UPDATED 230821
We often get inquiries from Canadians wondering what Ecuador is like and what it takes to gain residency. This is a list of references to help you decide if this amazing country might be a place to escape Canada and build your new life. The list will be updated as appropriate, but the intent is only to provide basic, but important references in the early stages of your research. The information provided is far from exhaustive, so it is your responsibility to do your homework. NOTHING here should be construed as legal or financial advice.
We have now added other countries along with other Canadian refugees in those countries where they exist. You can find them in the last section.
Note that we do not receive any 'finder's fees' or kickbacks for any business that may be mentioned in this article.
A. ECUADOR-GENERAL
1. Amelia & JP's Unconventionals Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AmeliaAndJP
Nearly every gringo in Ecuador has watched their videos. They are an American couple who came to Ecuador 5 years ago and have produced countless videos covering life here. Be sure to get on their mailing list at ameliaandjp.com. Recently, they've started producing videos about Mexico as well, but are most known for their Ecuador work. They cover many aspects of life and tourism here as well as real estate and immigration. The main drawback of their amazing work is that they don't really convey what we found was the greatest aspect of life here: the sense of community among gringos.
2. Cuenca Highlife: https://cuencahighlife.com/
English-language publication that provides translated news and commentary.
3. Gringo Post: https://gringopost.com/
English classified postings. Great place to research rentals, but don't jump too quickly! The best way to find a great place is to get settled in for a while, develop your circle of friends and let them know you're looking. We get offered places all the time at incredible prices through our friends. One was a 4 bedroom, 3 story home in a private, gated, family enclave for $450 including all utilities! It was unfurnished, though. Besides we love where we are now!
B. VISAS
There are a number of ways for gringos to qualify for a visa including: Retirement Visa (the visa we are on), Professional Visa, Investor Visa and the new 'Digital Nomad' visa. We strongly recommend that you consult and use an experienced Ecuador visa agent/lawyer even if you are fluent in Spanish.
Do NOT base your final decision on any information on their websites. You must speak to them personally about your personal situation. Sometimes, the government changes requirements without notice.
Both these agencies have their fans and their detractors. No agent will be perfect for everyone. Both these services have the experience and contacts to work out any 'kinks' in your application.
1. Gringo Visas (visa agent): https://gringovisas.com/
This was the visa agent we used for our Temporary Retirement Visa. The cost for 2 of us was $3000 USD total in late 2021. We will likely use them for our Permanent Retirement Visa, but will definitely investigate other, less expensive options. We are eligible to apply for a Permanent Residency Visa after 21 months which will be in February 2024.
2. Sara Chaca (visa agent/lawyer): https://www.ecuadorvisas.com/
We have never met her personally, but she, like Gringo Visas, has both fans and detractors. As a side note, her husband, Adam, runs FindHealthInEcuador.com which works with the dentist we chose to renovate our teeth, Dr. Pacheco.
C. REAL ESTATE - BUY OR RENT?
The standard advice for all new gringos is not to buy any real estate until you've been here at least one year, and it is good advice. Rents are cheap, and you have a lot on your plate with building a new life in a strange country. Pick a place to start your new life, then get to know the city and/or country to decide where you want to be. Things are different here. Real estate doesn't work the way it does back in Canada, and you can get hurt or end up in some place you decide you don't like.
Mortgages are NOT a thing here. Almost all transactions are in cash, and the official currency is US Dollars. Real estate agents will not work with you unless you can pay all-cash. Also, your house is NOT a very liquid asset here; it can take a very long time to sell if you decided to leave.
The vast majority of gringos in Cuenca that we have met rent their units. Some friends have bought or built their own homes, but this is not widely done. One of the reasons that renting has made a lot of sense is that banking coops in Ecuador pay between 8-10% on Certificates of Deposit over 1 year. Should one tie up, say $120,000 USD or earn up to $1000/month interest while you can rent for much less than that? Only you can answer that question.
Ecuador has had banks fail in the past, so be cautious when deciding where to invest your money. One great aspect to the Ecuador economy is that it rewards savers and makes borrowers pay. It is also a cash economy in which only expensive items like, say, a watch or an expensive dinner would be put on credit, so it is not built on a credit bubble which can burst. Also, Ecuador cancelled Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in 2017 because people here are skeptical of the banking system.
We had planned to invest in CDs here, but have held off for now. We may yet do so, but it would be only as part of a diversified investment program to limit exposure. Accounts here are insured up to $32,000 USD per person per bank/coop.
The banks here are very professional and very diligent about knowing their customers. They do not hand out credit easily. We were told by our major bank that in order to get a credit card, we had to invest in a CD and the limit of the card would only be 80% of the value of the CD. Contrast that with the huge amounts of unsecured credit that Canadian banks throw at people. It illustrates clearly the stark difference between Ecuador's cash economy and Canada's credit bubble economy.
