Retiring in Ecuador: Visa, Taxation of the French Pension and Access to Care

A tourist stay of 90 days at most over a rolling twelve months requires no visa, with a 90-day extension for 400 dollars (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). To settle, the retiree applies to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility for the temporary retiree residence visa, only online on the e-VISAS platform. The pension must come from abroad, be paid monthly and reach at least three unified basic wages for workers in general, a wage that is revised every year (gob.ec, Ministry of Labour).

The file includes an official document from the foreign body attesting to retiree status and monthly payment, apostilled or legalised depending on the country of issue, a passport valid for six months, a photo, a criminal record certificate less than 180 days old, translated and apostilled, and proof of lawful means of support. The health insurance, national or foreign, must be valid for the whole duration of the visa and cover Ecuador. For each dependant, the holder shows an additional 250 dollars of monthly income.

The fees are 50 dollars for the application and 270 dollars for the issue, without VAT; the reduction is 50% for people aged 65 and over and there is a full exemption in the case of a disability of 30% or more. The visa is valid for two years and renewable only once; permanent residence is provided for after more than 21 months of stay. The ministry also offers a category for people of independent means: check the sheet for each category on gob.ec before choosing. The guide to drawing your pension abroad details the formalities on the French side.

France and Ecuador signed in Quito, on 16 March 1989, a convention to avoid double taxation on income taxes; it came into force on 25 March 1992 (decree of 4 May 1992). Article 18 provides that pensions and similar remuneration paid to a person domiciled in a contracting State are taxable only in that State, subject to article 19, which deals with public pensions. For a French retiree resident in Ecuador, a pension from a private scheme or from Social Security is therefore in principle taxable in their State of residence, Ecuador; the treatment of a pension paid by the French State to a former public official is read in the text of article 19.

Residence is defined by article 4 as the situation of any person liable to tax in a State under its legislation. Article 23 organises the elimination of double taxation through a tax credit applied against French tax, equal to the tax paid in Ecuador, for a resident of France. A non-resident is moreover taxable in France on French-source income, subject to the treaty; where no treaty applies, the minimum rate is 20% up to an income threshold revised every year and then 30%, with an option for the average rate (impots.gouv.fr, the French tax authority’s website).

On the Ecuadorian side, income tax comes under the SRI, which publishes its scale every year: the treatment of a pension from a foreign source is confirmed with that administration. The full text of the treaty appears on impots.gouv.fr and in the BOFiP (the official tax bulletin).

The S1 form, which allows a retiree living in the European Union to be treated at France’s expense, does not apply to Ecuador (ameli.fr, the Assurance Maladie website). The retiree has three options: the CFE, whose retiree offer has a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen, with no health questionnaire and no possible exclusion, with immediate cover if you join before departure or within three months of settling, and no waiting period on returning to France; voluntary affiliation to the IESS for a resident over 18 holding a resident visa; or international insurance.

During a temporary stay in France, a retiree of a basic scheme who can show at least 15 years of insurance and has no activity is reimbursed for their care, by the CNAREFE attached to the CPAM (the local health insurance office) of Seine-et-Marne for the general scheme; the spouse who accompanies them is not covered. If tax residence is no longer in France, the CSG, the CRDS and the Casa (social levies on income) are not withheld, and a health insurance contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension and 7.1% on a self-employed worker’s pension may apply (CLEISS). See the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad, the S1 form user guide and the page on retiree insurance abroad.

France Diplomatie reminds readers that the private hospitals of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca are of a good standard but expensive, with a deposit always required, and that the medical level is judged insufficient in the Galápagos. The page on healthcare reimbursement in Ecuador details each situation.

The economy is dollarised, which removes exchange-rate risk for a pension received in dollars. The unified basic wage of 482 dollars and the basic family basket for a household of four (INEC, the national statistics institute) give orders of magnitude for the local cost of living; a retiree’s budget is built from the actual rent, health cover, assistance and travel. The “Economic indicators” block of this page updates inflation and the exchange rate.

Quito (1.7 million inhabitants), Guayaquil (2.6 million) and Cuenca (0.6 million) are the cities where France Diplomatie reports good hospitals. Retirees aiming for a lasting stay also compare the safety of each area: France Diplomatie classifies the country by vigilance levels, with the coastal provinces and Guayaquil advised against except for compelling reasons and the rest of the country under heightened vigilance. The detail appears on the page on living in Ecuador.

The temporary retiree residence visa is valid for two years and, under the organic law on human mobility, renewable only once. Permanent residence is then provided for people whose length of stay exceeds 21 months, according to the catalogue of procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Keep each year’s pension proofs, because the amount of three unified basic wages changes with the basic wage, set every year by the National Labour and Wages Council.

A retiree who is away for a long time or is considering a return to France also prepares their cover: the CFE member keeps their rights for up to three months after returning, then affiliates to the CPAM of their place of residence. See the page on return-to-France insurance. Finally, registration on the register of French nationals living abroad, valid for five years, makes consular procedures easier from Quito.

French funds pay the pension into a bank account, in France or abroad, and ask for periodic proof of existence; these steps are prepared before departure with the funds concerned. The guide to retiring abroad summarises the steps, and the guide to quarters worked abroad explains why periods contributed in Ecuador are not totalised with French periods in the absence of a social security agreement.

CLEISS specifies that, in a country without an agreement, pension rights are examined separately by each country and that France does not take into account periods spent under the local scheme to calculate the rate of the French pension. Expavy helps you compare the health covers suited to a retiree settled in Ecuador.