Ecuador visa for Albanian passport holders

Yes, which surprises Albanians used to visa-free travel across the Balkans and beyond. Albania is one of the 45 nationalities on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list, so an Albanian passport needs a visa arranged before departure. The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, submitted online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the requirement to start early is a criminal-record certificate that has to be translated and authenticated.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, before travel
Why: Albania is one of 45 countries on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list
Visa to apply for: Temporary visitor tourist visa, 90 days
Where: Online, on the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform
The hard requirement: Criminal-record certificate, translated and apostilled
Passport validity: At least six months

Entry requirements

An Albanian passport valid for at least six months.
An original criminal-record certificate (dëshmi penaliteti), and an equivalent from anywhere else you have lived in the last five years, translated into Spanish and apostilled. Ecuador counts it as valid for 180 days from the date of issue to your last entry, and asks for it only from applicants over 18.
Proof of lawful means of support under Ministerial Agreement No. 70 of 28 June 2024, with a travel itinerary and return tickets.
A colour photograph to specification: JPG, no more than one megabyte, 5 by 5 centimetres, white background, neutral expression or a natural smile, both eyes open.

On the list, with the apostille route available

Ecuador’s foreign ministry publishes the list of nationalities that need a visa before arriving, and its services portal carries the same 45 names as the Régimen Especial. Albania is on both, which is the part that catches Albanian travellers by surprise, because a passport that opens most of Europe visa-free does not open Ecuador’s arrival desk.

The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days. The portal frames it as an authorisation for tourism and states that holders may not work. The application is made only online through the ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the visa is issued through an Ecuadorian mission abroad, so you begin on the website and finish through a consulate.

The document that governs your timeline is the dëshmi penaliteti, Albania’s criminal-record certificate. Because Albania is in the Apostille Convention it can be authenticated with a single apostille rather than a legalisation chain, but it still has to be translated into Spanish, so treat the two steps as a sequence and start them early.

Good to know

Albania is in the Apostille Convention, so the certificate takes the short authentication route most nationalities on Ecuador’s list do not get. The Convention has been in force for Albania since 2004, and the dëshmi penaliteti is issued through the e-Albania government portal, then apostilled by the designated Albanian authority. Ecuador accepts an apostilled document without further legalisation, so ask for the apostille specifically and have the Spanish translation done alongside it.
The 180 days that the certificate stays valid are measured to your entry, not to the day you requested it, and that is what trips people up. Ecuador reads the dëshmi penaliteti as valid for 180 days from its issue date until you last enter the country, so pulling it months ahead of a trip can leave it expired on arrival even though the apostille was fast. Time it from your planned landing, not from now.
The certificate requirement falls away for minors, which lightens a family application. Ecuador asks for the dëshmi penaliteti only from applicants over 18, so a child travelling with Albanian parents still needs the valid passport and the specified photograph but neither the record certificate nor an apostille for it.
The visa covers tourism and nothing that resembles work, and the portal states the limit outright, describing the permission as being for tourism and barring holders from work activities. An Albanian going out for a job interview, a paid gig or an organised assignment needs a different category, and the boundary is written into the visa description itself rather than left to be inferred.

Frequently asked questions

Do Albanian citizens need a visa for Ecuador?

Yes. Ecuador publishes a list of 45 nationalities that must obtain a visa before arriving, its Régimen Especial, and Albania is on it, even though an Albanian passport is visa-free for much of Europe.

Which visa should Albanians apply for?

The temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, applied for online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform.

Do Albanians need a criminal-record certificate for an Ecuador visa?

Yes, if you are over 18. Ecuador asks for an original dëshmi penaliteti, translated into Spanish and apostilled, plus an equivalent from anywhere you have lived in the last five years.

Can an Albanian criminal-record certificate be apostilled?

Yes. Albania has been in the Apostille Convention since 2004, so the dëshmi penaliteti can carry a single apostille rather than going through consular legalisation.

Can Albanians work in Ecuador on this visa?

No. The government portal describes the permission as being for tourism and states that holders are prohibited from carrying out work activities.

How long can Albanians stay in Ecuador on this visa?

Up to 90 days. The visa is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, and it does not permit work.

Related pages

Other passports for Ecuador

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 4 September 2026.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana del Ecuador, "Lista de países que deben presentar visa al ingresar al Ecuador": 45 nationalities are named as requiring a visa to enter Ecuador, and Albania is among them. Read 2026-09-04. https://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/2020/06/30/lista-de-paises-que-deben-presentar-visa-al-ingresar-al-ecuador/
Gobierno del Ecuador, gob.ec, "Concesión de visa de visitante temporal turista 90 días", MREMH: the 45 Régimen Especial countries include Albania; the visa authorises tourism and prohibits work; the application is made only online through the e-VISAS platform and the visa is issued through Ecuadorian missions abroad; requirements include a passport valid at least six months, a colour photograph to specification, an original criminal-record certificate from the country of origin or residence over the last five years translated and apostilled or legalised and valid 180 days from issue to last entry and required only of those over 18, proof of lawful means of support under Acuerdo Ministerial No. 70 of 28 June 2024, and a travel itinerary with return tickets. Read 2026-09-04. https://www.gob.ec/mremh/tramites/concesion-visa-visitante-temporal-turista-90-dias
HCCH, Apostille Section: the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents entered into force for Albania in 2004, so Albanian public documents are authenticated by apostille. Read 2026-09-04.
Republic of Albania, e-Albania government portal: the dëshmi penaliteti (criminal-record certificate) is issued online. Read 2026-09-04.

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

Do Albanian passport holders need a visa for Ecuador?