updated: March 30, 2013
From: Sandra Baquero
I have work 33 years in foreign commerce business and I am giving some tips and information to help expats to move in a smooth way to Ecuador and avoid mistakes. There are people having problems shipping their containers, they are confused about dates because the visas procedure have changed.
The options to ship household goods to Ecuador are in a 20’ or 40’ full containers or just some pallets or crates with some cubic meters with your most loved belongings.
Your household goods to be duty free must arrive in Guayaquil within six months after the date of your last entrance in the country. If your household goods arrive no more than one month after the deadline date, you will have to pay a 33% tax on the declared amount to clear it. If your household goods arrive more than one month after the deadline date, the procedure to clear will be refused and you will have to re-embark your household goods.
To clear your container you will need only your original passport stamped with your permanent resident visa on it.
You could ship without having your resident visa as well, but to clear your cargo you will have to pay a bond to Ecuadorian Customs, that will be determined by the total amount you would declare in your inventory list plus the ocean freight.
This bond will be refunded to you once you get your permanent resident visas stamped on your passports and you show it to Customs, you would receive your refund in approx 3 to 6 months later straight into your national bank account. Ecuadorian Customs will give you only 6 months to show the permanent resident visa and this 6 months starts since the date that Customs approve your bond to clear, if for any reason you do not have the permanent resident visa on time to show to Ecuadorian Customs, you would lose your bond, that is the risky part to bring the container without the resident visa or to not be ready with the proper documentation before coming to Ecuador to apply for a permanent resident visa.
After your attorney tells you that your permanent resident visa has been approved, he will need your original passport to stamp the visa on it at the Foreign Department (Extranjeria) in Quito, Cuenca or Guayaquil. This procedure could take from 1-3 weeks. As you won’t have your original passports with you for this period of time, my advice is that you ask your attorney to notarize one color copy of your passport, including the page of your last visa for Ecuador, as a “faithful copy of the original” so you can have some identification document with you while you are waiting for your original passport to be returned.
All the best,
Sandra Baquero
Customs & Transport Advisory
SANESTAR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING SERVICES
celular international 001- 593-9-99690583
celular national 0999690583
e-mail: sandy.baquero@gmail.com
Guayaquil, Ecuador