1. Abundant Living Ecuador (real estate brokers/developers): ABEcuador.com
I have heard good things about these folks who include at least one Canadian. My interaction with them was minor, but was impressed with their attitude and promptness. One Canadian who follows my Canadian Refugee in Ecuador Twitter feed (@cdnrefugee) has purchased 93 acres of land through them and was impressed with their service. They operate in the south of Ecuador from Loja down.
2. Hotel Otorongo ('Apartamentos Otorongo' in Spanish): hotelotorongo.com
This is a wonderful, relatively inexpensive slice of paradise on the Tomebamba River in Cuenca within walking distance of the old city. Wonderful gardens and sitting areas. Run by a husband and wife who offer adventure tours and have a store on-site. And, they speak English. You can stay for as long as you want, from a few days to years. But, you need to book early. This 'aparthotel' is not for tourists looking for glitz and glamour; it appeals to travellers who appreciate a homey, informal atmosphere looking to make friends and share experiences.
3. MLS Ecuador: https://mls-ecuador.com/en
Unlike Canada where nearly every house for sale is listed on realtor.ca, most real estate is NOT listed. This site, however, will give you some insight into prices. Many properties stay on the market for a long time.
4. Cuenca's Best Properties: https://cuencasbestproperties.com/
This site is oriented to the Cuenca and surrounding area. We are not recommending the agent's services because we do not know her. It is, however, a great place to see what prices in the area are like.
D. ECUADOR'S ECONOMY
Ecuador uses the US Dollar (USD) as its official currency. This is great for Americans with outside income, but Canadians will have to mentally adjust prices by adding 25-30% to prices when considering a move here.
It should be noted that there are economic developments that could cause devastating damage to US dollar value and the banking system in the West as countries in the BRICS+ alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa + many more) move to create a gold/commodity-based currency to attack/replace the USD as the world's reserve currency. The disruptions could mean some level of devaluation of the USD and possibly the closing of banks in the West, including here in Ecuador, at least for a time. Some commentators/experts feel the change could be serious and rapid. Others believe it will take longer to play out. Therefore, please do not take the above paragraph regarding the merits of renting vs. buying as legal or investment advice. For more info about these developments this video featuring Andy Schectman of Miles Franklin Precious Metals explains the timeline of events very well:
Ecuador has the lowest inflation rate in South America at 2.3%. The combination of a cash economy, limited credit availability, low (subsidized) fuel prices, stability of the USD as a currency, and a government that rejected most of the heavy borrowing of the previous socialist government have worked to maintain a very stable economy.
E. WHERE SHOULD I START MY NEW LIFE?
Like all good Canadians our initial thought was finding a warm place on a beach. That means the coast in a place like Salinas, Olon, Manta, etc. We originally thought to start our new life in Manta, but we're so glad we came to Cuenca instead. There are 7-10K 'gringos' here (that is not a pejorative term here), so there is an unofficial infrastructure built around them. There are great hospitals here. The weather is like a permanent Canadian spring. Even the locals can't tell you what season it is here! Sometimes sun. Sometimes. rain. Sometimes warm. Sometimes cool. Sometimes all of the above in one day.
Cuenca's climate means no heating or air conditioning is needed, but at night it can get cool enough that you'd like to have a small room heater. There is no humidity, and very few flying insects. Most people do not have screens on their windows. We had screens installed, not for bugs, but to keep our indoor kitty from going on un-supervised walkabouts.
After being here in Cuenca, we've made so many friends that it would be hard to leave. If you're not sure where you want to go, start in Cuenca. You just can't go wrong. Both the visa agents above are in Cuenca, so it's easier to deal with any issues. And there is so much help from other gringos willing to help out.
Cuenca has marvellous architecture--like the famous blue domes of the 'new' church at Parque Calderon below--a fabulous transit system and is quite safe. Not crime-free, mind you, but we walk at night and have never felt unsafe even once. The coast, especially Guayaquil, has problems with drug gangs and violence is more common there. It's also much hotter and more humid. Salinas is a bit cooler, but it doesn't have the charm and delights of Cuenca.
F. POLITICS
On August 21/23 Ecuador held a national election following the assassination of a conservative candidate. The socialist Citizens Revolution Party was leading all other parties by a large margin before the assassination, but a conservative party came in a strong second. Unlike in Canada where the socialist would now be president even though most voters rejected her party, Ecuador's constitution requires a run-off election unless the lead candidate gets at least 40% of the vote AND at least 10% more votes. So, contrary to what you may have been told by people who couldn't find Ecuador on a map, this 'Third World' country has a stronger democratic process than Canada's.
