Schengen Visa for Ecuadorians, Dominicans and Bolivians (2026)

Ecuadorians, Dominicans and Bolivians need a visa for any short trip to the Schengen area, even a few days long. The rules are the same in all 29 countries, but where you apply depends on your destination country and the city you live in. This guide brings together the official sources, read on 1 November 2026: the EU regulation, the Visa Code and the consulate pages in Quito, Guayaquil, Santo Domingo, La Paz and Santa Cruz.

With a passport from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic or Bolivia, the short-stay Schengen visa is mandatory; it costs 90 euros per adult and 45 euros from age 6 to 11, and the consulate normally decides within 15 calendar days.

• Visa required: Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia are listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, the list of countries whose nationals need a visa to cross the Schengen external borders.
• Which visa: the short-stay Schengen visa (type C), for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Price: 90 euros per adult, 45 euros from 6 to under 12, free under 6, plus the application centre's fee where there is one.
• Processing: decision within 15 calendar days, up to 45 in individual cases.
• When to apply: no earlier than 6 months before the trip and no later than 15 days before.
• ETIAS: does not apply to you as long as your passport requires a visa.
• Refusal rate: in 2025, Schengen consulates refused 30.9% of the applications decided in Ecuador, 26.6% in the Dominican Republic and 43.4% in Bolivia (European Commission).

You apply to the consulate of your main destination, the country where you will spend the most time; if your stays are equal, to the country through which you first enter the Schengen area.

That is the rule in Article 5 of the Visa Code. The Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo points out that applying to the wrong consulate can lead to a refusal. Ten days in Madrid and two in Paris are therefore applied for with Spain; ten days split equally between Italy and Switzerland, with the country you enter first.

For the conditions on each route: Ecuador → Spain, Ecuador → Switzerland, Ecuador → France, Ecuador → Germany, Dominican Republic → Switzerland, Dominican Republic → France, Dominican Republic → Italy, Dominican Republic → Germany, Dominican Republic → Spain, Bolivia → Spain, Bolivia → Switzerland, Bolivia → Italy, Bolivia → Germany and Bolivia → France.

In all three countries, Spain takes applications at BLS International centres; France, Italy and Germany take them by appointment at their embassies or through VFS Global, and some consulates handle visas for other Schengen countries.

Representation arrangements and providers change: always check the consulate's page before paying or booking an appointment. What they say today:

• Spain: Schengen visas are handled exclusively at the BLS International centres in Quito and Guayaquil (Spanish Consulates General in Quito and Guayaquil, exteriores.gob.es).
• France: the French Embassy in Quito takes applications by appointment only and advises applying at least 15 days before departure. It also handles visas for Belgium (France-Visas).
• Italy: appointments for the tourist Schengen visa are booked on the VFS Global portal (Italian Embassy in Quito).
• Germany: the embassy in Quito gives appointments only through the booking system on its website; slots open 4 weeks ahead (quito.diplo.de).

According to the Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo (April 2025), the country has consulates of Italy, Switzerland (also covering Austria, Slovenia and Liechtenstein), Germany (also Estonia and Slovakia), Spain (also Portugal, Greece, Czechia, Lithuania, Sweden and Malta), France (also Denmark and Iceland) and the Netherlands (also Luxembourg, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Hungary and Latvia).

• Spain: applications at the BLS International centre in Santo Domingo, in Piantini (Spanish Consulate General in Santo Domingo).
• France: the visa section of the French Embassy in Santo Domingo works by appointment only and advises applying at least 20 days before departure (France-Visas).
• The Italian Embassy's advice: apply at least 4 weeks before the trip (up to 6 months before is possible) and book the appointment directly on the consulate's website, without intermediaries.

• Spain: the embassy in La Paz takes applications through the BLS International centre from residents of La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca and Cochabamba; the Consulate General in Santa Cruz de la Sierra serves the rest of the country (exteriores.gob.es).
• France: for the short-stay Schengen visa, Spain represents France in Bolivia; the French Embassy in La Paz only takes long-stay visas (French Embassy in Bolivia).
• Italy: the visa office of the embassy in La Paz works by appointment only, following its instructions for the tourist visa (amblapaz.esteri.it).

The Visa Code requires a passport valid for at least 3 months after your planned departure, the signed form, a photo, travel medical insurance of at least 30,000 euros and proof of the purpose of the trip, accommodation and funds.

• Passport valid for at least 3 months after your planned departure from the Schengen area, issued within the last 10 years, with at least two blank pages (Article 12).
• Application form, signed, and a recent photo.
• Travel medical insurance with cover of at least 30,000 euros, valid throughout the Schengen area for the whole stay (Article 15). Details and pitfalls in our Schengen visa insurance guide.
• Supporting documents for the purpose of the trip, accommodation, funds and intention to return (booking, invitation letter, bank statements, employment letter).
• Fingerprints, taken when you apply and reusable for 59 months; children under 12 are exempt (Article 13).

Each consulate then publishes its own list. Follow the one for the competent country, in its order: a disorganised or incomplete file delays the decision.

