Do Vietnamese passport holders need a visa for Ecuador?

By Aditya Rawat · Destinations Writer, Tripmojo · Updated September 4, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes. Vietnam is one of the 45 nationalities on Ecuador’s Régimen Especial list, so Vietnamese travellers must arrange a visa before they fly rather than turning up and being waved through the way most visitors to Ecuador are. The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days, filed online through the foreign ministry’s e-VISAS platform, and the requirement that sets the pace is a criminal-record card that Ecuador wants translated and authenticated before it will decide.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes, before travel
Why: Vietnam 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 card, translated and authenticated
Passport validity: At least six months

Entry requirements

A Vietnamese passport valid for at least six months.
An original criminal-record card (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp) from the National Centre for Criminal Records or a provincial Department of Justice, and an equivalent from anywhere else you have lived in the last five years, translated into Spanish and apostilled or 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 criminal-record card is the long pole

Ecuador’s foreign ministry publishes the list of nationalities that need a visa before arriving, and the government services portal repeats the same 45 names as the Régimen Especial. Vietnam appears on both, so the visa is not optional however open Ecuador looks from the outside, and the open reputation is the part that misleads a Vietnamese reader rather than the part that helps.

The visa to apply for is the temporary visitor tourist visa for 90 days. The portal frames it as an authorisation for tourism and says outright that holders may not work. The application is lodged 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 criminal-record card. For a Vietnamese applicant that is the Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp, obtained from the National Centre for Criminal Records or the provincial Department of Justice, then translated into Spanish and authenticated. The authentication is the slow part, so start it before anything else on the list.

Good to know

The way that card is authenticated is about to change, and the timing is worth planning around. Vietnam acceded to the Apostille Convention on 31 December 2025 and it enters into force for Vietnam on 11 September 2026. Before that date a Vietnamese criminal-record card must be consular-legalised through the full chain of authorities; from that date it can instead carry a single apostille, which is faster and cheaper. If your trip is flexible, a file started after 11 September 2026 has the easier route open to it.
The certificate has a shelf life measured to your arrival, not to your application. Ecuador treats the criminal-record card as valid for 180 days from the date it was issued until your last entry into the country, so a card obtained early and paired with slow authentication and a later trip can expire against the journey rather than the paperwork. Work the dates backwards from when you intend to land in Quito.
Applicants under 18 are not asked for the criminal-record card at all, which is useful for a family application. Ecuador limits the requirement to people over 18. The rest of the list still applies to a child, the six-month passport and the photograph included, but the slowest document is one you can skip for them.
This is a tourism visa in the narrow sense and the portal states as much, describing the permission as being for tourism and prohibiting holders from carrying out work activities. A trip that mixes in anything resembling work, including short unpaid but organised engagements, is a different application, and the distinction sits in the description of the visa itself.

Frequently asked questions

Do Vietnamese 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 Vietnam is on it. Most other nationalities are admitted without one.

Which visa should Vietnamese travellers apply for?

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

Do Vietnamese applicants need a criminal-record card?

Yes, if you are over 18. Ecuador asks for an original Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp, translated into Spanish and apostilled or legalised, plus an equivalent from anywhere you have lived in the last five years.

Can a Vietnamese criminal-record card be apostilled?

From 11 September 2026, yes. Vietnam acceded to the Apostille Convention on 31 December 2025 and it enters into force that day; before it, the card has to be consular-legalised instead.

Can Vietnamese travellers 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 Vietnamese citizens 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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam; 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: Vietnam acceded to the Convention of 5 October 1961 on 31 December 2025, with entry into force for Vietnam on 11 September 2026; until then Vietnamese public documents are authenticated by consular legalisation. Read 2026-09-04.
Vietnam Ministry of Justice, National Centre for Criminal Records: the criminal-record card (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp) is issued by the National Centre for Criminal Records or a provincial Department of Justice. 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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