Ecuador draws British visitors for two very different reasons: the Andean highlands around Quito, and the Galapagos, one of the most tightly protected archipelagos on earth. Those two draws create two very different repatriation cases, and the difference matters enormously for how long a family should expect to wait.
The Fiscalia’s role
For any death that isn’t straightforwardly natural, jurisdiction passes to the Fiscalia General del Estado, Ecuador’s prosecutor’s office. It orders a forensic post-mortem, and the body cannot be released until that process concludes and the Fiscalia issues its clearance. This is, without question, the single document that determines the pace of an Ecuadorian case.
A routine accident investigation usually resolves within 10 to 14 days. Where there’s any suggestion of criminal involvement, the timeline extends, sometimes considerably, and there’s no reliable way to predict by how much until the investigation is under way.
When the death happens on the Galapagos
Distance changes everything here. The islands lie around 1,000 kilometres from the Ecuadorian mainland, and nothing about the wider process, including the Fiscalia’s investigation, can start until the deceased has been evacuated to Guayaquil. Local island police make the notification to the mainland Fiscalia, but the physical transfer itself, by commercial or charter flight, adds two to four days on top of everything else. Families planning around a Galapagos death should factor this in from the very first phone call.
Contacting support
The FCDO Emergency Travel Line, 020 7008 5000, is the right first call, available around the clock. The British Embassy in Quito, at Naciones Unidas Avenida y Republica del Salvador, can also be reached directly on +593 2 397 2200 and will guide families through what the Fiscalia process requires locally.
Two airports, one likely route home
Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport serves the Andean highlands; Guayaquil’s Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport serves the Pacific coast and is the usual departure point for Galapagos-linked cases once the mainland transfer is complete. From either, there’s no direct service to the UK. American Airlines via Miami to Heathrow is the established route, with Avianca via Bogota as an alternative. Build in an extra day or two for the connection.
Read how long does repatriation take for how investigation-led delays like Ecuador’s compare with other countries, or see repatriation from Ecuador to the UK for the full process.
Contact Repatriate Service on +44 7703 577246 at any hour, or use the enquiry form below.