Working illegaly in Ecuador

Im just wondering what the procedures are about getting a work visa?

Im going there to study Spanish, but I also want to work a little bit on the side to help prolong my stay there. Im thinking maybe getting a job as a waiter or something along those lines. Will it be worth it to get a work visa or will I be better off working under the table? How common is that and what are the possible consequences?

Ecuador has a shockingly high unemployment rate, just finding a little bit of work on the side would be neither easy nor particularly ethical.
A friend of mine who ended up teaching English in Quito also warned me that for the pittance you get paid, it's often not actually worth the effort. My experience in SA is that, as the countries are still developing, people work long hours, and for unskilled work (ie bar work) have to accept whatever they can get (in terms of wages and conditions).

You'd be better off doing voluntary work in exchange for a place to stay, and if you're lucky a meal or two, have a hunt round for places once you get there. You can also try working on an organic farm, not practical if you are receiving classes in a city, but once your classes finish you could stay for free on an Ecuadorian-run farm, which would be invaluable for your Spanish.

You could teach and learn spanish in riobamba.

There is auniversity here that employes foreigners as teachers for chatting and teaching.. you could live here and learn spanish the old way... comunicating with locals.. to me the best way to learn,... you could earn a good income enough to sustain you in riobamba which is not as expensive as Cuenca or Quito!
E mail me for info!
Wlady

You can probably get a job as a waiter easily anywhere in the Mariscal, especially if you speak a bit of Spanish. Don't expect to get payed a lot though. The hours will be terrible too. If you only want to do this for a few weeks or a month, don't worry about getting an expensive working visa. This will cost you more than you will make in a month.

This being said, I do agree with Katie. <blockquote>Quote
<hr>Ecuador has a shockingly high unemployment rate, just finding a little bit of work on the side would be neither easy nor particularly ethical.<hr></blockquote> Consider this carefully....