Seeking reliable lawyer

Are you going to Ecuador or Chile?

Sebastian Cordero is awesome.. He does visas and also real [email protected]

Thanks you very much Oga1;
I'll check him out.   Blessings to you.  glory

I'm trying to decide between the two locations at this time.  any helpful input would be appreciated.

I understand that Chile is more stable, yet , not sure of the process of residency visa/2nd passport  issue --in comparison to Ecuador.   Thanks

Mr. Santiago (+593-993732068) in Guayaquil, Ecuador can help you with the residency visas / other details.
contact him before you plan your trip to Ecuador, so he can advice you what docs you need to get along from your home country.
best of luck.

I met people in Cotacachi who moved to E from Chile.. Saying at several years ago inflation went up so much that they were seeing prices doubling... And left..from what i know residency is really easy to get in Chile if  you start a small business.. Check Sovereign Man... Or forum of International Man (Casey )
Ecuador offers a variety of visas as well.. As long as u are well informed and have all correct paperwork... I chose to get an Ecuadorian attorney... It was a breeze..

OGA1 wrote:

Sebastian Cordero is awesome.. He does visas and also real [email protected]

I agree with OGA's assessment of Sebastian.

He is highly organised, punctual, knows the visa process down pat, and continually moves the process ahead without giving his client a feeling of being rushed.  His English is excellent.  If a problem comes up, he knows immediately how to solve it and whom to contact.

His local phone number at the Quito office is 244-7551.

My attorney is Andrea Jaramillo .  She has been great at guiding me through the process.  She charges a flat fee. 50% up front and the rest when everything is  completed.  [email protected]
Good luck!
Cathie

Cannot recommendDr. Roberto Moreno as suggested in international living he is been very slow to respond.  Had incorrect and incomplete information regarding banking that he set up for me.   Allowed me to blow a deadline which resulted in me having to leave the country to get my visa paperwork completed. Currently his office is dragging their feet on providing me my refund on my pensioners visa as promised two months ago. Would  refer all to stay away from this attorney.

Just wanted to mention, Sebastian Cordero has been superb taking us through the visa process a number of months ago...but it seems he could be going through smth in his personal life... He is not as efficient as he was.. Very distracted and does seem to get things done on time, accidentally gave me a wrong address where to meet.... Not a good choice right at the moment..

The Columbian wrote:

Cannot recommend Dr. Roberto Moreno as suggested in International Living...very slow to respond....Allowed me to blow a deadline which resulted in me having to leave the country to get my visa paperwork completed...stay away from this attorney.

Had to leave the country...that is serious stuff.   Thanks for the heads up.

The Columbian wrote:

Cannot recommendDr. Roberto Moreno as suggested in international living he is been very slow to respond.  Had incorrect and incomplete information regarding banking that he set up for me.   Allowed me to blow a deadline which resulted in me having to leave the country to get my visa paperwork completed. Currently his office is dragging their feet on providing me my refund on my pensioners visa as promised two months ago. Would  refer all to stay away from this attorney.

Do you mean he was recommended by International Living and did not do what he said he would do?
Unheard of

OGA1 wrote:

Sebastian Cordero has been superb taking us through the visa process a number of months ago...but it seems he could be going through smth in his personal life... He is not as efficient as he was.. Very distracted and does seem to get things done on time, accidentally gave me a wrong address where to meet.... Not a good choice right at the moment..

This is a confusing post and a hatchet job.

The poster acknowledges that Sebastian Cordero did a "superb" job in the visa process and gets things "done on time."

It's doubtful that the poster would have personal knowledge of it if Sebastian had an issue in his personal life, so I consider that to be base speculation; even if he did, I believe it is highly doubtful that a pro such as himself would allow it to interfere with his support of clients.

I worked with him for six months resulting in successfully obtaining my residency visa and cedula, and never spotted a single error along the way.  The only reason it took so long was that my paperwork from the U.S. was repeatedly delayed.  When we missed the filing deadline by a day for this reason, Sebastian deftly arranged for a rare 45-day visa extension, getting us the time we needed.

Sebastian met me at or escorted me to all the government buildings where we had to submit paperwork throughout this time and was at my side, sometimes for extended periods, as we waited for my number to be called.  On occasion during these waiting times, he worked on other clients' matters as is appropriate.  If such attention is what the above poster interpreted as being "distracted," she misinterpreted the situation.

I suspect that Sr. Cordero would not dignify the poster's porqueria with a response, but I choose not to let it pass.

To put it mildly, there are smarter things to do in Ecuador than smear a prominent and respected attorney who has been validated by multiple other posters on this site.

cccmedia wrote:

It's doubtful that the poster would have personal knowledge of it if Sebastian had an issue in his personal life, so I consider that to be base speculation; even if he did, I believe it is highly doubtful that a pro such as himself would allow it to interfere with his support of clients.

Unless she is involved in being said "distraction"

Any else recommendations??

