Length of Waiting Time after 12-IX Visa Expiration to return on T-3 (Passport)

[DONALD BIRCH]

Does anybody know if there is a precise waiting period (ie. 6 months, 12 months, 1 year etc.) required between the expiration of a 12-IX VISA and being able to return to Ecuador for a stay of less than 3 months on a T-3 (Passport only). My wife and I visited Ecuador from Nov. 5,2013 to April 16,2014 using a 12-IX VISA which expired on April 27,2014. We want to return to Ecuador for 5 weeks in Feb.and March 2015. In addition, we last travelled to Ecuador on a T-3 (Passport only) for 3 weeks in April 2013.
Please note that I have already contacted the closest Ecuadorian Consulate and they gave me a vague answer (ie that we should be OK to return to Ecuador in Feb 2015 on a T-3). I guess the issue does not come up much.

Thank ypu in advance.
Don

[COUNTRY EXPERT – WENDY DECHAMBEAU]

I have a friend that spends nine months of every year in Ecuador just using the T-3 and the 12-IV visas. Here is what he told me. If he enters the country on a T-3 on June 1st, 2014 he’s good for 90 days. He waits until near the end of those 90 days to get his 12-IV which gives him an additional 180 days. So he would be able to stay in the country until approximately the end of February 2015. At that point he needs to leave the country but is able to return on a T-3 visa one year from when his last T-3 was issued, so June 1st, 2015.

He has done this for several years now and not had any problems with immigration. So, theoretically you should be able to come back to Ecuador as soon as November of this year. I can’t guarantee that you won’t get an immigration officer who has a different understanding of the time limits on these visas, but most likely you should be just fine in re-entering Ecuador in February of next year.

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