Living in Ecuador as a French Citizen: Cities, Cost of Living, Residence and Safety

Ecuador covers 256,370 km² and has about 18 million inhabitants, a density of 70 inhabitants per km². Spanish is the official language, spoken by 93% of the population, with Kichwa (4%) and Shuar among the Amerindian languages. The currency is the US dollar, which removes exchange-rate risk for a resident who receives income in euros and converts it into dollars (France Diplomatie). The “Economic indicators” block of this page updates the country’s indicators.

The attractions often cited lie in the diversity of landscapes, from the Andes to the Amazon, the Galápagos Islands and the Pacific coast, and a dollarised economy where prices are easy to read. The points of caution are just as concrete: France Diplomatie describes organised crime linked in particular to drug trafficking, dangerous road driving, strong seismic and volcanic activity, and a private healthcare system whose costs are high. A move is best prepared with the checklist for the first 90 days and the guide to expat insurance in Ecuador.

Quito, the capital, has about 1.7 million inhabitants according to the census; it is home to the French embassy and consular section, the Franco-Ecuadorian lycée La Condamine and the administrations. France Diplomatie advises choosing taxis carefully there, not crossing parks at night and staying alert in the La Mariscal district and on the immediate edge of the historic centre.

Guayaquil, with 2.6 million inhabitants, is the country’s largest city and its main port; Cuenca, with 0.6 million, is home to the École française Joseph de Jussieu. France Diplomatie indicates that Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca have good hospitals, but that costs are high and a deposit is always required. In the Galápagos, the medical level is judged insufficient and evacuations to the mainland pose difficulties: insurance covering repatriation is essential for a stay on the archipelago.

The choice of city depends on the job, schooling and climate; health also weighs in: the detail of the local system is presented on the page on the healthcare system in Ecuador.

The unified basic wage, the legal floor for workers in general, is set every year, in dollars a month, by agreement between the government, employers and workers (Ministry of Labour). It serves as a reference for several visa procedures: a retiree’s pension must reach three times this amount, and so must a remote worker’s income.

The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) measures the cost of a basic family basket of 75 items for a typical household of four members with 1.6 income earners, to be compared with the average family income. This benchmark gives an order of magnitude for essential spending, excluding rent; an expat budget is built from the actual rent in the target city, health cover and schooling. The guide to budgeting for health abroad helps you cost the last of these items.

A visa is not required for a tourist stay of 90 days at most, calculated over a rolling twelve-month period, with a passport valid for more than six months after the exit date. Exceeding the authorised length exposes you to a fine and administrative detention. The human mobility law makes it possible to obtain an extra 90 days by paying a 400-dollar extension (France Diplomatie).

To reside, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility issues temporary residence visas, valid for two years and renewable only once, depending on the category: dependent employment, profession, retiree, person of independent means, remote work. The application is made only online on the e-VISAS platform; the fees are 50 dollars for the application and 270 dollars for the issue, without VAT, with a 50% reduction from age 65. The file includes a passport valid for six months, a photo, a criminal record certificate less than 180 days old, translated and apostilled, proof of lawful means of support and the documents specific to the category. The ministry also provides for permanent residence after a stay of more than 21 months.

On the French side, registration on the register of French nationals living abroad is recommended for any stay of more than six months, with the consular section in Quito. Before departure, the employee informs the health insurance fund, the CAF (the family allowances fund) and France Travail (the employment agency) of their departure, because they leave the French scheme unless seconded or joining the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French expatriate health fund) (CLEISS, the French liaison centre for international social security; ameli.fr, the Assurance Maladie website).

The network of the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) includes, in Quito, the Franco-Ecuadorian lycée La Condamine. In Cuenca, the École française Joseph de Jussieu is a binational Franco-Ecuadorian establishment, organised in two units: one from the first year of nursery to the last year of primary school, the other from lower secondary to the final year, the latter being in the process of accreditation according to information published by the AEFE.

Tuition fees, places and calendars are requested from each establishment. The children of a resident need their own health cover; the page on expat family insurance sets out the options. Families who choose the Ecuadorian school educate their children in Spanish.

France Diplomatie distinguishes several levels: travel is formally advised against in the border zone with Colombia; it is advised against except for compelling reasons in the coastal provinces (Esmeraldas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Guayas, El Oro), in Los Ríos, in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, in Guayaquil and its surroundings; the rest of the country is under heightened vigilance, and the Galápagos under normal vigilance. This classification may change: check it before each trip.

The recommendations are practical: travel with little money and a copy of your passport, do not resist in the event of an armed assault, avoid travelling at night, prefer registered taxis or ride-hailing apps, do not accept drinks or cigarettes from strangers, and withdraw money from cash machines in the large shopping centres. An official app, ECU 911, lets you report incidents and accidents; the emergency number is 911. Registering with the Ariane service lets you receive alerts.

As for natural hazards, several volcanoes are active: Sangay and Reventador remain very active, Cotopaxi and Tungurahua have frequent periods of activity, and the Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute is the recommended source of information. The country lies in a seismic zone, with a risk of tsunami on the coast.

Driving is described as dangerous: the highway code is little respected, checks are rare and many drivers are uninsured. The rains, sometimes intense for several months, can cause landslides and suddenly close roads. In the event of an accident, negotiations are long, recourse to a lawyer is frequent and detention is generally unavoidable in the case of bodily injury. Intercity buses are advised against; France Diplomatie recommends renting a vehicle from well-known agencies and checking the insurance contract.

Drug legislation is strict: checks are systematic at airports, sentences can reach 19 years in prison and detention conditions are difficult. The sheet also asks you to obtain people’s agreement before photographing them, especially in rural areas, and advises against consuming ayahuasca because of the health risks. Insurance covering care, hospitalisation and medical repatriation is considered imperative; see the expat health insurance comparison. Expavy helps you weigh these options against your situation.