Must I present criminal records for the Ecuador Working Holiday Visa?

Written by Volare | May 27, 2026

When preparing your consular file to travel to South America, verifying an impeccable conduct is an unavoidable step. Below, we detail the requirements regarding the police record to apply for this exchange program.

Mandatory requirement by nationality

Applies strictly to all eligible nationalities within the bilateral agreements (Australia, France, and Hungary): Yes. It is mandatory to present an official criminal record certificate (police record) covering the last 5 years of residence, duly apostilled and with a recent issue date that generally should not be older than 3 to 6 months prior to the application.

Technical specifications and legal validation

In legal terms, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility executes this security control rigorously and inexcusably to confirm that applicants lack a criminal history. The document must be issued exclusively by the competent federal or national authority of your country of origin or current residence.

It is crucial to remember that, due to the strict digitization rules of the Virtual Consulate platform, this certificate must always be uploaded accompanied by its respective translation into Spanish (prepared by an authorized public expert) if it was originally issued in English, French, or Hungarian. Furthermore, it is imperative to keep the seal of The Hague Apostille completely visible and legalized in the scan. Successfully overcoming this background audit certifies your status as a reliable traveler, guaranteeing a peaceful and safe entry into the Andean territory.

To ensure you have the appropriate support and the most detailed information at every step of your application, we recommend consulting the complete guide on Volare's Ecuador Working Holiday Visa (WHV).