Withdraw your investment visa money

The EcuaAssist Team

One of the visa categories from the old law that remains in the current law is to invest your money in a CD. Currently it requires an investment of 100 minimum wages of $425, which equals a total of $42,500.

Before 2017, under the visa 9-II you could put a certain amount of money in a CD and leave it there until you became a citizen. Unfortunately, not anymore. The current law requires the money to stay in the CD until a temporary resident becomes a permanent one. A permanent residency visa means there are no attachments to keeping your visa.

Currently, a person must apply for a temporary visa, and after 21 months of being a resident, they can pursue permanent residency. They are obligated to keep their investment throughout the entire 21 months of their visa, however once they receive their permanent residency, they have the chance to get their investment back and still remain a legal resident in Ecuador.

A resident who has obtained a visa based on the old Visa Indefinida 9-II (under the Immigration Law before 2017) has the chance to become a permanent resident as well, and is entitled to the aforementioned benefits by switching categories and complying with the following conditions:

The following requisite is only needed for those residents under the 9-II category who plan on becoming permanent residents:

Not to have left the country for more than 90 days the first two years of residency and, you shouldn't have left the country for 18 consecutive months during all the years you have been a resident.

These other requirements are a must for both, temporary and 9-II residents:

You should not have left the country more than 90 days for the last 21 consecutive months.
You must show proof that you still have your investment.
Steady income- you must show that you have one of the following:
A monthly income of at least $425 per month for the last 12 months.
Latest 6 IESS payments based on a minimum salary of $425
Latest 6 VAT tax declarations with an income of $425 or more.

If you comply with these restrictions and requisites, you qualify for permanent residency. Once your visa is approved, you are free to do all it takes to get your investment back. You are free to withdraw that money from that investment, or sell the property or shares you acquired and use it as you would like.

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