|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
 Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:06 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| I don't have much of an update. He went into Guayaquil, wasted a day being sent from pillar to post and made no progress whatsoever. The course is over now, so I would imagine he'll be going in to try again sometime soon. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
latif
Joined: 25 Apr 2010
Posts: 31
Location: Oakland, California
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The post below has got to be the mosIt useful on the 12 IX visa registration and Censo process in Quito. I followed it to the dot, and got everything done - no problem.
I'd add that I'm renting an apartment in Quito, since I am going to be here for a few weeks, before going on to take the CELTA course. The uniformed person for the censo asked for a "certificate de domicillio" or certificate of residence, I showed him my invoice for the apartment rental, and he was satisfied. I'm wondering if this might also work for a hotel?
There is a copy place right across from the building, and you can get the folder and manila envelop form there ... I did not have an additional passport photo with me, so I asked a couple of guys who mill around the area looking for business for those with more or less complex visa needs. They took me to a copy/visa help/photo place around the corner, and we got the photo done in a few minutes. They knew everything about the censo process, and checked my documents to see if I had everything...
So, thats all ... just make sure you got all your documents, and the process is straight forward.
| HLJHLJ wrote: |
Thank you to everyone who gave us so much help with this, we finally got sorted and have our Censos. I know other people are still wading through the paperwork, so I will explain how it worked for us, in case it helps someone else.
We applied for the 12-IX in the UK. You have to go the consulate office in London for it, and they issue the visa there and then. The difficult part was getting an appointment, they like to see you as close as possible to your leaving date, and we had to really barter to get an appointment 5 weeks before we were due to go. Aside from that, it was pretty straightforward. They wanted originals and copies of
bank statements
passport
return flight tickets
travel insurance (ours did not say certificate on it, but it did say policy)
plus 2 passport photos, the visa application form and the fee in cash.
The only other thing they sprang on us was wanting to see our marriage certificate (and a copy!), but luckily I had that, just in case.
The whole process took about 1/2 hour and we left with the visas in our passports and the registration letters.
Fast forward to arriving in Ecuador, my first mistake was not to be more insistent in pointing out the visa in my passport when we arrived. As a result, my arrival stamp is on a different page to my visa, and this continually causes confusion. Make sure the immigration officer knows you have a 12-IX and they will stamp the page next to it.
The next step was registration, we did this in Quito, at Edificio Katrina, which is right on the junction of Av 6 de Diciembre and Av Gaspar de Villaroel. It's open from 8.00-16.30, but at some point roughly between 12.00-2.30 the person you are waiting to see will take lunch that will last from 30 mins to 2 hours. Regardless of how long they will be, you will be told they will be back soon, or in half an hour. Take that with a pinch of salt.
There is an information desk at the main entrance, and a ticket machine nearby. We don't speak much Spanish so we showed the man on the desk our registration letters (the security guard also offered to help us) and he showed us some information on what documents we needed. If you can speak Spanish it should be a lot easier.
First we had to go back out and down to the far end of Av Gaspar de Villaroel and each pay in $10 to a government bank account. The guy on the info desk gave us a pre-printed slip of paper with the account details on, and we just handed this in at the bank with $10 cash. The bank assistant was obviously familiar with it, and gave us the necessary receipt, then we headed back.
Once we had the receipts the info desk man sent us out again to buy folders. I don't know if they have a name, but imagine an oversized piece of A3 cardboard folded in half with flat metal clips inside. They are pretty common office stationery, and there are numerous stationery shops in the area that sell them, and if you go in and ask for a file or folder they will know what you are looking for, they are just a few cents each. While you are in there, get a manilla envelope as well, as you will need it later.
So we went back to the office again, armed with a receipt and folder each, and the info desk man checked we had colour copies of:
passport ID page
visa page
entry stamp page
plus the receipt, folder, passport and registration letter. He then got us the right ticket from the machine and sent us through to the next room.
In the next room and there is a ticker sign which shows which letter and number is next to be dealt with and where they should go. For example, we had a ticket like R 278, and eventually R 278 > 3 came up, so we had to go to desk 3. There were various different letters depending which button you pressed on the machine, for the different services. So make sure you get the right one.
Once we got to see the guy who did the registration he checked our docs and kept everything including our passports, gave us a receipt and said come back tomorrow.
So we went back the next day, got an R ticket from the machine and went straight into the waiting room. When our number came up we went back to see the same guy and swapped our receipts for our passports. We had to sign our registration letters to say we had had them back. The passports now had a new stamp in them.