The visa fee is 90 euros per adult and 45 euros from 6 to under 12, the same in all 29 countries; the application centre adds a service fee capped in principle at half the visa fee.

• Visa fee: 90 euros per adult and 45 euros for children aged 6 to under 12 since 11 June 2024 (European Commission); free under 6.
• Service fee charged by BLS, VFS or another provider: in principle no more than half the visa fee, i.e. 45 euros (Article 17). Nothing to pay if you apply directly at an embassy.
• Currency: each consulate sets the amount in local currency and the payment method (cash, bank deposit, card). Check its page.

The fee pays for examining the application: it is not refunded if the visa is refused.

The consulate normally decides within 15 calendar days of an admissible application, a period that can stretch to 45 days; on top of that comes the wait for an appointment, which depends on the consulate and the season.

• When to apply: no earlier than 6 months before the trip and no later than 15 days before (European Commission).
• Decision time: 15 calendar days, extendable to 45 days in individual cases (Article 23).
• Appointments: the wait for an appointment does not count towards that period. In Santo Domingo, the French Embassy advises applying at least 20 days before departure, the Italian Embassy at least 4 weeks before.
• Flights: book with free cancellation, or wait for the visa before paying for a non-refundable ticket.

Travellers who have used previous visas lawfully can be issued multiple-entry visas with a longer validity (Article 24 of the Visa Code).

In 2025, Schengen countries' consulates refused 30.9% of the short-stay visa applications they decided in Ecuador, 26.6% in the Dominican Republic and 43.4% in Bolivia, against 14.6% worldwide, according to official European Commission statistics published on 28 May 2026.

These figures count every application lodged in each country, whatever the applicant's nationality: the Commission publishes them by consulate, not by nationality. The rate is the Commission's: visas not issued divided by all decisions (visas issued, visas with limited territorial validity and refusals). "n/a": fewer than 100 decisions that year.

Spain receives three out of four applications lodged in Ecuador (80,504 of 106,167) and refuses 31.4%. Germany is the consulate that refuses least (18.1%) and Hungary the one that refuses most (38.2%).

Spain receives nearly six out of ten applications (30,256 of 52,063) and refuses 20.4%. Germany refuses least (17.0%); the Netherlands (46.8%, against 33.6% in 2024) and Italy (46.2%, against 55.5%) refuse nearly one application in two.

Spain receives more than eight out of ten applications (13,790 of 16,230) and refuses 46.6%; Germany, 12.7%. France appears with 143 decisions and no refusal, but for short-stay visas Spain represents France in Bolivia: the usual route is through Spain's consulates.

In Cuba, Schengen consulates refused 21.8% of applications in 2025 (19.6% in 2024); among consulates with more than 1,000 decisions, the rate ranges from 11.6% for Spain in Havana to 42.9% for Germany. In Haiti, 34.8% (46.3% in 2024).

• Do not choose a consulate for its rate: the competent consulate depends on the main destination of the trip (Article 5 of the Visa Code), and applying at the wrong consulate can in itself be a ground for refusal.
• A rate is not an individual probability: it reflects the profile of all of a consulate's applicants. A complete and consistent file (purpose, accommodation, means, intention to return) weighs more than the average.

A refusal comes with a standard form stating the reason; you can appeal under the law of the country that decided, within the deadline and to the authority given in the letter, or submit a corrected new application.

Article 32 of the Visa Code requires the consulate to give the reason on a standard form and grants a right of appeal under the law of the country that took the decision. Before reapplying, fix the point raised: insufficient funds, unclear purpose of travel, incomplete insurance or doubts about your intention to return. The most common reasons and how to avoid them: our guide Visa refusal: 10 common reasons.

ETIAS, the future European travel authorisation, only concerns visa-exempt passports: with a Schengen visa you will not need it. The EES, the biometric record of entries and exits, does apply to visa holders.

• ETIAS: it is meant for travellers who do not need a visa today. As long as Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia remain in Annex I, their nationals apply for the Schengen visa, not ETIAS. More in our ETIAS guide.
• EES: at the border, your face, fingerprints and every entry and exit are recorded, instead of a stamp in your passport. Full explanation in our EES guide.

For your passport's situation worldwide, see the pages for Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia.

Data read on 1 November 2026.

• Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, consolidated version, Annex I (EUR-Lex).
• Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, the Visa Code, Articles 5, 12, 13, 15, 17, 23, 24 and 32 (EUR-Lex).
• European Commission, Applying for a Schengen visa and fee increase as of 11 June 2024.
• Spanish Consulates General in Quito, Guayaquil, Santo Domingo and Santa Cruz de la Sierra; Spanish Embassy in La Paz.
• France-Visas, pages for Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia; French Embassy in Bolivia.
• Italian Embassies in Quito, Santo Domingo and La Paz.
• German Embassy in Quito.
• European Commission (DG Migration and Home Affairs), Schengen visa statistics by consulate, years 2025 (published on 28 May 2026) and 2024, read on 2 November 2026. Check: for each country, the sum of the consulates equals the published total.