Immigration / Customs Ecuador | Customs and Immigration

Ecuador >> Peru

The last 52km is unpaved - hard packed dirt/gravel/rock easy road that we averaged 40kph

Very friendly guys on the Ecuadorian side, even asked for a sticker for their fridge. They suggested taking a photo of the canceled TIP for our records.

Peru entry took a bit longer, but nothing unusual. They had WiFi so could send new TIP via WhatsApp to Anibal to start working on SOAT (paid in San Ignacio).

Dog paperwork was checked. We didn't visit a vet before the crossing, just showed EU PP and current vaccines up to date.

1 hour for entire process, easy and friendly.

Paved road into San Ignacio took any 45 minutes

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Peru - Ecuador with a Chilean moto.

Peru was quick and easy, took just 15 minutes to get stamped out of Peru and cancel the TIP. Ecuador on the other hand took longer despite being the only people there, which we prepared for having read comments here.

We waited around 1.5 hours to have our TIP paperwork done. In terms of the immigration part, we received just 10 days transit visa after I showed my flight ticket deparating Bogota in a few weeks. Without this and without a police clearance cert (apostilled) he would not have let us through. We were worried about this so printed the flight ticket as a back up argument luckily it worked.

Additional info: Peru side is open 8-8pm while Ecuador is 24/7 so plan accordingly. Road to Zumba from the border is very dodgy at night so be careful!

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Peru->Ecuador
Peruvian side: two quick stamps (passport and TIP cancelled) and a quick look into the car
Ecuatorian side: at the end of the bridge is car&shoes disinfection, then you proceed to the migraciones (swift, 90days, you get the passport stamp and tarjeta de migración). then the aduanas - the guys were extremely nice, told us the process can take up to one hour. As said below, they really send the photos (passport, driver’s license, the tarjeta from migraciones, car documents)via WhatsApp somewhere and get the tip via email to print it for you. It took 40 minutes, a pleasant surprise. Quick look into the van, no fruit/veggie check.
We were the only ones there :)

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We crossed from Ecuador to Peru with a casa rodante/ mobile home. Ecuador side took 10 minutes, Aduana and Passport were done in parallel and everyone was friendly. On Peru side the process took us approx. 2x20 min. plus the time you need to wait if there is a queue (in our case 40 min). You need to go to immigration first (at the back of the building), they take photos and your fingerprints on sight. Afterwards Aduana bzw. Suan is done. Official asked for SOAT, but we have an insurance for all Mercosur and Peru and were fine. Apparently there is now also the possibility to get SOAT right at this border. A vehicle inspection is done, but really superficially. Fruits are not allowed to bring, we hid them and that worked.

Bring you Passport, TIP from Ecuador, Vehicle Document and Drivers license. That's all you need.

Comment regarding the street:
On Peru side it is paved and in good condition. On Ecuador side the street is not paved starting from a bit behind Vilcabamba. From Zumba to the border took us 1,5 hours (26 km), but with our truck we need to go slow. Maybe doable in a bit over an hour, too. The street is generally in good condition, just unpaved and lots of up and down. There is one bridge with max 20 tonnes. But who would be heavier than that? :)

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Crossed from Ecuador to Peru today with a motorcycle.

First, immigration. The guy took my passport for about ten minutes, typed some things into his computer. Then stamped it and handed it back.

At aduana, the man asked for my import document and my passport. He took several photos of my motorcycle.

He apologized for the long wait, I think he called it texted someone else. Finally he gave me back my passport and told me the completed import document stays with him.

I took a photo of the document with the exit stamp on it, just in case.

The whole process took about 30 minutes.

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Ecuador to Peru. Took about 30 minutes starting at 9 am on a Monday.

In the last town before La Balsa (Pucabamba), don’t follow Google Maps if it’s raining. The curve of 682 is a mud pit and all the locals detour around it. Fortunately we didn’t get stuck, but we did have to stop and air down the tires.

Okay, back to La Balsa. Aduana took our TIP right away and got started, while we stamped out at immigration. They opened the gate to the bridge and we were on our way. Super chill and easy.

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exiting Ecuador by bike.
20 minutes for both frontiers!
the border now is open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm in both directions!

