Job Discussion Forums

billietea · Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: South Korea

Hi all, I have been living and working in Asia and would love to move to Ecuador directly from here rather than going to the USA, my home country. I have a couple of years of teaching ESL experience, a BA/MA, and soon a CELTA certificate to teach ESL to adults. My ultimate goal is to teach at a university in Quito but I would like to first go there and do an intensive Spanish course to refresh my language skills and learn about the area. My previous travels were limited to Central America. I have done about 20 hours research online and have found the visa requirements for American citizens to be straight forward, however being out of the US is posing some problems for me. I can do a HIV and health check here in Korea for a reasonable price (in the States I don't have health insurance so it would cost a lot there). I do have my fingerprint card with me so I could mail it to the FBI and get a printout and just have it mailed to someone on the States to forward on to me. You see I have all my possessions with me and don't retain a residence in the US so I don't even know where I would go for a police check, the town where my mother lives even though I haven't lived there in many years or even have a drivers license in that state? Has anyone moved to Ecuador from a place NOT in their home country AND do you have any suggestions for me under the current visa regs? Any and all help is appreciated. Please excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes as I am sending this from my iPod.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

One word of advice, don-t start working until you get a work visa. There have been recent crackdowns on visas.

For your police check, you simply get it from the State that you lasts resided in. HOw long have you been out of the states? While you probably don-t have residence, you might have domicile, something, like a loan, bank acct, anything that is in your name in the US?

billietea · Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: South Korea

Hi, Thanks Nature Girl for your reply...I have read many of your posts.

I have bad credit since the bank took my house back, but that was in a state far from my mother's house - Korea has a copy of that police check..but it is only city wide and is over a year old now. I don't think going back there for a police check makes sense (I only lived there for two years). I have been in Korea for a year and am really looking forward to Ecuador. I do have a lot of money in my US bank account with my mother's address attached to it for mailing purposes. I can prove that I can survive on my own in Ecuador for a long time. No criminal history...not even a speeding ticket. I am "squeaky clean" as they say, just bad luck when the jobs started paying ten bucks an hour so I had to hand my house back to the bank!

My mail gets forwarded to my mother so that is a legal address I have on file with the US government and where I recently filed my income tax from. Again, I don't have a drivers license or anything other than my bank statement with that address on it. No loans. What do you suggest? Should I go to my mother's city and do a police check there even though it has been about 4 years since I lived there - and not even in her city? Should it be a statewide check or will city suffice? If the health check is from Korea but in English would that work? It could save me several hundred dollars. There will be about a two month window between leaving Korea and starting in Ecuador as I am working on my CELTA in Thailand. I want to do things on the up and up....always my preference. Again, thanks for your input and time!

billietea · Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: South Korea

Hi, Thanks Nature Girl for your reply...I have read many of your posts.

I have bad credit since the bank took my house back, but that was in a state far from my mother's house - Korea has a copy of that police check..but it is only city wide and is over a year old now. I don't think going back there for a police check makes sense (I only lived there for two years). I have been in Korea for a year and am really looking forward to Ecuador. I do have a lot of money in my US bank account with my mother's address attached to it for mailing purposes. I can prove that I can survive on my own in Ecuador for a long time. No criminal history...not even a speeding ticket. I am "squeaky clean" as they say, just bad luck when the jobs started paying ten bucks an hour so I had to hand my house back to the bank!

My mail gets forwarded to my mother so that is a legal address I have on file with the US government and where I recently filed my income tax from. Again, I don't have a drivers license or anything other than my bank statement with that address on it. No loans. What do you suggest? Should I go to my mother's city and do a police check there even though it has been about 4 years since I lived there - and not even in her city? Should it be a statewide check or will city suffice? If the health check is from Korea but in English would that work? It could save me several hundred dollars. There will be about a two month window between leaving Korea and starting in Ecuador as I am working on my CELTA in Thailand. I want to do things on the up and up....always my preference. Again, thanks for your input and time!