The socialists may yet win, but it looks much less likely today.
Ecuador has a very strong constitution, much better than Canada's. It is why Ecuador stayed open to un-jabbed foreigners like us throughout the entire covid fiasco except for one month shortly after we arrived. The country had severe lockdowns and mask mandates, but did not impose mandatory vaccinations or close the country. Some attempts were made by the emergency measures organization (COE is the acronym) to limit access to businesses to 'vaccinated' people after we arrived, but this did not last long. In any event, the measures did not have the effect they would have had in Canada because most food is distributed not by large grocery stores, but by small tiendas (tiny mom and pop stores) and mercados (larger farmers markets). We lived in New Brunswick where the 'Conservative' government actually tried to deny food to un-jabbed people after we left! So, it was a little traumatic to be turned away from SuperMaxi and Coral stores here, but not as bad as it would have been in Canada where food distribution is so centralized.
In addition to the distrust Ecuadorians have in the banking system which forced the cancellation of CBDCs, the other good news is that the government is severely limited in its ability to impose carbon taxes on energy which is already subsidized. In 2022 a two-week strike was launched with the partial objective of rolling back fuel prices even more. In response the government reduced the price of regular gas and diesel by 15 cents per US Gallon to the current prices, again...USD per USG. In Canadian terms, regular gas is 63 cents/L, and diesel is just 46 cents/L:
If a Trudeau type climate tyrant tried to burden Ecuadorians with insane fuel taxes, we are fairly confident that there would be an actual revolution. Yes, really.
G. IS ECUADOR DANGEROUS?
We have lived in Cuenca for over 1.5 years and we've travelled to Salinas on the coast, to various towns within 1-2 hours of Cuenca, as well as to a small city on the edge of the Amazon jungle called Macas to work on an indigenous community centre for a week. Not once have we ever felt unsafe.
This doesn't mean there isn't crime, including some very violent crime. The vast majority of violent crimes are happening on the coastal areas associated with the drug trade in places like Guayaquil and Esmeraldas and other towns. Cuenca is extremely safe and we will walk at night from downtown after a concert to our home along the Tomebamba River.
We have actually commented that the Ecuadorian people are so nice that it's hard to imagine that there is any crime at all. Also, neighbourhood watch programs aren't like in Canada: if you are caught stealing, being violent or trying to extort money from businesses, there's a good chance that you will wind up being either severely beaten or killed if you are not lucky enough to have police show up to save you. In one instance a couple of kilometers away from us two extortionists were confronted. Their bodies were found on the grounds of Hospital del Rio strangled and stabbed. Some speculate that this, coupled with increased police activities was responsible for a 78% drop in Cuenca crime.
By comparison...one hour away from our home in New Brunswick in Nova Scotia 22 people were murdered by an RCMP informant with no gun licence and illegal guns. If you aren't planning on being involved in drugs or extortion you are probably going to be quite safe. Of course, there are no guarantees no matter where you live in the world.
After the assassination of a presidential candidate, the government enacted an 'exception' decree to our constitution, rather like El Salvador President Nayib Bukele did to take radical action against the drug gangs. This will last 6 months until roughly mid-January 2024. In the case of El Salvador, Bukele's actions changed the country from one of the most dangerous in the world to one of the safest by reducing violent crime by 95% now that most gang members are in jail.
H. ALTERNATIVES TO ECUADOR FOR CANADIAN REFUGEES
Canadian refugees have found great new lives in other countries that you might want to investigate as well as Ecuador:
- Mexico: a lot of Canadians went to Mexico. We couldn't because we didn't qualify financially, but folks who did are enjoying themselves:
REFERENCES:
a. Mexico Relocation Guide: https://mexicorelocationguide.com/best-places-to-live-in-mexico/
b. Canadians to follow on Twitter: twitter.com/tacosylibertad (ex-RCMP officer who got out of Canada in late 2020 with his family, his brother's family and their parents) - El Salvador: Canadians make up the largest group of 'gringos' in 'The Saviour.' El Salvador??? Isn't that dangerous!!! Nope. Not anymore. ES is on an rapidly ascending freedom and economic trajectory due to President Bukele's success in destroying gangs, and implementing Bitcoin (BTC) as an official currency...first in the world to do so. Notably for Canadians, President Bukele told Trudeau after he crushed the Convoy that he should never lecture any other country on human rights again. He also famously said that while the world descends into tyranny, El Salvador will be a place of freedom.
