This decision was made by the Ecuadorian foreign ministry on Tuesday, where it declared that from now on visas will be needed for Chinese visitors in connection with an influx of irregular immigrants from the Asian country.
In a social media statement released by the ministry, it revealed that it was suspending its agreement with China that had abolished visa requirements for travelers. Additionally, many Chinese arrivals have overstayed a 90-day period allowed to them; some may even view Ecuador as a stepping stone into other parts of Latin America. Regarding this fact, the ministry also stated that in recent months almost half of tourists from China did not leave the country through regular places at regular times.
When queried about Ecuador’s suspension of visa exemptions for China, Lin Jian, spokesperson for Chinese foreign ministry, stated that his nation firmly disapproves all forms of human smuggling. “More and more people have enjoyed excellent mutual visa-free treatment between China and Ecuador…This has played an important and positive role on promoting cross-border travel as well as practical cooperation in various fields between our two countries.”
According to the foreign Ministry, since 2022 there has been an increase in persons entering its territory without registering departure among Chinese nationals. In total: from 2023 to 2024 among 66,189 tourists who arrived in the country only 34,209 left – hence around 32 thousand disappeared from registration as having left their travel destination according to data provided by MFA. Most of them are headed to the USA going mostly through what is known as Darien Gap.
