voting tax in ecuador

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

Hi everyone,

My Ecuadorian husband is visiting friends and family in Ecuador this week. It's his first trip back! However, Ecuador has a penalty fine for citizens who don't vote, and they had an election after my husband moved here. Now he has a green card and permanent US resident status. He says that it doesn't matter- that he will have to pay the fine in order to leave the country. Does anyone know about this? We also need to know how much the fine is. Thanks!

[L&M 4]

Hi,

My husband is from Ecuador, too. He came over in 2005 and they had elections in 2006. We went back in 2008 for the first time after US residency was approved and he had no problems. There was never any issue with not voting, fines, etc. That was our experience anyway. Good luck!

[VivaBaños 2]

Hi everyone,

My Ecuadorian husband is visiting friends and family in Ecuador this week. It's his first trip back! However, Ecuador has a penalty fine for citizens who don't vote, and they had an election after my husband moved here. Now he has a green card and permanent US resident status. He says that it doesn't matter- that he will have to pay the fine in order to leave the country. Does anyone know about this? We also need to know how much the fine is. Thanks!

Hi Gatita.

Hope your husband has a nice trip back home.

When we called the Ecuadorian Consulate here in the US to discuss participation in the previous presidential elections they told my husband that folks at the airport would demand a fee/tax the next time leaving Ecuador because he had not voted in the elections. The Consulate in Chicago told us that there is NO fee to leave the country (beyond the regular tax that everyone pays at the airport that's around $40). It doesn't mean that people won't be asking or demanding the fee of course.

I believe, however, if your husband needs to get copies of documents from any level of government in Ecuador or when he votes again (since he won't be able to turn in the old voting card) there is a fee.

Hope that helps.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

hey viva banos, how are you guys doing? thanks for your reply and legwork! i will let my husband know. this monday i might call the ecuadorian consulate in SF-- that's closest to where we live. hopefully they will give me some magic word i can give my husband. he said something about having to spend a day in line to pay the fine... i dont really know. anyhow i hope he doesn't have to go thru some major hassle. ive been searching the web for information on it and found very little- nothing useful. i was on the US consulate page but didnt think of checking the ecuadorian one-- so thanks!!

kathie

Hi everyone,

My Ecuadorian husband is visiting friends and family in Ecuador this week. It's his first trip back! However, Ecuador has a penalty fine for citizens who don't vote, and they had an election after my husband moved here. Now he has a green card and permanent US resident status. He says that it doesn't matter- that he will have to pay the fine in order to leave the country. Does anyone know about this? We also need to know how much the fine is. Thanks!

Hi Gatita.

Hope your husband has a nice trip back home.

When we called the Ecuadorian Consulate here in the US to discuss participation in the previous presidential elections they told my husband that folks at the airport would demand a fee/tax the next time leaving Ecuador because he had not voted in the elections. The Consulate in Chicago told us that there is NO fee to leave the country (beyond the regular tax that everyone pays at the airport that's around $40). It doesn't mean that people won't be asking or demanding the fee of course.

I believe, however, if your husband needs to get copies of documents from any level of government in Ecuador or when he votes again (since he won't be able to turn in the old voting card) there is a fee.

Hope that helps.

[VivaBaños 2]

I hope the Consulate can help with the info tomorrow.

Also, just a little FYI--for whatever reason when my husband was passing through the Quito airport to return to the US after a quick visit home a couple months ago, the customs/passport checkperson did not want to accept my husband's greencard. I have no idea why not or why they didn't want to believe that he had been in the US already by also verifying the stamp in his passport. They called the supervisor over after a bit and of course let him go through. The point is, let Chamy know that it might be best if he allows a little bit of time for these kinds of hassles at the airport, just in case.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

Definitely stellar advice, thanks for the heads up!!

I hope the Consulate can help with the info tomorrow.

Also, just a little FYI--for whatever reason when my husband was passing through the Quito airport to return to the US after a quick visit home a couple months ago, the customs/passport checkperson did not want to accept my husband's greencard. I have no idea why not or why they didn't want to believe that he had been in the US already by also verifying the stamp in his passport. They called the supervisor over after a bit and of course let him go through. The point is, let Chamy know that it might be best if he allows a little bit of time for these kinds of hassles at the airport, just in case.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

So I talked to the Ecuadorian Consulate both in LA and SF today-- and got two different stories--- surprise! First i called the one in LA and the person who answered sounded like she was trying to BS her way out of not knowing the answer. Her accent was really hard to understand, and she was saying that US permanent residents from Ecuador still have to pay the tax ("it's not very expensive, it's no problem, just pay it") and so when my signal got cut off I didn't bother calling back. Next the Consulate in SF was more professional and easier to understand. She understood what I was talking about right away and stated definitively that as a US permanent resident, he does not have to pay the voting fine in order to leave. When asked what he should do if they ask him to pay, she said well then you have to pay, but they might not even ask him if he voted in the first place. She said she thinks the fine is around $30-35 and it is assessed at the airport.

[VivaBaños 2]

So I talked to the Ecuadorian Consulate both in LA and SF today-- and got two different stories--- surprise! First i called the one in LA and the person who answered sounded like she was trying to BS her way out of not knowing the answer. Her accent was really hard to understand, and she was saying that US permanent residents from Ecuador still have to pay the tax ("it's not very expensive, it's no problem, just pay it") and so when my signal got cut off I didn't bother calling back. Next the Consulate in SF was more professional and easier to understand. She understood what I was talking about right away and stated definitively that as a US permanent resident, he does not have to pay the voting fine in order to leave. When asked what he should do if they ask him to pay, she said well then you have to pay, but they might not even ask him if he voted in the first place. She said she thinks the fine is around $30-35 and it is assessed at the airport.

Well thanks for that update...even though I'm not sure what they are telling you. I don't think they know either.

I told my husband what you learned from the Consulates and he suggested that Chamy go to Ambato to get the card that says that you didn't vote from the Consejo Electoral in front of the Andinatel telephone booths, near El Parque Montalvo. Normally when people don't vote (because it's mandatory in Ecuador) they go here to get a card that says you didn't vote (for a fee) that allows you to do all the normal stuff you can do with your voting card. We're thinking that they are charging this fee at the airport because people don't have an updated voting card, and this is what he could get in Ambato. I don't know how much it costs there, so I'm not sure which is more inconvenient for you all--possibly paying at the airport some random fee or going over to Ambato to get this card hoping that he won't need it for the possible fee.

I'm interested to know how this turns out because we may be traveling to Ecuador again soon and we'll be in the same situation.

Suerte.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

no problem, i will let you know what happens. thanks again for your input. yes, even though i got the same answer as you it still sounded kind of flimsy. i will let C know about the place in Ambato, but if it were me, i would take the risk at the airport.

[Chamy and Gatita 3]

Hello, here is the update!

My husband was not asked to pay the voting tax. He departed from Quito--- and is back home now. YAY!