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I am in the process of getting a proffesional visa. I have gotten the needed documents apostiled plus my Soc Sec. I was told by my Visa service it was not needed. Then I was told as I went thru the process I will need to give an official a bank statement showing my wealth, income, apparently aposilted not needed. I can get that on line. So I feel it is best to have both belt and suspenders because eventually you will need to show income wealth

Hello,
I am in the process of getting a professional visa, too. I have a job offer from Ecuador and I would appreciate it if you could tell me the steps you followed in order to get it issued.
Thanks in advance.

I have been to Ecudoar in person a few times and an ex Pat gave me a service. I would rather you go that route, it is a decent price. I like them as the rules change alot (was told 2 months ago I needed to go to some police station in Guayaquil) and now they say that is no longer needed. By the way, they also said to get in line on the sidewalk at 2 am for that police thing so I am glad that has changed. 2ndly they are helpful and knowledgeable. Example, the government takes both master's and PhD but if you use your PhD you need to get your thesis translated and pay for that. Luckily I have both and went with the Masters.   Do I can pm you the email.

Thank you for your answer. I plan to have my visa issued in England before I go. I don't have a PhD but a Masters which I know needs to be translated and apostilled. I have also checked and both Universities I have studied are included in the list. Please, if you don't mind, send me the email.
Kind regards.

Clarification: Proof of income is required for all resident visas. 

At least one person in the Cuenca/Azogues office is now requiring not only 3 months of bank statements, but also proof of the source of the deposits.  For me, it's real estate, so she wanted me to present a contract.  She said it didn't need to be apostilled and could be a copy, however she didn't tell me if it had to be translated (I translated it just to be safe).  The absurdity is that her office has already let me stay for two years based on that same income, but here things change depending on day, the office or the official.  Don't EVER trust what it says on a government web site.

If you already had 2 yr visa, what was this new proof for?

I can guess an answer, because the person said so. Lol

I've been here 21 months (technically 2 years, but 21 months on my professional temp. res. visa) so it's time to apply for permanent residency.  Edit: but yeah, all that really matters is the immigracion official said so.

I am wondering about the proof of income myself. We are starting the visa process before we move but, when we move my husband will be quitting his job and I will keep my virtual job. However, he's the one with the four-year degree (I have a two-year one). I'm wondering since we share a joint bank account, does it matter who "owns" the business as long as money is getting deposited? I am wondering if I need to switch my business to an LLC in order to have him on there as a partner to show he is making money. Does anyone have insight into this?

The requirements and technicalities will drive you crazy, if you let it. I think proof of income is required for every upgrade. They required six months for me to get the two year temporary visa. I'm curious, did they also require security checks for your permanent visa? If so, were they from both Ecuador and the U.S. (or country of origin) if you visited there during the two years?

Is this the one where you have to have your degree from a listed University?  If anyone has that information in English, and if your University is not on the list what to do to get it approved, I would appreciate it.   I only found the info in Spanish and it was beyond my knowledge unfortunately.

antialiased wrote:

She said it didn't need to be apostilled and could be a copy, however she didn't tell me if it had to be translated (I translated it just to be safe).   site.

Everything should be translated by official translator and stamped as you say regardless of whether have been told.

If told doesn't need an apostille, I'd check that with at least 2 officials and not take the word of one. As you say, things change and regardless of the actual rules, if the person you are dealing with at a time in the future says they want it apostilled, you will have to be apsotilled

Here is my experience, take it for what it is worth. I used a visa service and they suggested, get the proffesional visa.  Ok. I did that, got all the needed information. It was hard to get someone to sign off saying the classes were face to face, not virtual. When I arrived in Ecuador, the Visa service say why did you get the proffesional visa, I said because you told me too and maybe I will do some pt work. The service said, did we say that you needed a pro visa for that, you can work with another visa they said.  I did not need proof of income at start but about 1/2 way thru the process I had to give them proof of income from SS and bank statement. Also, about 1/2 thru process a government official asked, why are you getting proffesional visa?  Lol.  So I just did what was yold, smiled and gave money when asked. I do know that another person spoke excellent Spanish but used the service. About 1/2 way thru the process the government official said the paperwork is not correct. That gringo in excellent Spanish told the government official, you are wrong a f..king moron.  That got her escorted out of office by security.  LOL