Ecuador has decided to reimpose visa requirements for Chinese citizens temporarily, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility has announced.
The mutual agreement on visa waiver reached between Ecuador and China in 2016 was suspended by Ecuador, citing illegal migration issues, VisaGuide.World reports.
As further explained by the ministry, several Chinese citizens have not departed the country within the permitted 90-day period, while some others may have used Ecuador as a route to reach other destinations.
Nearly 50% of Chinese Citizens in Ecuador Have Not Registered as Leaving the Country
The ministry, as cited by Reuters, stated that over 66,000 Chinese citizens entered Ecuador between 2023 and 2024. Of those, only 34,200 were recorded as departing, implying that about 32,000 have not been registered as leaving Ecuador.
In recent months, there has been a worrying increase in the migratory flows from China, and, additionally, approximately 50 percent of these entries have not left through regular routes and within the time established by law. For this reason, they would be in the country in an irregular migration situation or would have left through irregular routes to other destinations in the Hemisphere.
Ecuador authorities further noted that several Chinese nationals entering the country approach the United States, mostly through the so-called Darien Gap.
The Foreign Ministry of Ecuador has further expressed its commitment to ensuring proper national immigration checks in order to prevent tourists from being victims of human smuggling, among others.
China Strongly Condemns Human Smuggling, Chinese Official Says
Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, as cited by Reuters, stated that China strongly condemns all types of human trafficking.
He further revealed that the respective Chinese authorities are collaborating with certain countries to address migrant human smuggling, deport irregular immigrants and retain good order in cross-border travel.
The agreement on mutual visa exemption between China and Ecuador, since it took effect in August 2016, has played an important and positive role in promoting cross-border travel and practical cooperation in various fields between the two countries.
In addition to Ecuador, Chinese citizens currently need visas to enter 116 other countries and territories, the VisaGuide Passport Index indicates.
On the other hand, Chinese passport holders are entitled to travel without visas to only 49 countries worldwide.