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Peru --> Ecuador

Peruvian side is open 7 days a week from 8 to 8. Ecuadorian side apparently even 24/7.

Quick and easy exit from Peru. Immigration to Ecuador was just as easy. Had to disturb the officer in his street game of cards though. After that came the car. Oh boy..

As stated before they have no Internet connection on their computers and therefore take pictures of everything and send them to somewhere else with the limited peruvian reception they get. On top of that the guys rotate to different border posts on an 8 day basis. So good luck finding someone who is familiar with the process at this (quote) most forgotten border crossing.

We waited 3 hours with no apparent progress at all and another half hour with some sort of progress. You gotta provide your e-mail and receive a code. We couldn't connect to their wifi but still had Peruvian Claro reception.

Apart from the wait it is an absolutely hassle free crossing. All in all it took us 4.5hours to get through with everything, still pretty long considering that we were the only ones around the entire morning. So make sure you got something to do while waiting. You are free to walk around, I consider this superior to standing in line somewhere in the sun. Finally they didn't even bother to look at the vehicle.

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Here at 8am on a Friday. No other travelers around. Literally 20 mins to exit stamp passport and cancel tip.

Police gave me pan and cheese for my coffee.

Super easy.

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Friendly officers on both sides. Leaving Peru was fast, entering Ecuador took us ~2 hours due to the unusual customs procedure (see Peruvian side).

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Took 4 tours to get out from ecuador. We arrived at 9am and they didnt have electricity or internet. So we had to wait. Theres a small tienda where you can change dollars for soles.

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Immigration office and aduana open up at 8am. Well…more like 8:10am (it’s a small sleepy border)

Ecuador side took 1.5 hours (5 minutes todo immigration and the rest to cancel the TIP). The aduana has to send photos by phone of your documents to another border for processing. So it was a lot of waiting.

But everyone is nice. Clean-ish bathrooms out the back, by the river.

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Exiting Ecuador by bike 🚲
The process took around 5min. Nothing asked, bikes were not searched or anything at all.

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Border is CLOSED on the weekends at after office hours! Go early in the morning on weekdays. Took us four hours for everything, including 1.5h waiting for the people to come back from their lunch break. Internet is slow on the Ecuador side, so it takes damn long. Peru side, you'll need 3 doses of vaccine, license and moto docs. If you don't have a third dose, they can jab you right there and then. I didn't bring any photocopies, didn't need it. Bought soat in Jaén at the MAPFRE office, 240s for a month. Asked in six different places (positiva, caja trujillo and a few others) and only MAPFRE could do it for a foreign bike.

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Super easy to exit Ecuador. 10 minutes... kind agents! Very informal. Park on the side of the road... go to immigration first to get stamped out .. then turn in your tip to the aduana. If you have stickers... the aduana office loves them! Once finished, they will lift the gate and drive across the bridge to the Peru gate. We have two cats and no paperwork required to exit.

FYI... the road from Vilcamamba is slow and bumpy... but we were traveling when there was no significant rain so it was very doable in our sprinter van. It starts out paced with spots of dirt or asphalt failure... then 51 km north of the border it turns to dirt. There are narrow spots, washouts, and slides... but it is maintained quite well. During the rainy season I think the road would be MUCH WORSE! We are super happy that we chose to go this route!

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In Ecuador, immigration now has internet but aduana still sending text messages back and forth with somewhere else. Be patient.

Aduana told me they rotate new people every week, so luck here varies. Don’t expect they will know exactly what to do.

Road in from north after a week of dry wasn’t bad. Just slow. Left a report under the camping entry.

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Ecuador side took 2 hours because problem with the system, but very easy and friendly. Peru side. You need a corona vaccin +booster shot. All very fast and easy. TIP took only 15 min and was free. No insurance here. They checked the vaccines for the dog in his passport very briefly, no need for additional papers.

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As we were told by police officers in Vilcabamba and Valladolid that this border is open, we went to check. It is absolutely not possible to pass, nobody did since March. The immigration officer told us that maybe the border opens in Jan 2021.

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Easy entry. Took about 45 minutes even with computer not working. They did it by WhatsApp. There is a new 5min health screen (question only) due to corona virus concerns.