We then got sent straight to the Censo office, which is in the same room (it was booth 8 this time, but I don't know if it always is). The person who did the Censo was in (police?) uniform, and everyone else was in office dress.
We didn't have all the docs we needed for the Censo so we had to come back the next day. The docs we needed were
Colour copies of each of the following:
passport ID page
visa page
entry stamp page
the new registration stamp page
1 colour passport photo
a manilla envelope
proof of where you are staying
$4 in cash
There are colour copy shops on every block, so the copies of the new stamp were easy enough, and the stationery shops know what sort of envelope you need, so that was easy too. The only difficulty we had was the proof of address.
We were staying in a hotel, otherwise a copy of the lease would have done. The Censo guy showed us an example of what he wanted from a hotel, and it was a certificate (with certifcado across the top) confirming name, passport number and dates of stay.
Our hotel was not keen to provide it, I'm not sure why, but it took us a few attempts to get what was needed. The example we were shown was from The Sheraton and they seem to have a standard certificate for this. So if you have the cash, it might be easier to stay in a business hotel for the first few days as they may be more used to dealing with it.
Anyway, we got the letter/certificate eventually and went back to the office with the docs above. This time we needed an M ticket. The catch here though is that although you still need a numbered ticket, the Censo guy doesn't use the ticker sign in the waiting room. Instead you just have to mill around near his cubicle and compare your ticket number with the people around you. If it is any consolation the Ecuadorians who were also queuing seemed as baffled by the whole procedure as we were.
When it was eventually our turn the Censo guy went through our docs, had us write some info on the envelope; name, nationality, address in Ecuador, phone number in Ecuador, (must be an Ecuadorian number) and stick a photo on the front. The info has to be written the right way though, so if you aren't sure just wait until he tells you what/where to write. All our docs went into the envelope and then he took a digital photo (I wasn't expecting that so on my Censo pic I look like death warmed up, with the combined jet lag and stress of the whole palaver). Then he printed out the Censo card with the digi pic on, had us sign to say we'd had them, and laminated them. We paid the $4 cash each, and left with our cards.
None of the staff spoke much English, and my Spanish is pitiful, but we got by OK. I have to say, all the staff were really helpful, despite the language barrier, and went to a lot of trouble to ensure we understood what was needed. So although it was fairly time consuming, it was reasonably straightforward.
Hope that helps the next person to try it  |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
| Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Glad it was useful Latif! When we tried to get Censos we took an invoice and receipt from the hotel with us first, but they wouldn't accept it and the guy insisted we needed a 'certificate' from the hotel. However, as this is Ecuador and rules vary according to the day of the week/weather/what side of bed the censo guy got out of, it's definitely worth a try. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Katm
Joined: 30 Jul 2009
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 6:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'm in the same boat of trying to get my censo. Can anyone tell me what the 'registration letter' is and where do I get one?? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 6:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| You get the registration letter from your home embassy when you get your visa. If you got your visa in Ecuador, it is probably already registered and you won't have a letter. The Censo guy doesn't see the registration letter anyway. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 12:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
| just_a_mirage wrote: |
| It is very easy to register in Guayaquil...I usually do several a week. You need to go to the office in the basement of the Registro Civil, near the Malecon downtown. This may be where the confusion was, because they changed locations not too long ago. Anyway, you need to arrive before 11am. You must have the original visa page (make sure you make copies for yourself, as they will take the original), a letter in Spanish requesting that they register your visa, a color copy of your passport picture page, and a copy of the visa stamp from your arrival in your passport. All of these must be put into a manilla folder and placed in a number five gold colored envelope. They will look over the material, and if everything is in order, you will be given an invoice to go to the bank to pay your regstrtion fee of $10. When you give them the bank receipt (make a copy for yourself) they will take your passport. You then come back either that afternoon or the next morning, and you get your passport with the visa stamp, and you sign the registration book. If you use a facilitator like myself, you dont need to appear at all. Then you go with your passport and proof of where you will be living in Ecuador to the Migracion office across from the Terminal Terrestre. You again make copies of your passport picture page, your visa stamps, and you put them into a number five envelope (which you can buy there) and give them to the officer on duty in the Censo section. Your picture will be taken, you pay $4 and you get your Censo immediately. |
Info on getting registered in Guayaquil, from just_a_mirage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
