Dominican Republic or Ecuador
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Dominican Republic | Ecuador | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 2 years | 3 years |
| Partner can work | yes | yes |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 815 · estimate | $ 637 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 24,5 | $ 23,4 |
| Life expectancy | 73.87 | 77.58 |
| Homicides/100k | 9.12 | 38.94 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 6.8 | 6.5 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Dominican Republic — 16, Ecuador — 32. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and retirement. Ecuador adds: remote work, talent and working holiday.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Dominican Republic: fees range from 7,000 to 42,000 DOP. Routes stating an income threshold: 5; the lowest is 1,500 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 15; the shortest is 7 days. Ecuador: fees range from 30 to 270 USD. Routes with no fee: 5. Routes stating an income threshold: 2; the lowest is 724 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 31; the shortest is 60 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Dominican Republic after 5 years, Ecuador after 2 years. Citizenship: Dominican Republic after 2 years, Ecuador after 3 years. Both allow a second citizenship.
Dominican Republic in brief
The Dominican Republic is built around a resort economy: direct flights to North America and Europe, and the country's busiest airport is in Punta Cana, not the capital. Residence by investment, pension or rentier income is granted directly in permanent status, bypassing the five-year temporary-residence step required for other grounds; two years then remain before citizenship. Dual citizenship is permitted by the constitution, with no requirement to renounce the previous one. The entire territory lies in the tropical-cyclone zone (season June–November, the maximum risk score on the INFORM scale) and in a seismically active part of the Caribbean basin.
Ecuador in brief
Ecuador has been dollarised since 2000: its official currency is the US dollar rather than a national currency, which removes currency risk for those whose income or savings are in dollars, but deprives the country itself of independent monetary policy. The temporary residence system is governed by the 2023 Ley Orgánica de Movilidad Humana: the rentista, pensionista/jubilado, inversionista and professional categories are defined not by a fixed dollar amount but by a threshold in SBU — the minimum wage, which is revised annually; since 2022–2023 a separate visa for remote employees of foreign companies has been added among them. Permanent residence is available after just 21 months of continuous residence on a temporary visa, and citizenship after a further 3 years of lawful residence as a permanent resident, and the Constitution explicitly permits not renouncing one's original citizenship. A separate part of the country's territory is the Galápagos archipelago: it is governed under a special law, LOREG, through its own body (Consejo de Gobierno de Régimen Especial de Galápagos), and moving there to settle permanently is not among the rights even of a permanent resident of mainland Ecuador — a separate migration qualification is required. Governance indicators (rule of law, control of corruption) and the homicide rate are, according to official statistics, among the weakest and highest in South America respectively.
Other comparisons
More on each: Dominican Republic · Ecuador. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.