Guidance

Ecuador: Knowledge Base profile

Published 11 August 2025

Version 2.0

About: Ecuador

This document contains useful information about Ecuador which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 2.0
• published for Home Office staff on 7 August 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with formatting changes.

Ecuador: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Ecuador.

In Ecuador, names usually consist of:

• 2 forenames
• 2 surnames (father’s first surname and mother’s first surname)

Where there is only one parent, their full surname will be given to the child. If the parent only has one surname, the surname will be written and registered twice.

If a child was born in the UK and they hold only one surname, the child can be registered in Ecuador with the single surname shown on their UK birth certificate.

Change of name

Names changes are allowed in Ecuador and must be registered with the Civil Registry Office.

Ecuador citizens can only change their name once; this can be done if they:

• are 18 years or older
• have used a surname (not found on their birth registration) exclusively and continuously for over 10 consecutive years:
  • any child under 10 years old must have used the new surname exclusively for their entire life

In Ecuador, women keep their own name after marriage.

If a married woman decides to use her husband’s surname for social purposes, it will be added after her name with the prefix ‘de’. No name changes will be made to her identity documents or Ecuador passport.

The Ecuador passport will include an observation confirming who the woman is married to.

Name alignment

If a child was born in the UK and they hold only one surname, the child can be registered in Ecuador with the single surname shown on their UK birth certificate.

If the surname is replicated twice on an Ecuador passport due to naming convention, we would require names to be aligned.

Ecuador: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Ecuador.

Dual nationality is recognised in Ecuador.

Ecuador: legitimacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy in Ecuador.

Legitimacy

Ecuador recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate:
  • if the parents were married at the time of birth
  • if the parents marry after the birth
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

Ecuador: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Ecuador.

Adoption is legal in Ecuador.

Same sex couples are not allowed to adopt a child.

Ecuador: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Ecuador.

Surrogacy is legal in Ecuador.

Ecuador: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Ecuador.

Transgender citizens are not recognised in Ecuador.

Ecuador: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Ecuador.

Civil partnerships and Civil unions, known as ‘de facto unions’ in Ecuador, are recognised through a Public Notary or Judge, with the same rights as a married couple.

Same sex marriages are recognised in Ecuador.

There is a religious and civil aspect to marriages in Ecuador. The religious part of the ceremony is optional, but the civil ceremony is mandatory.

Polygamous marriage is not recognised in Ecuador.

Ecuador: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Ecuador.

Birth certificates

All births must be registered in Ecuador within 60 days of the birth at the Civil Registry Office (Registro Civil).

Late registration is allowed.

Late birth registration for Ecuador citizens aged 18 years or older incurs a fee and may need judicial authorisation and an affidavit.

Birth certificates are issued following birth registration when the hospital or doctor certificate is issued and submitted to the local registry office.

The Civil Registry Office in Ecuador holds all birth records.

There are two types of birth certificate in circulation, these are:

• standard version, not acceptable for passport purposes
• longer version, known as a ‘partida integra’, acceptable for British passport purposes

The ‘partida integra’ shows the full birth record including any changes or additions in the marginal notes section. Marginal notes are not shown on a standard version of the birth certificate.

The parents’ names will be recorded on the birth record.

Death certificates

Death records in Ecuador are held on a central register.

Death can be registered up to 60 days following the death.

Death registration completed within 48 hours is free.

There are several types of death certificate, depending on the clinic, hospital or place where the death took place.

Identity documents

A mandatory identity card known as a ‘censo empadronamiento’ is issued to all holders of immigrant visas; these are issued regionally.

Identity cards, driving licences and voting cards are laminated.

Digital documents

From June 2017, the Civil Registry Office in Ecuador changed the way certificates were issued.

All official certificates (for example birth, death or marriage certificates) are now issued in a digital format, including a:

• digital signature
• barcode

The barcode on the digital certificate will be unique to the certificate and used to validate the document.

These certificates can be requested online via the Ecuador government website or in person at any civil registry office in Ecuador. Whether the customer requests a certificate online or in person, the format of the document will be the same.

The certificates can be checked online at the portal unico de tramites ciudadanos website. A PDF version of the document will be issued and must be downloaded and printed within 60 days of issue.