Road going north in Ecuador is muddy and slick for about 40-50km, so be careful.

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Easiest exit from Ecuador to Peru. We arrived around 10:00am. The drive here was absolutely beautiful and the gravel roads in good condition for the most part. They called to cancel our TIP, stamped and let us take a picture (they will keep your copy). While we waited, they offered if we wanted to use their bathroom or shower. Very friendly and kind men. Stamped our passport next door and we were on our way. Total time for everything was 20 minutes. We recommend this border crossing!

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Travelling with pets?

I crossed Peru-Ecuador at 5am. It took half an hour in total. They only have immigration in Ecuador, they didn’t have customs so my dog went straight through without interest.

BUT... if you’re travelling TO PERU, they do have an office for inbound animal travellers so make sure you have your papers ready. When I crossed into Peru from Chile (Tacna) I had to pay 90 /s for his entry at customs... they gave me a receipt etc.

The river water is clean, the people are really friendly, there are places to buy food, and exchange money... and there is Claro reception if you have a chip from Peru.

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From Peru to Ecuador, easy leaving, just get the exit stamp and leave the Import permit with aduana. It was maybe 2 hours to enter Ecuador. They have to wait for responses from WhatsApp. Not bad though, they didn’t even look inside or ask many questions. Super friendly. We drank a beer while we waited. We had to return to the Peru side to make photocopies of our Ecuador entry stamp & drivers license. No trouble there... we just stepped across the rope and waved.

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Crossed Ecuador to Peru. The road after Loja to here is terrible. Took over 5 hours of slow going. Checking out of Ecuador took 15 min. Phone calls to confirm end of TIP and exit stamp. (Take a photo as proof of closed TIP). Proceed across bridge to Peru mess.

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ecuador aduana opens at about 8am (that's when they eat breakfast...). save yourself some waiting by arriving at 8:30.
otherwise super easy crossing.

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Leaving Ecuador: I left Ecuador thru there last year and when I eventually rode back into Ecuador (today) at a different border they had no record of me ever leaving on their computer. I had to show them the stamp on my passport for them to believe that I ever left. So make sure you take photo and/or copies of your TIP stamped out as you leave because they might not process it correctly. All was OK in the end but still, cover yourself.

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i was travelling Ecuador-Peru.
total process took 2 hours.
everyone very friendly.
didn't check my car.

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Easy crossing and very friendly workers. They did not check the car at all.
However the process took an hour! (they sent documents via WhatsApp)
No copies, health insurance or car insurance needed.

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Same as last traveller mentioned. Exiting Peru went very smooth, entering Ecuador the Immigration is quick but the Aduana is a bit slow as he communicates with another border.
No copies needed, they make copies themself when needed.
Road from the border and until Zumba where I stay now was bad! A gnarly bumby narrow gravel road full of stones. Average speed on a moto was 20-25 km/h.

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Relatively fast and easy bordercrossing from Peru to Equador, most staff friendly, helpfull and polite. 10-15 minutes on the peruvian side, almost an hour on the Equador side as the officer seems to sends all information to another place with his phone. No hazzle though. No copies needed, the border staff take the copies themself as many as needed.

The first 50 kms of the road on the Equador side is really beaten up and bad gravel road. Dont expect to do more than 20-30 km/h at max. When its wet less. However its doable with most vehicles, just not comfortable at all.

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se Cross from Perú ti Ecuador. Migraciones y aduana Perú, certificado fast, migraciones Ecuador too, aduana Ecuador a little bit Aloe becose they do not hace system, they cold another border and did ir in the phone.

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The drive from Vilcabamba took us a little over 5 hours in our Ford E350 4x4 camper van. As stated, the first stretch is mostly paved with several unfinished dirt sections. The last 50km is a dirt single track with a few muddy sections, never requiring 4x4. Very pretty drive. We reached the border at 1:15 and had both sides completed by 2:00, just before their lunch break. We only needed copies for Peruvian TIP, 1 each of ownership document (title/registration) and owner passport. Asked and received 183 days, TIP is for 1 year. We purchased insurance in San Ignacio and have added our details in that entry.

