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A street in the old town of Quito

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🇪🇨  Retiring in Ecuador from New Zealand

What New Zealanders need to know: the visa, how your pensions are taxed, what to do before you leave and every year after.

By the retireacross editorial team · Last reviewed

Visa for New Zealanders

Check the visa-free stay for your passport with the consulate before a trial stay. To live there you need a residence route:

  • Temporary residence for retirees (jubilado): income from 1,446 USD a month. Official page
  • Temporary residence for people with passive income (rentista): income from 1,446 USD a month. Official page

Check your figures in the visa checker

Sources: Gobierno del Ecuador: temporary residence for retirees (jubilado), procedure sheet (checked 2026-10-22) · El Universo: 2026 basic wage (SBU) set at $482 (checked 2026-10-22) · UK travel advice: Ecuador, entry requirements (checked 2026-10-22) · Cancillería del Ecuador: visas (checked 2026-10-22) · gob.ec: temporary residence visa for people with passive income (rentista) (checked 2026-10-25)

How your pensions are taxed

No tax treaty between New Zealand and Ecuador: New Zealand can keep taxing New Zealand-sourced income (and you stay tax resident while you keep a permanent place of abode there); Ecuador may tax them as a resident, so the same income can be taxed twice, with relief only if Ecuador gives a foreign tax credit.

  • State pensions: taxable in the paying country.
  • Private pensions: possibly taxed in both countries, without treaty relief.

Sources: Inland Revenue Tax Policy: New Zealand tax treaties (checked 2026-10-26)

New Zealand: You stay New Zealand tax resident while you keep a permanent place of abode there (a home you go back to), even if you are away more than 325 days; NZ Super paid abroad under general portability is paid gross. Official page

Ecuador's own rules: Since December 2021 Ecuador taxes residents on foreign income too, with a credit for tax paid abroad. Since January 2024 a 'temporary tax residency' regime lets new residents who meet its conditions pay tax only on Ecuadorian-source income for five years. Inheritances and gifts are taxed under income tax rules; municipal property tax is low and there is no wealth tax.

Before you leave New Zealand

  1. Check NZ Super before you go (New Zealand): To get NZ Super you must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand when you apply at 65, and meet the residence rule (10 to 20 years since age 20, rising with your birth date). If you plan to leave before 65, check how and when you can apply first. Official page
  2. Call International Services at least 6 weeks before leaving: NZ Super does not follow you automatically: apply to keep it going by calling Work and Income's International Services at least 6 weeks before you leave. It cannot be paid if you move to the United Kingdom. Official page

More for New Zealanders

Rules and figures change and we can make mistakes: confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor before acting.