Do Indian passport holders need a visa for Ecuador?

By Aditya Rawat · Destinations Writer, Tripmojo · Updated September 1, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes, which surprises people, because Ecuador is described everywhere as one of the most open countries in the Americas. It is, by the number of countries it waves through. It is much less so by the number of people: the 45 nationalities on its Régimen Especial list, who must apply before arriving, include China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam. India is on it. The visa to ask for is the 90-day temporary visitor tourist visa, applied for online, and the requirement most likely to catch you out is a police certificate that has to be apostilled.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, before travel
Why: India 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: Apostilled police certificate, over-18s only
Passport validity: At least six months

Entry requirements

An Indian passport valid for at least six months.
An original police clearance certificate from India, and from anywhere else you have lived in the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalised. Ecuador counts it as valid for 180 days from the date of issue to your last entry, and requires it only from applicants over 18.
Proof of lawful means of support, under Ministerial Agreement No. 70 of 28 June 2024, together 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, and the police certificate is the long pole

Ecuador’s foreign ministry publishes the list of countries whose nationals need a visa before arriving, and its government services portal repeats the same list under the name Régimen Especial. Both name India. The two documents agreeing matters here, because Ecuador’s reputation runs the other way: most nationalities do arrive without arranging anything.

It is worth being precise about that reputation, because for an Indian reader it is the misleading part. Ecuador is open by the count of countries and much less open by the count of people. Read the 45 names on the list and you find China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam among them. A guide that says Ecuador lets almost everyone in is accurate about passports and wrong about populations.

The visa itself is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days. The services portal describes it as an authorisation to carry out tourism, and is explicit that holders are prohibited from working. It also says the visa is issued through Ecuador’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, while the application is made only online through the ministry’s e-VISAS platform. Applied for on the internet, issued through a mission.

The requirement that decides your timeline is the police certificate. Ecuador asks for an original criminal record certificate from your country of origin and from anywhere you have lived in the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalised. In India that is a Police Clearance Certificate followed by apostille, and it is the step that takes weeks rather than days, so it is the one to start first.

Good to know

The certificate has a shelf life measured to your arrival, not to your application, which is the detail that wastes a document. Ecuador counts the police certificate as valid for 180 days from the date it was issued until your last entry into the country. So a certificate obtained early, followed by a slow apostille and a trip booked for later in the year, can expire against the trip rather than against the paperwork. Work backwards from the date you intend to land.
Applicants under 18 do not need the police certificate at all, which is worth knowing for a family application. Ecuador states the requirement applies only to people over 18. Everything else on the list still applies to a child’s application, including the passport validity and the photograph specification, but the slowest document is not one you have to obtain for them.
Where the application happens and where the visa comes from are different places. The services portal says the application is made only virtually, through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and separately that this visa is issued through Ecuador’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. Both statements sit on the same government page. Start online rather than at a consulate, and expect the mission to be involved at the issuing end.
This is a tourism visa in the strict sense and the portal says so. It describes the permission as being for tourism and states that holders are prohibited from carrying out work activities. If the trip involves anything that could be read as work, that is a different application, and the distinction is written into the description of the visa rather than buried in a condition.

Frequently asked questions

Do Indian 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 India is on it. Most other nationalities are admitted without one, though the list includes several of the most populous countries in the world.

Which visa should I apply for?

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

Do I really need a police certificate?

Yes, if you are over 18. Ecuador asks for an original criminal record certificate from your country of origin and anywhere you have lived in the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalised.

How long is the police certificate valid?

Ecuador counts 180 days from the date of issue to your last entry into the country, so plan it backwards from your arrival date rather than your application date.

Can I work 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.

Is the application made at a consulate?

The application is made only online through the e-VISAS platform. The same page says the visa is issued through Ecuador’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, so both are involved at different stages.

Other passports for Ecuador

Other destinations for India passport holders

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 1 September 2026.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana del Ecuador, "Lista de países que deben presentar visa al ingresar al Ecuador": "Conforme la normativa, requieren visa para ingresar al Ecuador los siguientes países", followed by 45 entries including India. The page is signed by the Dirección de Visados y Naturalización and reviewed by the Subsecretaría de Servicios Migratorios y Consulares, and carries no revision date in its body. Read 2026-09-01. 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", provided by the MREMH: the same 45 countries are named as "Países de Régimen Especial" and include India. The visa is described as a temporary stay authorisation for tourism whose holders "están prohibidas de realizar actividades laborales", and as issued "a través de las Misiones Diplomáticas u Oficinas Consulares del Ecuador en el exterior". Read 2026-09-01. https://www.gob.ec/mremh/tramites/concesion-visa-visitante-temporal-turista-90-dias
Same page, mandatory requirements: a colour photograph in JPG of at most one megabyte, 5 by 5 cm, white background, neutral expression or natural smile, both eyes open; a passport valid at least six months; an original criminal record certificate from the country of origin or of residence over the last five years, translated and apostilled or legalised, counted as valid for 180 days from issue to the applicant’s last entry, required only of those over 18; payment of the fee set by the human mobility authority; proof of lawful means of support under Acuerdo Ministerial No. 70 of 28 June 2024; and a travel itinerary with outbound and return tickets. Read 2026-09-01.
Same page, procedure: "El trámite de solicitud de visa se realiza únicamente de manera virtual, a través de la plataforma oficial del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana denominada e-VISAS", at serviciosdigitales.cancilleria.gob.ec. Read 2026-09-01.

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

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