Ecuador Suspends Visa Waiver With China Amid ‘Unusual’ Surge in Chinese Nationals

Chinese nationals entered Ecuador 48,381 times in 2023 but only exited 24,240 times, according to a report citing official government data.

A Border Patrol agent apprehends a large group of mostly Chinese illegal immigrants who crossed the U.S.–Mexico border, at Jacumba, Calif., on June 6, 2024. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Ecuador says that it has temporarily suspended a visa waiver agreement with China, citing a “worrying increase in migratory flows from China.”

Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility stated in a June 19 social media post that there was an “unusual increase” of Chinese nationals entering the country in recent months.