Expat Community > Ecuador

HGQ2112
Joined 2009
Posts: 1640

Easy as 1-2-3 Recipe for a Cedula

14 years ago

My wife, Kimberly, and I just received our Cedulas yesterday. Signed, sealed, delivered. Timing could not be any better - it was our wedding anniversary. Nice gift to ourselves. So, in that spirit, I decided to offer these words of advise.

Easy as 1-2-3 Cedula Recipe:

1 pinch of a "palace coup" gingerly applied for spice;

2 healthy dollops of well-aged professional attorneys, blend well;

3 bottles of good rum to numb the pain!

No...but, seriously. Here we go:

1. If you are applying for a Visa, with the intent of staying here permanently and getting your Cedula, please *do your research*. Determine which Visa type you want, then check...double-check and triple-check to make sure the process, paperwork and requirements are exactly what is truly *currently* required.

2. Over-prepare...by a lot. No matter how much documentation is requested, assume there will be more. Ask if that is the full extent of paperwork...take names...write down dates and times. Be more thorough than what is being asked. If they ask for duplicates, have triplicates on file. If there is any doubt as to whether something must be notarized...notarize it. No harm can come from it. If something may have to carry an Apostile, then have it Apostilled. No one will ever delay you for too much verification and being too prepared. If there is a conflict as to exact documents you need, have them all ready, just in case.

3. Hire a good attorney *Ecuadorian* attorney. They know the system...the laws...and can speak to local government staff in "their language". No, I do not just mean Spanish...I mean the "unofficial language of understanding" that only natives of every country in the world seem to share with each other. It helps. Cannot afford a good Ecuadorian attorney? Well...they are relatively inexpensive. Nothing like hiring an attorney in the USA. Cannot afford an Ecuadorian attorney, likely to charge you less than $1,000 for this service? Do *not* move here. Seriously...not being a jerk. Things are cheap here. They become cheaper if you learn the language and embrace haggling over prices. However, if you cannot afford $1,000 or less for an attorney...you cannot afford to live here. Do not buy the hype. Stay home...and look to reduce geographic costs within your current home country. In the USA, consider small mountain towns in Tennessee or Kentucky, for example. Or small desert towns dotting the USA Southwest. Your quality of life will not comparably match living in Ecuador, but without an attorney to assist you here, you will embrace heartache, frustration and probably spend money for which you will receive little benefit.

That is the best *realistic* advice I can offer. Worked for my wife and I. Once we registered our Visa in Quito, it took 20 minutes (for both of us total) to obtain a Censo, 40 minutes (again, total for both of us) to submit the documentation for the Cedula. There was a one week wait to go back and get the Cedula. A total of 7 minutes at the Quito office to pick up the Cedula. Pretty efficient and smooth process. But we were prepared and well-represented.

Lastly...for that one soul that wished me "well" in getting my Cedula "legally"... well... I was flanked by two attorneys when submitting the documentation and one attorney when picking up the Cedula. Feels pretty "legal". Full documentation...no cutting corners...not a single palm greased (amazing!). So...thanks for the heads up.

HGQ

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