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This was a super fast and easy border crossing--Ecuador into Peru--in November. No copies were needed.

Crossing from Peru into Ecuador today took about 3 hours total. Easy out of Peru once officials came back from lunch (they went early...)

Ecuador immigration was fast and easy, but Aduana took more than 2 hours for our 2 bikes because they do everything with WhatsApp. After it was all done, we needed 1 copy of passport/drivers license/moto paperwork/immigration paper front and back. we got it all on one piece of paper each.

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So we arrived from Peru headed to Ecuador. Peru went super quick and efficient, friendly people. Migration went super quick at Ecuador side as well. Then we went to Aduana. We needed a copy of the passport incl. entrance stamp, little form (you fill in at migration) incl. entrance stamp, drivers license and padron. We had to make the copies ourselves in the shop next door as they didnt know how it worked.. $2,50 for copies. The Aduana system didn't work at the moment (surprise!) so we had to wait about 10 minutes. They started sending photo's of all documents via WhatsApp to their colleague in another crossing who entered our information. However, apparently she was new and not to quick. They asked us for a couple of papers over and over and couldn't figure out where we are from. We are from Holland and said "Holland", "Hollanda", "Paises Bajos", "Reino de Paises Bajos" but they did not know it. Only the Antilles or Kingdom of UK (??). In the end, after repeating, whatsapping with the lady on the other side myself and laying out the map for them, they got it. If you are from Holland, The Netherlands, say Paises Bajos, otherwise they will not understand.

Additional road info:
We were very much doubting to take this crossing as we couldn't find much info of overlanders by car. We have a little van and are not to excited to drive hundreds of kilometres on dirt roads. From Chacapoyas the road is really good (asphalt) until the border. Then you cross the border where it will become a very good dirt road. It is in a good condition since it is dry now. However when it is rainy season, we wouldn't recommend crossing here, not at all if you do not have 4x4. Then from the village Bellavista the road will be a good and wide concrete road with some dirt (quite bad) parts every now and then.

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so easy. 10 minutes on ecuador side to get stamped out and hand in tip. aduana guy is the one with the key to drive over bridge. 30 minutes on peru side to get stamped in and tip for 90 days. only 2 other cars at this crossing when we were there at 9am on a thursday. best crossing yet on this trip.

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exit ecuador took maybe 5 minutes. show passports and hand in TIP. road to reach here was a bit rough. 4x4 not required but we were glad that we had it. no fees.

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Very slow. Copies can be made nearby - I needed 2 copies. Exchange rate of the copy store is quite good (SOL into USD)

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Enter Ecuador. Took about two hours due to a bad connection to transfer the information. Guess I arrived too early on a Monday morning, they looked massively hung over. Table was packed with empty beer bottles. Made me make two copies of everything just to give him more time I guess. After his Gatorade he was a lot friendlier.

Road north is a decent dirt road when dry, wet will be more challenging. It's about 40 kms until tarmac. Gas station in Zumba had petrol.

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Super easy exit from Ecuador. Gave in TIP paper (no copy needed) and then passport exit stamp next door. 5 minutes, no issues. Friendly guys.
Road from Vilcabamba is mainly tar road with about the last 50km being a easy dirt road with beautiful scenery. Last fuel stop is Zumba, first available ATM etc is San Ignacio. All tar road from border to San Ignacio.

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Easy to get out from Ecuador to Peru! The officials were playing volley... Hahaha

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regarding the road from/to vilcabamba: having read previous entries we were a bit worried about the road conditions. however, the road turned out to be way better than expected.
yes it is a dirt road. and yes, there are some parts that might get a bit muddy. But absolutely no need for a 4wd. coming from the peruvian side, the hardest part are the first couple of 100 meters (quite steep). but still, no problem on a wet day with our 2wd renault master van. plan some time and enjoy the beautiful scenery! no problem

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Get the exit stamo first and then the farmer/aduana guy will make pictures of your TIP and passport for somebody in Lojas who will type everything in the computer there. Whole process is done over WhatsApp in 10 minutes. Had to help the poor guy to search the stamp :) I wanted a copy of canceled TIP so the farmer guy payed for it at the shop next door. Fun experience for sure. Nobody really cared about the car. Asked, and was told that there is no lunch break in either side of the border anymore and it was true. Aduana guys on both sides had the key to open the gate.

