Immigration
Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana with universal-citizenship principles
The 2017 Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana implements the Constitution's principle of universal citizenship and its prohibition on treating irregular migration as a crime. It provides temporary and permanent residence categories, including a UNASUR/Mercosur regional route, and is administered by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, administered by the foreign ministry
- Deadline — Temporary residence: two years, renewable
- Deadline — Permanent residence: after 21 months of temporary residence
- Deadline — Naturalisation: three years of legal residence
Governing law
- Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana2017
- Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana
- Constitución (arts. 40 and 416)
In practice
Ecuador's constitutional commitment to universal citizenship and the progressive end of alien status is among the most expansive such declarations anywhere, and the 2017 statute expressly bars criminalising a person for their migration status. The regional residence visa for South American nationals is the most-used route and requires little beyond nationality, identity documents and a clean record.