Do Kenyan passport holders need a visa for Ecuador?

By Ananya Sethi · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated September 4, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes. Kenya sits on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list of 45 nationalities that must hold a visa before they board, so a Kenyan passport does not get the visa-free welcome that Ecuador is famous for giving almost everyone else. The document to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, lodged online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the step that decides your timeline is a Certificate of Good Conduct that has to be translated and legalised before Ecuador will consider the file.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, before travel
Why: Kenya 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: Certificate of Good Conduct, translated and legalised
Passport validity: At least six months

Entry requirements

A Kenyan passport valid for at least six months.
An original Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and an equivalent certificate from anywhere else you have lived in the last five years, translated into Spanish and legalised. 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, and the good-conduct certificate is the long pole

Ecuador’s foreign ministry publishes the list of nationalities that need a visa before arriving, and its government services portal repeats the same 45 names under the label Régimen Especial. Kenya is on both. That is the part to take on trust rather than the country’s open reputation, because most other travellers really do arrive in Quito with nothing arranged.

The visa to ask for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days. The portal describes it as an authorisation for tourism and states plainly that holders may not work. The application is made only online through the ministry’s e-VISAS platform, while the visa itself is issued through an Ecuadorian mission abroad, so the internet is where you start and a consulate is where it ends.

The document that sets your calendar is the police certificate. For a Kenyan that is the Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, applied for through eCitizen and collected once the fingerprints clear. Ecuador wants it translated into Spanish and legalised, and that legalisation is the slow step, so it is the one to begin first.

Good to know

Kenya is not a member of the Apostille Convention, which changes how the certificate is authenticated. Ecuador accepts a police certificate that is either apostilled or consular-legalised, and because Kenya does not issue apostilles a Kenyan Certificate of Good Conduct has to take the longer consular-legalisation route through the chain of authorities that ends at an Ecuadorian mission. Budget weeks, not days, and do not book a flight around an apostille that Kenya cannot give you.
The certificate has a shelf life counted to your arrival, not to your application, which is what wastes a document. Ecuador treats the police certificate as valid for 180 days from the date it was issued until your last entry into the country. A certificate pulled early, followed by a slow legalisation and a trip booked for later in the year, can lapse against the trip rather than the paperwork, so count backwards from your intended landing date.
Travellers under 18 are not asked for the good-conduct certificate at all, which matters for a family file. Ecuador limits the requirement to applicants over 18. Everything else still applies to a child, including the six-month passport validity and the photograph specification, but the slowest document is not one you have to chase for them.
This is a tourism visa in the strict sense and the government portal says so, describing the permission as being for tourism and stating that holders are prohibited from carrying out work activities. Anything on the trip that could be read as work, including unpaid but organised assignments, belongs to a different application, and the line is written into the description of the visa rather than hidden in a footnote.

Frequently asked questions

Do Kenyan 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 Kenya is on it. Most other nationalities are admitted without one.

Which visa should Kenyans apply for?

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

Do Kenyans need a police certificate for an Ecuador visa?

Yes, if you are over 18. Ecuador asks for an original Certificate of Good Conduct, translated into Spanish and legalised, plus an equivalent from anywhere you have lived in the last five years.

Can a Kenyan Certificate of Good Conduct be apostilled?

No. Kenya is not a member of the Apostille Convention, so the certificate has to be consular-legalised rather than apostilled, which is the slower of the two routes Ecuador accepts.

Can Kenyans 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 Kenyans 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.

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 Kenya (Kenia) 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 Kenya; 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, status table: Kenya is not a Contracting Party to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, so Kenyan public documents are authenticated by consular legalisation rather than apostille. Read 2026-09-04.
National Police Service of Kenya, Directorate of Criminal Investigations: the Police Clearance Certificate (Certificate of Good Conduct) is applied for through the eCitizen portal and issued after fingerprint capture and clearance. 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.

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