Ecuadorian Consul

It's official. Kind of. Well, as official as I can expect considering it's Latin America. I can enter the country.

I went to the Ecuadorian consul with Alan (the director of VIDA, where I used to work) today. It usually takes 6-8 weeks to get an appointment, and they never answer phones or emails, so it's nice to be connected. Look at me and my crazy contacts :P So, I went in and told the passport lady that before we talked about VIDA's business, I had just a quick "preguntita" (little question). I asked about some very complicated passport issue I might have had.

This is boring but here it is: According to Ecuadorian law, you can only stay in the country for 6 months per CALENDAR YEAR. Actually, when you enter, you only get 90 days, but you can beg the migration office in Quito to give you 90 more days when your first stamp expires, and they are usually pretty nice.

My question was because I had the permission on my passport to stay for three months earlier this year, but I was only there in January, so does that count as one month or three? The passport lady didn't even know, so she had to take my passport back to some important guy and ask him. Turns out, it only counts as the one month I was actually present in the country, so I am good to go! Which is great, considering I already bought my plane ticket!

At least I know the laws are so confusing that the passport person at the consulate didn't even know what to do about my documents!

When I get there, I will be staying for almost four months, so let's hope all goes well in Quito so I won't be "deportada". I refuse to get a visa, which would legalize my lengthy stays but cost hundreds of dollars... so I'll just keep improvising.

It's good to be legal.