Retiring to Ecuador: the Jubilado Visa
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Argentina on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Argentina to Ecuador · Residency as a retiree
Ecuador has a dedicated pension category. It asks for an official document from the foreign institution paying the pension, certifying a monthly pension of at least three minimum wages - USD 1,446 in 2026 - and it will not accept savings or investment income in its place: the money has to be a pension, and it has to come from abroad. Health insurance covering Ecuador is required for the whole visa period, USD 250 of extra monthly income is needed per dependent, and the fee is halved for applicants aged 65 and over.
At a glance
- Pension threshold
- 3 minimum wages a month - USD 1,446 in 2026CALC (calculated by us, not published)as of 2026-01-01
Derived: the instrument states the threshold in Salarios Básicos Unificados. The SBU for 2026 is USD 482, fixed by Acuerdo Ministerial MDT-2025-195, which is cited as a source on this fact. Ecuador uses the US dollar, so the figure moves only when the wage is reset each January, not with an exchange rate.
- Source of the pension
- Must come from abroad
The regulation says 'la pensión procedente del exterior'. This is the opposite of the ordinary rentista, where Ecuadorian-source income is accepted.
- What counts
- A retirement pension only, certified by the paying institution
- Visa length
- 2 years, renewable on multiple occasions
- Fee
- USD 50 to apply, USD 270 on grant
- Over-65 discount
- 50 per cent of the fee
- Each dependent
- USD 250 of additional monthly income
Article 65 of the Reglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana, in the same words as the rentista category: doscientos cincuenta (250) dólares estadounidenses per person covered, a fixed sum rather than a multiple of the minimum wage.
- Route to permanent residence
- 21 continuous months as a resident
From the general rule in article 63 numeral 1 of the Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana and article 83 numeral 1 of its Reglamento, which apply to every resident category rather than to this one. Continuity has its own definition in article 84 of the Reglamento: no more than ninety days outside Ecuador across the whole life of the temporary visa.
Figures marked CALC are our arithmetic, not a figure in any instrument. Where the law states a threshold as a multiple of something else, the amount shown is that multiple applied - and it moves when the underlying figure does.
Requirements
- An official supporting document from the competent institution abroad, certifying monthly payment of a retirement pension to the applicant
- That pension to be equal to or greater than three Salarios Básicos Unificados
- The document apostilled if issued in a Hague Convention country, legalised otherwise
- Health insurance, Ecuadorian or foreign, valid for the same period as the visa and stating coverage in Ecuador
- A passport valid for at least six months
- A criminal record certificate from your country of origin or of residence over the last five years
- USD 250 of extra monthly income for each dependent covered
- Payment of the fee
In detail
A pension, not an income
The distinction Ecuador draws is between money and the kind of money. A retiree with USD 1,446 a month of investment income does not qualify as a jubilado, because the regulation wants a document from the institution that pays the pension. They may well qualify as a rentista instead, on the same three-wage test - and the rentista route will additionally accept Ecuadorian-source income, which the pension route will not.
The threshold is not gentle by regional standards
Three minimum wages is USD 1,446 a month in 2026. Because Ecuador is dollarised, that figure does not erode: it is reset each January with the wage and otherwise holds its real value against a foreign pension paid in dollars. Countries whose thresholds are set in a local currency, and whose pensioners are paid in dollars or euros, see the effective bar move all year.
Country-level policy
Ecuador does not put dollar figures in its immigration rules. It writes them as multiples of the Salario Básico Unificado, the monthly minimum wage, which the Ministerio del Trabajo fixes by ministerial agreement each December for the year ahead. The rentista and pension thresholds are three wages, the investor threshold is a hundred, the customs ceiling on work equipment is a hundred and sixty, the tourist extension fee is a third of one, and the overstay penalty is one. For 2026 the wage is USD 482, twelve dollars above 2025. Because Ecuador uses the US dollar, none of these figures drifts between settlements - which is the opposite of the position in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru or Uruguay, where a dollar-denominated threshold moves with the exchange rate every day.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Argentina
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Jubilado: para quien perciba una jubilación del exterior cuyo monto le permita cubrir los gastos de su estadía;»Our translation - not official
Jubilado: for a person who receives a pension from abroad the amount of which allows them to cover the costs of their stay;
The statute sets no figure. The three-wage test comes from the regulation, which is where it can be changed without an act of the Assembly.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«Para la emisión de la categoría de jubilado, a más de los requisitos generales contemplados en la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana, se deberá presentar el documento oficial de soporte que acredita la categoría de jubilado, otorgado por la institución competente en el extranjero que certifique el pago mensual de la pensión procedente del exterior por concepto de jubilación a favor del solicitante, igual o superior a tres Salarios Básicos Unificados del trabajador en general. Este documento deberá ser apostillado en caso de haber sido emitido en un país parte del Convenio de la Apostilla de La Haya; y, legalizado si ha sido emitido en un país que no sea parte de dicho convenio.»Our translation - not official
For the issue of the jubilado category, in addition to the general requirements set out in the Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana, the official supporting document accrediting the status of pensioner must be presented, issued by the competent institution abroad, certifying monthly payment of the pension coming from abroad by way of retirement in favour of the applicant, equal to or greater than three Salarios Básicos Unificados of the worker in general. This document must be apostilled if it was issued in a country party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and legalised if it was issued in a country that is not party to that convention.