REFERENCES:
a. Tucker Carlson interview with Max Keiser, Sr. Bitcoin Advisor to President Bukele:
b. Tucker Carlson interview with Michael Saylor, owner of Microstrategy Corp which holds $4B in Bitcoin. Not about El Salvador, but very valuable if you are new to BTC:
c. El Salvador President Bukele on Twitter: twitter.com/nayibbukele
d. El Salvador Visas on Twitter: twitter.com/elsalvadorvisas
e. Canadian refugees on Twitter: twitter.com/twopeopleinpara This couple from Halifax, Nova Scotia produced an amazing video featuring the owner of El Salvador Visas, Jeremy. It is short, punchy, informative and very inspiring no matter what country you eventually choose: - Paraguay: This South American country is the perfect country for Canadians who aren't ready to leave, but want a refuge available on short notice if they need to leave. That's because, unlike Ecuador or El Salvador, once you get your residency visa you don't have to spend much time in country to keep it. Both countries' permanent visas require you to remain in country at least 180 days per year. Paraguay requires only a few days every few years. As always, be sure to verify this with a visa agent before making important decisions. Paraguay is also a member of MERCOSUR, the South American free trade organization that allows easy movement between countries, rather like the European Union.
One minor drawback of Paraguay is that they use 220 volt electrical supplies like Europe, so your North American appliances will not work without adapters. Ecuador uses 110 volts, so you can order anything you want from Amazon and it will work.
REFERENCES:
a. Visa agent: Plan B Paraguay, twitter.com/planbparaguay - Costa Rica: We don't know a lot about CR, but there are Canadian refugees there: twitter.com/ahandygingergal. This Canadian couple have a couple of acres in the hills and grow/raise a lot of their own food. They once showed video of a 3-Toed Sloth pulling himself along the framework of their dining area! Very cool. Our understanding is that CR is much more expensive than Ecuador.
- Panama: We were getting quite serious about Panama as we scrambled to find a country that would take us without a jab. We decided not to go there after our source (link below) let us know that they were considering bringing in vaccine passport segregation. Our plan was to go to Boquete in the hills. In retrospect, we are so glad we didn't go there as rents have risen quite a bit since we started looking. There are a lot of gringos heading there and the town has only a population of 23,000 compared to Cuenca's 250,000, so the pressure on prices is much higher. We don't know any Canadian refugees there, but we can very highly recommend Panama Relocation Tours as a fantastic resource. Owner, Jackie, called us one night to tell us that Panama seemed ready to implement a vaccine passport and refunded our money in full without even being asked!
- USA: We cannot advise you to break US immigration law, but the fact is that even if you don't have a green card, it is possible to live in the USA by claiming asylum once you are on US soil. Before leaving Canada, we consulted a US immigration lawyer to ask about claiming asylum. This lawyer had never filed an asylum claim for a Canadian as of the date of our conversation, but has done so since. At that time when we were about to be prevented from leaving, his opinion was that Canadians should qualify for asylum. It may well be that our Supreme Court's 2023 refusal to hear the appeal by Sheila Lewis who was denied a lung transplant for refusing the covid 'vaccine' may strengthen the case for asylum.
You will have to consult a US immigration lawyer and do research to establish whether you could get a driver licence, bank account or buy property as an asylee as well as obtaining health insurance. Once you file the appropriate application for asylum you cannot be removed until all your hearings are completed. Since the final level is the Supreme Court of the United States, this could take many years. Unfortunately, you would have to plan to pay many thousands in legal fees, and live in limbo for an indeterminate amount of time. That is why we decided not to go this route, but if we did, we would head straight for New Hampshire, the free-est state in America thanks to the New Hampshire Free State Project (fsp.org / twitter.com/freestateNH). - New Brunswick, Canada: If you cannot leave, or don't want to leave Canada, but you also don't want your kids and grandkids to grow up under communism, the New Brunswick FreeProvince Project (nbfree.ca / twitter.com/nbfreeprovince) is working to duplicate the success of the New Hampshire Free State Project in Canada. I happen to be the project's founder. We are in the early stages, but the NH Free State movement is assisting us. Still working for freedom far from home! I do a bi-weekly New Movers Q&A, so check out the great content on the website and bring your questions.
But...what about Alberta...isn't that the Texas of The North...the freedom haven of Canada? Before you book a moving truck to Alberta, I suggest you read this article I wrote after the 2023 Alberta Provincial Election. The math is quite clear: communists made startling gains in this election, and are now one election and a handful of seats away from regaining power over Alberta.
My only 'agenda' is your freedom. I hope this article gives you a dose of reality, some hope, and a starting place for your journey to your new life. Good luck! My personal Twitter account is twitter.com/cdnrefugee where I regularly post opinions about Canada's fall, pics from our amazing life in Ecuador as well as info for other countries and Canadian refugees. Hope to see you!
Mark Vandermaas, Canadian Refugee
Cuenca, Ecuador
(formerly of Hillsborough, New Brunswick)