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Fairly easy crossing. Ecuador less than 5'. Peru less than 40'. No copies needed. Be aware of the road from Vilcabamba. Dont even think to do it in a rainy day. Maybe it will be fine for motorbikes but for a non 4x4 van, it took us 5 hours in a dry day. Last fuel in Zumba (the gas station even has a shower). Initially, the official in Peru wanted to give us 90 days but we convinced him to give us 180 instead. Same for the CIP. No SOAT sold, no ATM. Nearest town is San Ignacio.

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Laughably easy getting out of Ecuador. 45 seconds, maximum. No copies. No money. No search.

Getting into Peru seems pretty easy as well, except the system is down so waiting for Aduana.

PS, no one will open the gates on both sides of the bridge for you. I was able to duck underneath them, but cars will have to figure out who has the keys.

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Easy border crossing. Got our Ecuador exit stamp and a wall to the Aduanas Office where we handed our our TIP and custom canceled it out. 15-20 min process.

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Peru to Ecuador. Peru was 5 minutes, Ecuador was 55 minutes. I had a giggle when the machismo aduana officer took the little USB thumb drive containing our TIP down the road to the same place where we made copies of our documents to be printed - apparently the printer on the desk in the aduana office is just for show :) We needed 1x copies of the drivers passport, drivers license and vehicle document. Otherwise it was free and the aduana guy was chatty and friendly (bonus points for the TV in the background featuring the Sex and the City movie to keep us entertained! Lol)

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From Peru to Ecuador. Peruvian side: easy and fast. Ecuadorian side: really slow. It took us around 2h30. Do the photocopy beforehand, you ll save money. As people said you need a photocopy of the passport, the driving licence and the ownership of the vehicle. And they may ask you the photocopy of the immigration paper of Ecuador (that you filling when you enter Ecuador).
I saw some shop of money exchange too.

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30min leaving Peru (immigration was not open till 7:45am), 2h entering Ecuador (they make pics of your documents by phone and send them by WhatsApp to someone who responds with some code, all kinds of things went wrong, so might be faster for you)

it rained and the unpaved steep road is not fun on a motorcycle if it gets muddy, fortunately pavement starts ~25km north of Zumba now!

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Pretty straight forward process on both ends. Came from Peru, went to Ecuador. The aduanero in Peru took the photocopies he needed himself. The aduanero in Ecuador, on the other side of the bridge, needed 40min to get an access code to proceed with the paperwork, but did it reasonably quick afterwards. Needed one hour in total. Also he only wanted one photocopy of passport, drivers license and vehicule document. There are options to make photocopies on both sides now.

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You need Three Copies of all the paperwork.

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For leaving Peru and entering Ecuador it is much the same procedure - to enter Ecuador you need a copy of your license, photo page of your passport and the title of the vehicle. Note - get these on Peruvian side as no scanner on Ecuadoran side. The connection is still slow for the Aduana and so expect a wait. Keep a straight face while the Aduana guy stands on a chair and tries to communicate your details across an awful line. Other than that, it's a pretty straight-forward crossing. Also note - as of 2015 SOAT for foreign vehicles is supposed to be no longer needed due to changes in law that now require obligatory insurance to be paid with vehicle registration. Sources say that foreign vehicles are covered by default. You still need SOAT for PERU!

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Entering Peru here was very laid back and easy. We were the only people there and it took 1 hour just because the aduana official likes to take his time. We drove on for about 3 hours to Jaen for insurance, which they did not mention or ask about at the border. (Ps- the road from Vilcabamba to La Balsa took us 4hours 45 minutes, it was paved for the first half then dirt, dry when we did it.)

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Took 2 hours to go through the procedures with the car in the customs because they don't have connection with the system and do everything by phone. They said it is always like this, so come early and have patience. Exiting Peru, one copy of the driver's passport, license and car document was required. Entering Ecuador, three copies of the same documents. For the ones traveling with pets, this border doesn't have any control for them and friends' dog passed freely.

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