Ecuador Tourist Visa 2026: The Guide for African Nationals

For years, Ecuador was one of the most open countries in the world. That era is over: nationals of 45 countries (including 23 African states) must obtain a visa before boarding and, since 1 September 2025, a transit visa (transeúnte) to transit through Ecuador. If you are planning a trip from Dakar, Douala, Kinshasa, Abidjan, Luanda or Lagos, this guide gathers everything you need to know in 2026: who is concerned, how the Cancillería's e-VISAS platform works, how to obtain the apostilled or legalised police certificate (the document with the most steps) and what it all costs.

In 2026, nationals of 45 countries, including Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, must obtain a 90-day tourist visa before travelling to Ecuador; since September 2025, the requirement also applies to transit.

The visa is officially called the Visa de Visitante Temporal – Turista (90 days). According to the list published by Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería), nationals of the following African countries must obtain it before departure:

Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

The full list (45 nationalities, also including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Haiti, India, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Venezuela and Vietnam) is published on the Cancillería's official website (cancilleria.gob.ec). It can change: always check your own situation before buying a ticket. Crucial point: since 1 September 2025, the same nationalities must also obtain a transit visa (visa de visitante temporal de transeúnte, USD 50 for the form and USD 30 for the visa), according to the Cancillería's statement of 30 August 2025. If your itinerary goes through Quito or Guayaquil, check with the Cancillería or your airline whether your layover is covered. For layovers in general, see our transit visa guide.

Ecuador's tourist visa costs USD 80 in total (USD 50 on filing, USD 30 on approval), is applied for 100% online via the e-VISAS platform and allows a 90-day stay, extendable once for 90 more days.

On the Cancillería's e-VISAS platform, the Ecuador tourist visa application takes 7 steps, with USD 50 to pay on the day you file, then USD 30 if the application is approved.

According to the official procedure sheet (gob.ec, February 2026), applications are made only online, on the Cancillería's e-VISAS platform (serviciosdigitales.cancilleria.gob.ec). Here is the journey:

Step 1, Create an account. On the portal, choose the registration option and enter a valid email address you check regularly. A verification code is sent to you; then create your password.

Step 2, Complete your profile. Once logged in, complete your personal data and accept the terms of use. Copy your identity letter by letter, exactly as it appears in your passport.

Step 3, Open a new application. Select a new procedure, then the Visitante Temporal – Turista (90 days) visa, and complete the data requested: passport, photo and supporting documents. For a minor, the application is made by their legal representative.

Step 4, Upload the documents. Documents are uploaded in the PDF format required by the platform. Check the sharpness of every scan before saving the application.

Step 5, Pay the USD 50 the same day. The filing fee is paid on the same day you save the application, by credit or debit card, or at a Banco del Pacífico counter. Check with your bank beforehand that your card accepts international online payments.

Step 6, Track your file. The status updates in your personal space. An incomplete application, or one that triggers a security alert, is refused.

Step 7, Pay the USD 30 and receive the visa. If the application is approved, the payment button is activated: a second payment of USD 30 is required to issue the electronic visa. Print several copies for boarding and immigration control.

For Ecuador's tourist visa, you need a passport valid for at least 6 months, a colour photo on a white background, a police certificate covering the last 5 years, apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish, and proof of means.

• Passport valid for at least 6 months, with a scan of the data page.
• Recent colour photo on a white background.
• Police clearance certificate from your country of origin or countries of residence over the last 5 years, apostilled or legalised, translated into Spanish (details below). Required from adult applicants.
• Proof of economic means (Ministerial Agreement No. 70): bank statements for the last 3 months showing at least one Ecuadorian unified basic wage per month of authorised stay, so three for a 90-day visa; alternatively, the invoice for a tour covering the whole stay, or a sponsorship letter from a guarantor based in Ecuador.
• Flight ticket: Ecuador's embassy in France asks applicants not to buy it before receiving the visa.

The police certificate required for Ecuador's tourist visa must cover every country you lived in over the last 5 years, be apostilled or legalised, be translated into Spanish and be less than 180 days old.

This is the document with the most steps, for three reasons: you must obtain it in every country where you have lived over the last 5 years, it must be authenticated (apostille or legalisation), and it must be translated into Spanish. It is valid for 180 days from issuance, request it neither too early nor too late.

1. Obtain the certificate. Apply to the authority that issues criminal record certificates in your country. If you have lived in several countries over the last 5 years, a certificate is required for each.

2. Apostille or legalisation? It depends on whether your country is a party to the 1961 Hague Convention:

• Countries party to the Convention: the document is apostilled by the designated authority. The list of contracting parties is kept by the Hague Conference (hcch.net): check your country there.
• Countries not party to it: the document must be legalised. Ask the Ecuadorian mission covering your country, which may be based in another country, how to proceed: contact it very early.

3. Spanish translation. A document issued in a language other than Spanish must be translated: this applies to a certificate issued in French, English or Portuguese. Ask the Ecuadorian mission which form of translation it accepts.

Ecuador's official tourist visa fees total USD 80: USD 50 for the application and USD 30 for the visa once granted, plus the cost of the police certificate, the apostille or legalisation, and the Spanish translation.

Add the cost of secure courier shipments if the competent embassy is in another country.

The official pages consulted give no processing time for Ecuador's tourist visa: allow a margin, and start the police certificate at least 3 months before departure, bearing in mind that it is only valid for 180 days.

The official pages consulted for this guide give no processing time for this visa: allow a margin. The police certificate, the apostille or legalisation and the translation all come before you file, and how long they take depends on your country. Our advice: start the police certificate at least 3 months before your intended departure date, and file online as soon as the dossier is complete, remembering that the certificate must be less than 180 days old at filing.

If Ecuador refuses your tourist visa, only the USD 30 issuance fee is not due, and the most realistic path is a corrected new application: better-documented funds, a compliant police certificate and documents consistent with the form.

The USD 50 is paid on filing, before any decision: do not count on getting it back. According to the Cancillería, an application is refused when the required documents are incomplete or a security alert comes up. In practice, the most realistic path is a corrected new application: better-documented funds, the missing document added. Before refiling, review every item critically: a certificate that is too old, not apostilled or not translated, insufficient bank statements, differences between the form and the documents.

Ecuador's tourist visa is demanding but entirely achievable: the procedure is fully online, official fees are reasonable (USD 80) and the criteria are known. The key is anticipation (police certificate first, authentication next, translation last) and consistency between every document and your form. Before you start, check the up-to-date requirements for your nationality on the izivisas.com visa checker, then rely on the official sources gob.ec and cancilleria.gob.ec. Detailed examples by nationality: Ecuador visa for Senegalese citizens, for Cameroonians or for Ivorians. Safe travels to Quito, the Andes and the Galápagos.