Ecuador 4x4 family packages from the US: free consular registration

Ecuadorians who have lived abroad for more than six months can register free of charge in the Foreign Ministry’s Migrant Validation System (SIVALMI), at serviciopaqueteria.cancilleria.gob.ec, to send non-commercial packages to relatives in Ecuador. According to the ministry, that registration “es indispensable para la validación ante el Servicio Nacional de Aduana del Ecuador (SENAE)” — it is required for validation with Ecuador’s National Customs Service. With it, relatives can receive packages of up to 4 kilograms and an FOB value of up to one unified basic salary (salario básico unificado), exempt from tariffs and with no limit on the number of shipments (Article 15 of the Organic Law on Human Mobility, as reformed in 2024; gob.ec pages checked October 3, 2026).

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Key facts

ItemDetail (checked October 3, 2026)
Who registers youMinistry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (consulates)
SystemSIVALMI — serviciopaqueteria.cancilleria.gob.ec
Registration feeFree
Who registersEcuadorians who have lived abroad for more than six months
Who receivesRelatives in Ecuador up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity
Weight per packageUp to 4 kg
Value per packageFOB of no more than one unified basic salary
Number of shipmentsNo limit; Customs monitoring above 36 per year (2024 law)
AvailabilityOnline registration 24/7
ValidityAs long as you live abroad

Sources: the gob.ec page “Validación de registro del servicio de paquetería 4x4 para ecuatorianos en el exterior” (June 10, 2025), the SENAE gob.ec page on express courier imports (January 14, 2026) and Resolution SENAE-SENAE-2024-0093-RE (August 30, 2024).

Who can register and who can receive

The Foreign Ministry page says the service is for “personas naturales ecuatorianas que residen en el exterior por más de seis meses y que necesitan enviar paquetes (sin fines comerciales) a sus familiares que viven en el Ecuador (únicamente familiares hasta el cuarto grado de consanguinidad y segundo de afinidad)” — Ecuadorians living abroad for more than six months who send non-commercial packages to relatives in Ecuador, only up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity.

The law’s regulation, summarized on the same page, adds three conditions: having lived outside the country for at least six months, being registered with a consulate or diplomatic mission, and having registered the relatives in Ecuador. It also says Customs and the Civil Registry will check that the information and the family relationship are true, and that if they find false data they may start administrative and legal action.

Requirements

  1. Cédula number.
  2. Email address.
  3. Current home address.
  4. Contact mobile number.

Proof of residence: “En caso de requerir presentar una prueba de residencia, puede presentar una planilla de agua, luz, teléfono u otro servicio en la cual conste la dirección del domicilio registrada en el sistema” — if proof of residence is required, a water, electricity, phone or other utility bill showing the registered address can be presented.

Step by step

  1. Create your user with your Ecuadorian cédula number and date of birth at serviciopaqueteria.cancilleria.gob.ec.
  2. Enter your personal details: email, contact phone, country of birth, country of residence, city of residence and current home address.
  3. Wait for validation: “un funcionario del Consulado se contacte vía telefónica o mediante correo electrónico para validar la información registrada en el sistema” (a consulate official contacts you by phone or email to validate the information). Validation happens during office hours in the country’s time zone.
  4. Register your relatives: once approved, return to the platform to register the relatives living in Ecuador who will receive packages. The SENAE page details what is registered for each relative: full name, cédula and home address.

The page lists email, the online platform and phone as the service channels. The Foreign Ministry’s own appointment system (citas.cancilleria.gob.ec) shows a notice, “SERVICIOS DE 4X4 - ENVÍO DE PAQUETERÍA,” pointing to serviciopaqueteria.cancilleria.gob.ec.

What the law says about shipments

Article 15 of the Organic Law on Human Mobility, replaced by the reform published in Official Register 582 of June 19, 2024 and quoted in Resolution SENAE-SENAE-2024-0093-RE:

“Las personas ecuatorianas en el exterior tienen derecho a que el Estado ecuatoriano garantice la exención de aranceles y el establecimiento de servicios especializados para el envío de paquetería que contenga bienes de uso para el número familiar radicado en el Ecuador, siempre que el peso sea igual o menor a los cuatro kilogramos por paquete y el valor FOB sea menor o igual a un salario básico unificado, sin límite en el número de envíos.”

(Ecuadorians abroad are entitled to tariff exemption and specialized services for packages of goods for their family in Ecuador, provided each package weighs 4 kg or less and its FOB value is at most one unified basic salary, with no limit on the number of shipments.)

The SENAE page adds: “El Comité de Comercio Exterior (Comex) resolvió exonerar a los migrantes que constan en el registro consular del pago del arancel de 42 dólares” — the Foreign Trade Committee exempted migrants in the consular registry from the 42-dollar tariff.

Category G vs. Category B (“4 X 4”)

The name “4x4” is used for two different things. On the SENAE page about express courier imports:

Category B: “4 X 4”Category G: “Número familiar de migrante ecuatoriano”
WeightUp to 4 kgUp to 4 kg per package
FOB valueUp to USD 400.00Up to one unified basic salary
ForNon-commercial goodsRelatives in Ecuador of a migrant registered with the consulate
Payment“Esta categoría si paga impuestos: $20.00 USD” (pays USD 20.00)Tariff exemption (Art. 15 of the law)
Annual capUSD 1,600.00 FOB per recipient per fiscal year (Resolution 008-2022 COMEX)No limit on the number of shipments

36 or 24 packages a year: two official texts

  • The law as reformed in 2024 (Art. 15, quoted in Resolution SENAE-SENAE-2024-0093-RE): Customs will carry out “acciones de seguimiento y control” (monitoring and control) when the number of packages sent by the same person “supere los treinta y seis (36) en un año” (exceeds 36 in a year). The resolution orders profiling of senders who exceed 36 shipments in a calendar year.
  • The SENAE page on gob.ec (updated January 14, 2026) still reproduces the earlier text: “supere los veinticuatro (24) en un año” (exceeds 24 in a year).

Neither figure is a cap: both sources say “sin límite en el número de envíos.” The 36 figure is the one in the text of the law as reformed in 2024, quoted by the SENAE resolution.

What the sources do not settle

  • The amount of the unified basic salary. None of the official sources checked publishes the current dollar amount of the salario básico unificado, which is the per-package FOB cap. Confirm it with SENAE or your courier company.
  • The 2025 USD 20 fee. The legal basis on the Foreign Ministry page cites Resolution 006-2025 of the Foreign Trade Committee (Comex), which, according to the page’s summary, sets a fee of 20 dollars per package for packages sent to Ecuador by express courier, applied from June 16, 2025. Neither that page nor the SENAE page says whether the fee reaches Category G shipments. Ask the courier company or SENAE before you ship.

Your US immigration status

The registration requirements are your Ecuadorian cédula, email, address and mobile number; they do not ask for US immigration documents. The condition is living abroad for more than six months, and the proof of residence the page mentions is a utility bill showing the registered address.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Customs rules and courier fees change. Verify directly with Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry and with Ecuador’s National Customs Service (SENAE). Not legal advice.