El Salvador

Visa types: Residencia Temporal por Trabajo (formularios F2/F3) — arts. 108–110 Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (LEME, Decree No. 286 of 02 April 2019): up to two years with renewal, for economic, scientific, academic, cultural, or sporting activity, as well as for technicians and skilled workers. Residence status alone does not confer the right to paid employment — a separate ruling from the Ministry of Labour (Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social) is required, which must be issued within 30 working days, otherwise it is deemed positive (art. 122 LEME). · Residencia Temporal Rentista (F8) — art. 109 para. 5 and art. 145 LEME: one year with renewal, requiring a stable monthly income from abroad of at least four minimum wages of the trade and services sector (as of 1 June 2025, the minimum wage for this sector is US$408.80, per a decree of the National Minimum Wage Council; the threshold for rentistas is thus from US$1,635.20 per month), or at least six minimum wages (US$2,452.80) if accompanied by two or more family members. Paid work is prohibited, except for specialised work or teaching at public institutions. · Residencia Temporal Pensionado (F7) — art. 109 para. 6 and art. 144 LEME: one year with renewal, requiring a stable monthly pension from abroad of at least three minimum wages of the trade and services sector (from US$1,226.40 per month as of 1 June 2025). The same work restrictions as for rentistas. · Residencia Temporal Inversionista (F4) — arts. 90 and 109 para. 1 LEME: up to two years with renewal, for holders of active investments in the country meeting the criteria of a separate law — the Ley de Inversiones; no specific minimum amount is set in LEME itself. · Residencia Temporal Accionista (F11) — art. 109 para. 13 LEME, only for persons not from Central America: up to two years with renewal, requiring a subscribed and paid-in contribution of at least US$10,000 to the capital of a Salvadoran company. · Residencia Temporal Comerciante Individual (F12) — art. 109 para. 14 LEME, only for persons not from Central America: up to two years with renewal, for the owner of a commercial enterprise with assets of at least US$2,500. · Residencia Temporal por Matrimonio o Unión no Matrimonial (F9) — art. 109 para. 9 and arts. 120–121 LEME: up to two years with renewal; retained even after divorce or the death of the Salvadoran spouse.

The Freedom Visa (residence by cryptocurrency investment, announced by the government in 2023 alongside the Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales) is not confirmed by official sources: the Legislative Assembly's search tool for laws and decrees (the full lists of decrees for 2019 and 2022–2026 were checked) contains no separate law on it; migracion.gob.sv (including the 'Programas' section and via internal search) does not mention the programme; nor is it mentioned on the website of the digital-asset regulator cnad.gob.sv (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales) or the National Bitcoin Office bitcoin.gob.sv. All descriptions of its terms found (investment amount, operator, duration) come from legal blogs and crypto media, which disagree with one another, and are therefore not included in this guide.

Permanent residence after

3 years

Citizenship after

5 years

Language

No separate Spanish-language exam for residence or citizenship was found in LEME or the Constitution. For naturalisation (not applicable to natives of Central America, who obtain citizenship 'by birth'), art. 266 LEME requires a 'prueba de conocimiento histórico y cultural de El Salvador' — an exam on knowledge of the country's history and culture, presumably conducted in Spanish. For residence itself (temporary and permanent) there are no language requirements in the law.

Dual citizenship

allowed

Dual citizenship: Salvadorans 'by birth' (salvadoreños por nacimiento) — including natives of Central America who obtained citizenship under the simplified procedure of art. 90 para. 3 of the Constitution — are entitled to dual and multiple citizenship without restriction (art. 91 of the Constitution); renouncing prior citizenship is not required. For citizenship through naturalisation (art. 92), the law does not explicitly require renouncing one's original citizenship, but art. 159 para. 7 LEME requires attaching to the application a certificate from the embassy or consulate of the country of origin confirming that country PERMITS dual citizenship; art. 93 of the Constitution also stipulates that retaining prior citizenship for persons not from Central America is governed by international treaties on a reciprocal basis. In other words, El Salvador itself does not require renunciation, but the actual ability to keep a second citizenship depends on the laws of the applicant's country of origin.

Absence limits: Temporary residence: lost upon continuous absence exceeding 3 months, or exceeding 4 months in total within a calendar year (migracion.gob.sv, 'Extranjería' section, FAQ); this is consistent with art. 119 LEME, which requires being in the country at least 90 calendar days a year. Pensioner and rentista residents are subject to a separate, more lenient rule: they lose status upon absence exceeding 6 months in a row or in total within a calendar year (art. 148 LEME). Permanent residence (residencia definitiva): absence of up to 2 years is allowed without loss of status, with a possible extension of a further 1 year by permission of the migration authority (art. 154 LEME). Separately, for NATURALISED citizenship (not residence): under art. 94 of the Constitution, citizenship is lost upon residing more than 2 consecutive years in the country of origin, or upon absence from El Salvador for more than 5 consecutive years.