Thanks Cathie for your kind referral.   I'll give her a call soon.  I 'm moving to n. Arkansas nr. Branson, Mo. soon,  but am planning to leave the country .  It's been delayed, but better be soon.
Don't have anyone that I know well down there in Ecuador, one thing for sure, for the good weather and less stressful  natural life I chose.  but as a single woman, what about the safety, I wonder??
Bless you Cathie!  Glory

Good luck to you.  I am single female (widowed) and have experienced no issues in my short time here. I think one has to be aware of the surroundings wherever you live.  At least every other person in Cuenca doesn't have a gun!!

need to know what are formalities and documents required for obtaining a PR visa for equador and how much will it cost and time it takes. Is it necessary to come to equador for this purpose or the papers can be filed from my country i.e. India.
if possible kindly indicate what is the monthly cost of housing for one bed room flat in quito and what will be monthly expenditure for food and maintenance  etc for two persons.
i will be grateful for the reply

Here is a good attorney .. very useful to have : Sebastian Cordero [email protected]
as far as i know... u can discuss and prepare the documents in advance... or even mail inadvance so he can look them over and tell u have everything done correctly.. (if not.. u are still in your country and can add/correct what u need to ahve )... and the application is done once u are IN the country

Re apartemnt... u can look on Craigs list... to get an idea.... but it is best to see what is around you... slums... or a nice looking area... La Carolina is probably the best area...

best

mskk36 wrote:

Is it necessary to come to equador for this purpose or the papers can be filed from my country i.e. India.
if possible kindly indicate what is the monthly cost of housing for one bed room flat in quito...

Certain temporary or non-resident visas may be requested outside Ecuador.  But for permanent residency, you'll have to be here to sign documents and respond to bureaucratic issues.

Quito rents start around $300 for what a typical Expat would prefer.  You'll find lower rents with your boots on the ground than with Internet listings.  The most desired neighborhoods such as Carolina and Mariscal will present much higher rental rates as a rule.

For cost of living numbers, go to numbeo.com and click Ecuador and a city, or visit the recent COL thread posted on this EC blog.

There is no "q" in Ecuador.

cccmedia in Quito

mskk36 wrote:

need to know what are formalities and documents required for obtaining a PR visa for equador and how much will it cost and time it takes.

OGA's recommendation of Sebastian Cordero is solid.  He handled my residency visa, which I obtained in February of 2014.  Email him at [email protected] with your questions about visa requirements as needed.

The official website of EC government information about residency visas is cancilleria.gob.ec ...  It has an English-language option that often works.

I paid $350 last year to satisfy the government's major visa fees.  However, with attorney fees, translations, certifications, apostilles and other ancillary costs, the grand total may have approximated $2,000.

Theoretically, you can get a residency visa without the assistance of an experienced attorney or a non-attorney visa specialist.  But that's a rocky route for anyone unprepared to navigate a complicated foreign bureaucracy.

Some Expats claim that they obtained a residency visa in six weeks or less.  Their paperwork must have been pristine.  Three months is probably more common, but if you run into bureaucratic requests for more documentation, or if paperwork from overseas is required and-or delayed, it could be longer.

Fortunately, once your visa application is accepted for review, you may remain in Ecuador indefinitely during the course of the visa process.

cccmedia in Quito

If your coming to Cuenca the person to contact is;

Carlos Heredia
0996110620
072455156
[email protected]

He worked for me and took care of everything. I did however follow the instructions from the Ecuadorean Embassy in DC and visited the consulate in Houston. I was well prepared before arriving. I arrived July 25th and had my cedula Sept. 8.
If your Canadian or not fully prepared it could take a lot longer.

Thanks a lot cccmedia for the valauable information. I will get in touch withthe lawyer.
and i will remember to spell Ecuador correctly.
if possible kindly also tell me about some job prospects. I am a post graduate in business management and mathematics and have several years of experience in large companies particularly in warehousing logistics. i am more interested in teaching.
Thanks again

mskk36 wrote:

kindly also tell me about some job prospects. I am a post graduate in business management and mathematics and have several years of experience in large companies particularly in warehousing logistics. i am more interested in teaching.

To qualify for a professional visa, you need to submit the copy of a job offer.  This would be in the form of an official contract which the Cancilleria or Ministry must then review and approve for the residency visa.

Check with Sr. Cordero via email as to whether you can apply for a professional visa if having entered Ecuador on a tourist stamp.

Absent the job offer, you might need to make an investment to qualify for a residency visa -- minimum $25,000 in an Ecuador bank CD or real estate.

cccmedia in Quito

The Columbian wrote:

Cannot recommendDr. Roberto Moreno as suggested in international living he is been very slow to respond.  Had incorrect and incomplete information regarding banking that he set up for me.   Allowed me to blow a deadline which resulted in me having to leave the country to get my visa paperwork completed. Currently his office is dragging their feet on providing me my refund on my pensioners visa as promised two months ago. Would  refer all to stay away from this attorney.

I have to agree that I have similar comment regarding Dr. Roberto Moreno.  I finally got what I was looking for, but I had to chase him down, he takes days to reply to email (when he does), etc.  It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Next time, I will try Sebastian Cordero.

A couple of days after I posted on the subject of  finding reliable a lawyer  I again contact dr. Robert Moreno's office and was told I could come in and following week and pick up my money which I did but it took almost 3 months.  I was hoping that he read this blog). With  my refund I was able to fund my trip back to California get all the paperwork that was needed  came back into the country and dealt directly with the Manta immigration office and just with one or two more forms I was done.

Could you please tell us what police report you submitted for the visa, state police report? Or something else? Or more than one police report from more than one law enforcement agency?

And when your visa was approved? You haven't even given us a hint at what year you did this.

Thanks for posting.

The background check was ordered from the department of justice in California With a set of your fingerprints.  The local sheriffs office would've taken several weeks to schedule I used a UPS office that also offers that service in California Also please note all of these forms have to be translated and certified by the local notary who is an attorney I used a person here in Puerto Lopez for the translation and cost me about $60 , and about $35 to have it notarized.
The date on my Pensioners visa is November 19, 2014.