About this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«Para que el titular de esta categoría pueda amparar a otras personas, deberá justificar ingresos mensuales adicionales de doscientos cincuenta (250) dólares estadounidenses por cada persona amparada.»Our translation - not official
In order for the holder of this category to cover other persons, they must evidence additional monthly income of two hundred and fifty (250) United States dollars for each person covered.
About this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«El Salario Básico Unificado del trabajador en general, incluidos los trabajadores de la pequeña industria, trabajadores agrícolas, trabajadores de maquila, trabajadores remunerados del hogar, operarios de artesanías y colaboradores de la microempresa, se fija en cuatrocientos ochenta y dos dólares de los Estados Unidos de América (US$ 482,00), a partir del 01 de enero de 2026.»Our translation - not official
The Salario Básico Unificado of the worker in general is set at four hundred and eighty-two United States dollars (US$ 482.00), from 1 January 2026.
The input that makes the pension threshold a dollar figure.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Fixes the Salario Básico Unificado by ministerial agreement each December for the following year. That figure is the input behind every immigration threshold in Ecuador, none of which is written in dollars.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for immigration rules, nor for sectoral minimum wages beyond the general SBU. It publishes its agreements as signed PDFs rather than consolidations, so it is not the source for the current text of one that has been amended. Practically, its acuerdos index refuses to load through extraction; the download endpoint works.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Es la condición migratoria que autoriza la estadía en el territorio nacional de manera indefinida a la que acceden las personas que cumplan al menos una de las siguientes condiciones: 1. Cumplir al menos veintiún meses continuos de permanencia en el Ecuador, en calidad de residente y presentar la solicitud correspondiente, previo al vencimiento de la residencia que ostente, conforme con lo determinado en el Reglamento de esta Ley;»Our translation - not official
It is the migration status that authorises indefinite stay in the national territory, available to persons who meet at least one of the following conditions: 1. Complete at least twenty-one continuous months of stay in Ecuador as a resident and file the corresponding application before the expiry of the residence held, in accordance with what the Regulation to this Law determines;
This is the general condition for permanent residence and it applies to every temporary category, not to one route. It is quoted on each record that states the twenty-one months.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«Art. 83.- Visa de residencia permanente.- Para obtener la visa de residencia permanente la persona extranjera deberá cumplir con una de las siguientes condiciones: 1. Acreditar veintiún meses (21) continuos de permanencia en el Ecuador, en calidad de residente, y presentar la solicitud de visa, previo al vencimiento de la residencia que haya obtenido;»Our translation - not official
Art. 83. Permanent residence visa. To obtain the permanent residence visa the foreign person must meet one of the following conditions: 1. Evidence twenty-one (21) continuous months of stay in Ecuador as a resident, and file the visa application before the expiry of the residence obtained;
About this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«Para efectos de la continuidad de la permanencia la persona extranjera no podrá ausentarse del país por un tiempo superior a noventa (90) días durante todo el tiempo de vigencia de su visa de residencia temporal.»Our translation - not official
For the purposes of continuity of stay the foreign person may not be absent from the country for more than ninety (90) days over the whole life of their temporary residence visa.
The twenty-one months must be continuous, and this is what continuous means: ninety days of absence across the entire temporary visa, not per year.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The fee discount for over-65s is 50 per cent and applies nationally; holders of an Ecuadorian disability card for 30 per cent or more disability are exempt entirely. Both are applied at the moment the application is generated, not afterwards.
Nothing in the regulation says the pension must be a state pension, and nothing excludes an occupational one - it says only that the certifying institution must be the competent one abroad.
We did not find a published rule on whether more than one pension may be added together to reach the threshold.
- consolidatesLey Orgánica de Movilidad Humana - texto vigente con la última reforma de 14-VII-2025
Registro de regulaciones del Estado ecuatoriano (gob.ec)
About this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- consolidatesReglamento a la Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana - texto vigente con la última reforma de 18-XI-2025
Registro de regulaciones del Estado ecuatoriano (gob.ec)
About this source
The state's regulations registry. Hosts consolidated texts of laws, decrees and ministerial agreements, each PDF carrying a 'Normativa: Vigente' marker and an 'Última Reforma' line, with amendments attributed article by article.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for currency. The landing pages carry the state's own warning that the information is referencial and may be out of date, and the consolidations are produced by a commercial legal publisher under state hosting rather than by the gazette. A consolidation appears months after the reform it folds in: the July 2025 LOMH reform surfaced in a September 2025 file. For the date and issue number of an instrument, the Registro Oficial is the authority, not this.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- administersConcesión de visa de residencia temporal jubilado
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (catálogo de trámites, gob.ec)
About this source
One page per visa procedure, with requirements, fees, validity and a legal basis panel. Pages carry a last-updated date and monthly usage statistics.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for what the law says. Its legal basis panels demonstrably quote superseded statutory text - the tourist pages still carry the pre-July-2025 wording of LOMH art. 56, and the Mercosur page quotes an art. 60 renumbered in 2021. Cite it for fees, forms, channels and processing, and read the statute for the rule.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- issuesAcuerdo Ministerial Nro. MDT-2025-195 - Salario Básico Unificado para el año 2026
Ministerio del Trabajo
About this source
Fixes the Salario Básico Unificado by ministerial agreement each December for the following year. That figure is the input behind every immigration threshold in Ecuador, none of which is written in dollars.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for immigration rules, nor for sectoral minimum wages beyond the general SBU. It publishes its agreements as signed PDFs rather than consolidations, so it is not the source for the current text of one that has been amended. Practically, its acuerdos index refuses to load through extraction; the download endpoint works.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source