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I-d say use your mother-s address then. Ah, here-s what you do. You go to the Dept of State website for your state and find the criminal historyk. Then you request that one is sent to your mom. She fills it out and sends the payment. Basically, what this is is a service that allows anyone to do a criminal record check on anyone else. Here-s what I did for IL. http://www.isp.state.il.us/crimhistory/crimhistoryhome.cfm

I have never lived in Ecuador, might try contacting Justin Trullinger

BocaNY · Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 131

Hi billietea,

Am currently applying for a visa to Ecuador too. Are you applying for the 12-IX visa? I ask because this is the only visa that you can switch over to a work visa once you are in Ecuador. As you might know already, you can only get a work visa if a company is sponsering you.

You said that you would like to go directly from Asia to Ecuador. As far as I know you need to apply for the visa in person. Have you checked to see if there is an Ecuadorian embassy where you are at? I would reccomend that if there is one you talk to them.

The health letter should be fine from Asia if its in english. But remember that you have to show them a copy of your return ticket to the embassy. I think you are going to have to come to the USA if only for a few days to get the visa thing worked out. I was told by the people at the embassy it only takes 24hrs for you to get the visa. But from what I have read you have to apply for the visa from your home country.

I would suggest that you call the embassy and ask them about it. Here is the number to the embassy in D.C.

Tel: (202) 234-7200 and the email address [email protected]

heres the phone for the consulate Tel: (202) 234-7166 [email protected]

Atlan Training · Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 76 Location: Spain

Hi billietea

Yes, you need to get the 12 IX. I'm a teacher trainer who works in Ecuador every year and I can tell you that the situation with visas has changed there and now you need to follow the procedure properly to protect yourself.

You can apply for the 12 IX online easily enough but at some point, you'll probably need to present records in person. You can call the embassy to find out about this. You can use your mother's address. There is no official residence or identification card in the US so it's anything goes.

If you want to get a regular work visa through employer sponsorphip you need:

Your university degree(s)
Your police record
Your medical records
Your national identification

All of which have to be officially translated into Spanish and certified.

Officially, you can't just show up in Ecuador, but if you have the 12 IX, everything will be much much easier.

Good luck!

just_a_mirage · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 169 Location: ecuador

I have had two kinds of visas here in Ecuador...a Volunteer visa and a permanant resident visa. For both of these, I went online..in my case through the MIchigan State Police, and paid ten dollars to run a lien check on myself. I printed off the copy from the internet, and presented these for both of my visas. They were not translated, and they were accepted both times with no problem.
It is difficult to find people to sponsor you for the work visa here. Because of the economy, and the large number of English speaking residents and native speakers with permanant visas, many companies will not go through the expense and paperwork of sponsoring a work visa. However, it is possible to find a volunteer position that pays a stipend, for example a fundacion that has schools etc. Then you can work for them during the day. With your volunteer visa, you can apply for a RUC number which is similar to a Social Security number in the states. With that number, you can get facturas or invoices which you can use to bill schools or institutes etc, that you can work at during nights and weekends. In most cases to survive comfortably, you need to work at more than one job. (I�m currently working at three) So I would suggest applying for the visa as ATLAN suggests. This will let you come into the country, get a RUC number, then find work.
What city are you planning on living in? I have lived and worked in Guayaquil, and if you are coming to this area, I can give you some suggestions.
Good luck...it takes a little work but you can certainly do it if you want to come here. Ecuador is a beautiful country with great people.

mark.ie · Joined: 09 Jul 2009 Posts: 1

Hello everyone. First time poster here.
I've been accepted for a position in Ecuador, and to be frank, this is my first experience in travelling to Latin Ameria and indeed teaching.
I also was advised by my would be employers to apply for the 121X visa.
However I am originally from Ireland but resident in Spain for the last 7 years. Should the medical reports and police record come from Ireland or Spain?
I hope to travel late September. How long does the application process take?
Thanks in advance.

Atlan Training · Joined: 02 Apr 2009 Posts: 76 Location: Spain

Hello Mark.ie

You should contact the Ecuadorian Embassy to the EU, or the one in Spain, to ask them if they will accept your documents apostilled ( officially certified by the state ) from Spain. The medical report should be fine from Spain, and the police records are going to be interpol, so that shouldn't be a problem. However, for a regualr work visa, you'll need your university degrees and teaching certifications certified, and I'm not sure what the procedure is there, whether any EU country is ok or it has to be Ireland.

You can get your 12 IX quickly if you have all of the documents you need ( in the US some of our CELTA candidates have got it in 24 hours ), but a regular work visa can take longer, up to a few weeks.

Good luck and enjoy Ecuador!