What do you need to enter Ecuador?
Short answer
Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the EU do not need a visa for tourist stays in Ecuador of up to 90 days within any rolling 12-month period. You need a passport valid for at least six months beyond arrival, proof of onward travel, and — since 29 July 2025 — the free online customs registration form (FRA), which gives you a QR code to show on arrival. Ecuador uses the US dollar. Galápagos then adds three requirements of its own, covered separately below.
On this page — 8 sections
Most tour operators treat entry paperwork as somebody else's problem. Our parent company, AQT Ecuador, has spent more than a decade preparing visa and consular documentation as its main business. Border paperwork is not a sideline for us — it is the thing the company was built on.
Who needs a visa, and who does not
Ecuador is one of the most open countries in South America. Nationals of most of the Americas, the EU, the UK and Oceania enter visa-free as tourists. You are issued a T-3 tourist stamp at the border. There is nothing to apply for in advance.
The rule that trips people up is not whether you get in — it is how long the permission lasts.
The allowance is 90 days within a rolling 12-month period, counted across all your entries. Leaving to Peru or Colombia for a weekend and coming back does not reset the counter. Travellers who assume otherwise end up overstaying, and an overstay is recorded against your passport and fined on exit.
If you need longer than 90 days, that is a different visa category applied for inside Ecuador before your stamp expires — not something to sort out at the airport.
Passport rules that get people turned back
- Six months' validity beyond your arrival date. Not beyond your departure date — beyond your arrival.
- At least one blank page for entry and exit stamps.
- No damage. A water-damaged or partially detached data page is treated as an invalid document by airlines more often than by border officers.
The check that actually stops people is at the departure gate, not in Ecuador. Airlines are liable for carrying inadmissible passengers, so they enforce validity rules more rigidly than immigration does. Check your expiry date the week you book, and again the month you fly.
The customs form nobody tells you about
This is the newest requirement and the one most likely to be missing from an out-of-date guide.
From 29 July 2025, Ecuador's customs authority requires travellers entering or leaving the country to complete an online Formulario de Registro Aduanero (FRA) — a customs registration form covering personal details, flight information and your customs declaration. On submission you receive a QR code, which is checked at entry and exit. It can be filed up to three days before travel.
Immigration-law briefings from Fragomen and EY describe the FRA as mandatory for all travellers. The UK FCDO's summary frames it more narrowly, as applying to travellers carrying taxable goods or US$10,000 or more. We are not going to pretend the picture is cleaner than it is. The form is free and takes about five minutes. Complete it, screenshot the QR code so it works without signal, and the ambiguity stops being your problem.
The onward ticket question
Ecuadorian immigration may ask for proof of onward or return travel. In practice your airline asks far more often, at check-in, because they are the ones who would have to fly you home.
Carry a downloaded copy of an onward itinerary — an ongoing flight, a bus booking to Peru or Colombia, whatever is genuinely your plan. A screenshot on a phone with no signal has failed people at check-in desks; download it properly or print it.
Vaccinations and health
- No vaccination is required for entry from most countries.
- Yellow fever is recommended for travel into the Amazon lowlands, and may be required if you arrive from a country with transmission risk. Your routing matters, not only your destination.
- Altitude, not disease, is the usual problem. Quito sits at 2,850 m and parts of the standard highland circuit reach 3,900 m. If you have a cardiac or pulmonary condition, raise it with your doctor and with us before we build the itinerary — the order of the days can be changed to help.
- Tap water: treated in Quito and Cuenca, but assume bottled or filtered elsewhere, and always in the Amazon and on the coast.
Money: Ecuador runs on US dollars
Ecuador adopted the US dollar as its official currency in 2000. US notes circulate alongside locally minted coins of the same denominations. Practically:
- No currency exchange to do if you are coming from the United States.
- Bring small notes. Breaking a $50 outside a city is genuinely difficult, and the Galápagos National Park fee desk wants clean, undamaged bills.
- Cards work in cities, not everywhere. Highland villages, community lodges and the park fee desk are cash.
- Withdraw inside bank branches during business hours rather than from street ATMs at night.
Galápagos adds its own paperwork
Flying to the Galápagos is a domestic flight, but it is treated as a controlled border. You need three things the mainland does not ask for: a transit control card (TCT/INGALA, US$20), the National Park entrance fee (US$200 per adult) paid in cash on arrival, and a biosecurity inspection of your luggage before boarding.
We have given that its own page, because it is where most of the surprise costs are: Galápagos entry requirements, fees and permits →
The checklist
| Item | When | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Passport, 6+ months validity, blank page | Check the week you book | — |
| Onward or return ticket, downloaded | Before check-in | — |
| FRA customs form + QR code | Up to 3 days before travel | Free |
| Travel insurance including medical evacuation | At booking | Varies |
| Yellow fever vaccination (Amazon legs) | 10+ days before travel | Varies |
| Galápagos transit control card (TCT) | Online, before your island flight | US$20 |
| Galápagos National Park fee | Cash, on arrival in the islands | US$200 adult / US$100 child under 12 |
Every client who books a trip with us gets a personalised pre-departure document listing exactly which of the above applies to their nationality, their routing and their dates — with the links, the costs and the deadlines. It is the part of the job our parent company has been doing professionally since 2013.
Questions people also ask
Do US citizens need a visa for Ecuador?
No. US citizens enter visa-free on a T-3 tourist stamp for up to 90 days within any 12-month period. There is no application, no fee and no pre-approval. The same applies to Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealand and EU citizens.
How long can I stay in Ecuador as a tourist?
Ninety days within a rolling 12-month period, not 90 days per entry. Leaving and re-entering does not reset the clock — this is the rule that catches out long-stay travellers doing a border run. Extensions beyond 90 days require a different visa category applied for inside Ecuador.
How much passport validity do I need for Ecuador?
At least six months beyond your date of arrival, plus at least one blank page. Airlines check this at the departure gate, which means a passport that is fine on the day you booked can stop you boarding six months later.
Is the FRA customs form really mandatory?
Ecuador’s customs authority (SENAE) made the online Formulario de Registro Aduanero mandatory from 29 July 2025 for travellers entering or leaving the country. Some government summaries describe it as applying to travellers carrying taxable goods or US$10,000 or more. Sources disagree on the scope; the form is free and takes about five minutes, so complete it either way and keep the QR code on your phone.
Do I need proof of onward travel to enter Ecuador?
You can be asked for it at immigration and, more often, by your airline at check-in. Carry a printed or downloaded onward or return itinerary. Airlines are stricter about this than Ecuadorian immigration officers.
Do I need a yellow fever vaccination for Ecuador?
Not for entry from most countries. It is recommended if you are travelling into the Amazon lowlands, and it can be required if you are arriving from a country with yellow fever transmission risk — check your specific routing, not just your destination.
What currency does Ecuador use?
The US dollar. Ecuador dollarised in 2000 and uses US notes with locally minted coins. There is no exchange to do and no local currency to buy, which makes Ecuador unusually simple for North American travellers.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these. If one of them changes and we have not caught up, tell us and we will fix it the same day.
- UK FCDO — Ecuador entry requirements — Passport validity, 90-day rule, customs form, Galápagos conditions.
- Fragomen — Ecuador: online customs form now mandatory for all travellers — Immigration law firm briefing on the FRA requirement from 29 July 2025.
- EY — New customs form requirement for travellers entering or leaving Ecuador — Independent confirmation of scope and timing.
- US Embassy in Ecuador — Consular guidance for US citizens.
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