need to pay a $200 fine if you stay over 180 days, from that point in time you only have 24 hours to get out of the country. However, I strongly recommend you find a lawyer before paying this fine and leaving the country, as to get back into Ecuador you need a lot of different documents & papers. An indication of what you might need is on the link below. Preferably get a lawyer who specialises in immigration. If you just need to get back in to Ecuador again & you have over stayed 180 days, the best VISA to go for is 12-IX (tourist visa). This visa can be issued at the border in Ipiales, Colombia, however, it must first be passed in the cancilleria in Quito.

www.embassyecuadoraustralia.org.au/consular12I_eng.html

So make sure all your documentation and paper work is in order before you cross the border. Ipiales, colombia being the closest to Quito. Here is a web page that shows you everything you need however, we got asked for additional things, so make sure you check with a lawyer. The main document that is not shown is an economic guarantee, this has to be written by a Lawyer. They may also want a police record both from Ecuador & your country of origin. This can take time to get, the forms for the UK can be downloaded from here. UK
So leave for the border with all the papers in order then you might get back in on this VISA 12-IX. Need more help email? Me @

But this is important, wherever you are from (US, UK etc.) you need a VISA to stay legally in Ecuador. After your 90 days are up the fine can be as much as $200 if you don’t get legal.

I hope that this is of use to a few people.

All the best,

Jon

One thing about Ipiales is that it is not cheap, quite safe due to all the army based there and nothing to do apart from walk around but to end this on an up note their is the most amazing church that I have seen. Worth a look especially if you are religious! It is called Las Lajas.

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