Update to: National COE loosens up COVID-19 entry restrictions at both international airports
Published: Volume 5, Issue 24

Travelers entering Ecuador must meet certain requirements. These guidelines apply to those traveling by air, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MSP).

The following are the up-to-date established guidelines for visitors arriving in Ecuador or the Galapagos Islands. These requirements are stated in the ‘Guidelines for entering continental and insular Ecuador by air,’ dated October 21, 2021.

Those who arrive in the country must present the Traveler’s Health Declaration. The document will be delivered to the airline when boarding.

The form is available at https://encuestas.msp.gob.ec/index.php/947917?lang=es. This form can be filled in online; printing it is not necessary. It is worth mentioning that travelers who fill out the digital form are no longer required to present the form at the point of entry to the Ministry of Health.

Travelers entering Ecuador over 2 years of age must present the vaccination card against Covid-19. The vaccination scheme (one or two doses, depending on the provider) must have finished at least 14 days prior to the trip.

In lieu of a vaccination card, you can also present the negative result of the real- time PCR test, carried out up to 72 hours prior to traveling to Ecuador. The crew of the aircraft are exempt from these requirements.

Ecuadorians who were declared inadmissible in other countries and return to Ecuador should not present the PCR test. However, the MSP will perform a rapid antigen test upon arrival.

To enter Galapagos travelers must meet the aforementioned requirements. They must also present the card of monitoring of transit issued by the Governing Council Special Regime for Galapagos.

What happens if the passenger comes from India to Ecuador?

Passengers who have as a point of origin, made a stopover or were in transit in India, must present the negative result of the PCR test carried out up to 72 hours before boarding the flight to Ecuador. The requirement is mandatory regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or not.

Additionally, they must be in preventive isolation for 10 days at their homes or in any lodging place of their choice. The cost of the latter is paid by the traveler. This requirement must be met regardless of the test result and their immigration status.

What happens if the traveler has symptoms related to Covid-19?

All travelers entering Ecuador must report their symptoms to the health authorities.

The passenger who has symptoms of Covid-19 (fever, cough, general malaise, loss of smell or taste, etc.), regardless of the positive or negative result, will be evaluated by the health personnel.

If it is considered as a suspicious case, the test will be carried out (nasopharyngeal swab). If the result is positive, the traveler must stay for 10 days at their home or accommodation of their choice (payment is at their own expense); the traveler also must report a list of contacts to the Ministry of Health.

Important points to note:

• The only type of test authorized for entry into the country is the qualitative real-time RT-PCR test.
• Travelers who present the digital form must take a screenshot of the filled out online form and present it to the airline at boarding. It, it will validate and organize in such a way that the people who presented in digital go directly to migration and at the end the people who have the physical form to hand over to the Ministry of Health staff at the point of entry.
• Any person who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and who after a month continues to obtain a positive result in the RT-PCR test, must present a medical certificate issued in the country of origin that guarantees their health status if they are not in the contagion phase for entry to Ecuador, as long as there are no symptoms.
• For national tourists: all tests for detection of Covid-19 must be carried out in authorized laboratories such as RT-PCR processors, sampling and rapid Covid-19 tests by the Agency for Quality Assurance of Health Services and Prepaid Medicine – ACESS. (http://www.calidadsalud.gob.ec/laboratorios- authorized /)
• For foreign tourists: the tests for the detection of Covid-19 must be carried out in the certified laboratories of each country of origin.