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    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
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    • Home
    • Countries

      Top Destinations:

      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro
      • Browse All Countries

      Best For:

      • The Best Places To Retire
      • Health Care Abroad
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • English-Speaking Countries
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
    • Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France
    • Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing

      Follow Us:

      • Meet Our Experts
    • Real Estate

      Join our Weekly Newsletter
      Overseas Property Alert

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

        • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

        Explore Our Latest Posts

        • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

        Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

        • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
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        Live and Invest In Spain Conference

        Offshore Wealth Summit

        Greece Workshop

        VALENCIA, SPAIN

        Sep. 17-19, 2025

        PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

        Oct. 15-17, 2025

        VIRTUAL

        Nov. 13, 2025

        LEARN MORE
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        Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
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        Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      • Store

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        • Explore Our Store
        Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

        Services

        overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
        The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
        Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

        Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

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      Home Countries Ecuador

      How And Why To Obtain Ecuadorean Citizenship

      The World’s Cheapest And Easiest Residency

      by Lief Simon
      Dec 03, 2021
      in Ecuador, Offshore
      0 0
      Cuenca, Ecuador

      Adobe Stock/mehdi33300

      Other than for random, one-off real estate investment opportunities, Ecuador has never been high on my list of top offshore destinations.

      This country is top budget lifestyle choice, no question… but it’s never been a place to think about planting an offshore flag… with one important and notable exception.

      Obtaining Ecuadorean citizenship is surprisingly easy… as long as you can meet the residency requirement, which, again, is about as straightforward as it gets.

      Ecuador offers several residency options, including one for pensioners and another for investors.

      Qualifying For Residency In Ecuador As A Pensioner

      To qualify as a pensioner (that is, for the pensionado visa), all you need to do is prove a minimum monthly income of US$400. That’s the lowest minimum income requirement offered by any country in the world… making Ecuador the most affordable place in the world to establish residency.

      All you need is proof of the US$400 per month income… plus a clean police report, copies of your passport, two photos, a birth certificate, and, if relevant, a marriage certificate… and you’re set.

      Qualifying For Residency In Ecuador As An Investor

      The financial requirement to qualify for residency as an investor is similarly appealingly low. You need to invest only US$40,000 in a two-year CD at an Ecuadorian financial institution or in real estate in the country.

      The investment (in a CD or real estate) must be maintained for as long as you hold your temporary residency permit. This means that, if you invest in real estate, you can’t sell the property without disrupting your residency status.

      Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
      Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In 2025.
      We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

      Other Ways Of Qualifying For Residency In Ecuador

      If you’re not certain you want to own real estate in Ecuador indefinitely and aren’t ready to park a large sum in a CD in an Ecuador bank, you can apply for permanent residency after 21 months of temporary residency.

      While Ecuador has eliminated in-country time requirements for temporary residency permits, they still place restrictions on how long a permanent resident can be out of the country.

      Specifically, during your first two years as a permanent resident in Ecuador, you can’t be out of the country for more than 180 days during either of those years.

      Once you’ve been a permanent resident for three years, you’re eligible for naturalization.

      Like the financial requirements to qualify for residency, this one for citizenship is very competitive. Most countries require five years of legal or permanent residency, depending on the country, before you’re able to apply to become a citizen.

      The even better news is that you can expect to be approved for citizenship in less than a year… and without taking a test. Most countries require, at a minimum, that you pass an exam on the country’s history, geography, politics, etc., in the local language.

      Again, that’s not the case in Ecuador.

      As a travel document, an Ecuadorean passport isn’t a top choice. With your Ecuadorean passport, you’d be able to travel to fewer than 90 countries visa-free, including most of Latin America, some of Africa and Asia, and only a couple of countries in Europe.

      However, Ecuador allows dual citizenship for citizens of many countries, including the United States and Canada.

      You could use your Ecuadorean passport when traveling in Latin America and your current passport when traveling to Europe.

      Lief Simon
      Editor, Offshore Living Letter

      Tags: 'Cuenca''Ecuador''pensionado visa''residency'ecuador citizenshipecuador residencyinvestor visaLive abroadlive overseas
      Share84Tweet52
      Lief Simon

      Lief Simon

      Lief Simon has lived and worked in 7 countries on 5 continents and traveled to more than 75 countries. His real estate investment career began with a $5,000 down payment on a three-flat building in Chicago. Less than three years later, Lief sold the building for a leveraged return of 3,000%—$150,000 in profit after closing costs and commissions.

      From there, he turned his attention overseas and has bought property in 24 countries including France, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Belize, Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Romania, and beyond. Thanks to his decades-long career as a global property investor, Lief has built a multi-million-dollar portfolio that includes rental properties, significant land holdings, and 7 personal residences.

      Lief has established residency in 3 countries and acquired a second passport from Ireland.

      In 2008 Lief and wife Kathleen Peddicord made the most important investment of their lives—a 215-acre oceanside finca, known as Los Islotes. There, on Panama’s largely undiscovered Veraguas coast, they’ve installed underground electricity, water, and internet and built a forever family home that sits at the heart of their ultimate vision: a gold standard private residential community for those in search of a true safe haven escape.

      Lief’s latest book, “Cowboy Millionaire—The New American Pioneer,” collects all the wisdom he has learned in three decades of living and investing outside America.

      He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches. For real estate investment opportunities, check out his monthly Global Property Advisor service.

      If you’d like to meet Lief in person, join him for one of our upcoming in-country conferences. You’ll find further details here.

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      HOME

      Top Countries

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro

      Best For:

      • Health Care Abroad
      • Retirement Living
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Ownership
      • English Speakers
      • Safety
      BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

      Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost
      To Live Overseas?

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France

      Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing
      Meet Our Experts

      Real Estate

      Overseas Property Alert 

       

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      Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

      READ MORE

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      Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

      EXPLORE

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      Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      Store

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      • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

      Lahardan Books

      • Titles on living and investing around the world

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