The general naturalisation path (art. 92 of the Constitution and art. 156 LEME): 5 years' residence in the country (temporary and permanent residence are cumulative) for persons of any origin; 1 year of residence for Spaniards and persons of Latin American origin; 2 years of residence (before or after marriage) for the spouse of a Salvadoran citizen. A separate expedited procedure is provided for investors and donors to state investment-promotion programmes (art. 156 para. 5 LEME); the law itself does not specify timeframes. A special regional regime applies for Central America: natives of the countries that formed the Federal Republic of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) obtain Salvadoran citizenship NOT through naturalisation but 'by birth' (art. 90 para. 3 of the Constitution, art. 155 LEME) — by simple application, provided they are domiciled in the country and have just one year of permanent residence (residencia definitiva). Permanent residence for Central Americans by birth, in turn, is granted immediately upon entry or immediately after temporary residence, without the general 3-year requirement (art. 152 paras. 1–2 LEME) — meaning the entire path from entry to citizenship for citizens of these countries can take around a year instead of several years under the general path. Sources: Constitución de la República (text from asamblea.gob.sv, arts. 90–94), Decreto Legislativo No. 286 'Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería' of 02 April 2019 (asamblea.gob.sv), arts. 151–159.

Document certification

apostille

The country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention: a degree or certificate is authenticated with a single apostille in the country that issued it.

Limit

no limit

Quarantine

no

Antibody titre test

not needed

The authority is MAG (Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería), service 'Autorizaciones de importación de mascotas', processed by the Quarantine Division (División de Cuarentena) in Santa Tecla, as well as at the international airport, land borders, and ports. Import of dogs, cats, and rabbits is permitted (rabbits are subject to an additional check depending on the country of origin's veterinary status). The full list of official general requirements: an import application (form available on the website), a veterinary passport/vaccination certificate (original or copy) from the country of origin, an official veterinary certificate (zoosanitario) from the country of origin, and payment of a fee. This list contains no quarantine, no rabies antibody titre requirement, and no list of banned breeds — so these are marked as absent; no official document with more detailed technical requirements (e.g. minimum age or vaccination timing before departure) was found on the MAG website. The permit is valid for 30 days and is single-use (import only, not export); the cost of the permit itself is US$9.04. Source: mag.gob.sv/autorizaciones-de-importacion-de-mascotas/.

Bread, 500 g

$ 2,53

Milk, 1 l

$ 1,81

Eggs, 12

$ 2,68

Chicken breast, 1 kg

$ 6,53

Cheese, 1 kg

$ 7,67

Rice, 1 kg

$ 1,38

Potatoes, 1 kg

$ 2,35

Apples, 1 kg

$ 4,39

Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 l

$ 2,10

Total

$ 31,4

The same set for every country, so the comparison is fair.

Rent, 1 bedroom

$ 652 a month

Rent, 3 bedrooms

$ 1 159 a month

Utility bills

$ 108 a month

Home internet

$ 40,7 a month

Monthly transport pass

$ 21,9 a month

Single transport ticket

$ 0,34

Petrol, litre

$ 1,11

Cold medicine

$ 6,69 for a week

Country averages. City prices, where collected, are shown above and are more precise.

Life expectancy

72,3 years2024

Homicides

3,3 per 100k2024

Road deaths

21,5 per 100k2021

Unemployment

3,3 %2025

Unemployment, ages 15–24

7,8 %2025

Inequality (Gini)

39,82023

Health spending per person

$ 501 a year

Air pollution, PM2.5

29,6 µg/m³2023

Access to clean water

91,6 %2024

Internet, fixed line

130,6 Mbit/s2026

Internet, mobile

37,6 Mbit/s2026

Governance

Political stability

above average · 0

Control of corruption

below average · -0,6

Rule of law

below average · -0,7

Government effectiveness

below average · -0,2

World Bank estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale, higher is better.

Natural hazards

Earthquakes

9,2 out of 10

River floods

3,5 out of 10

Coastal floods

4,3 out of 10

Tropical cyclones

1,3 out of 10

Droughts

3,6 out of 10

Tsunamis

7,6 out of 10

Each value carries the year it refers to. “Data lags behind” means this country's figure was collected noticeably earlier than the rest. Natural hazards use one 0–10 scale and are meant to be compared against each other.

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