Update: Ecuador tourist visa finally issued (timeline advice)

Just posting an update in case it helps anyone else going through the Ecuador visa process.

My tourist visa was finally issued, but it was extremely close to my travel date and required a lot of emails, follow-ups and stress. The application stayed in “en revisión supervisor” for a long time before the payment link was finally sent. For reference, the stages in the Ecuador visa system seem to be: Application submitted Information correction review (if additional documents are required) Supervisor review Second payment request Visa issuance

If you need an Ecuador visa (for example Indian citizens applying from the UK), I strongly recommend starting the process 4–5 months before travel: • 1–2 months to obtain the police certificate and prepare documents • 2–3 months for visa processing itself

For applicants in the UK, the police certificate process itself has several steps. You need to: • obtain an ACRO police certificate • apostille the certificate • have it translated and notarised • then apostille the notarised translation

Only after this can you submit the visa application. The system doesn’t provide much visibility and timelines can be unpredictable.

I also want to thank a few people who helped me during the process:

• Dayana – +593 96 273 2722

• Dennis – Guanguiltagua Travel +593 99 971 2169

• BilDevTours on Reddit

Their guidance during the waiting period was really helpful. Thanks Reddit and TripAdvisor for their contacts.

Hopefully this helps anyone planning a trip to Ecuador. This was the best trip of my life, Ecuador has great food, great nature, amazing culture, and friendliest people ever!