El Salvador visa requirements · checked 26 September 2026

Visa & Entry Requirements for El Salvador

Q: What documents do I need to enter El Salvador?

Passport validity: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says every foreigner seeking to enter El Salvador must present a passport valid for more than six months, unless a treaty, convention or agreement on the matter applies or the foreigner is in transit through the country to their country of origin or residence. Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for entry to El Salvador. Return or onward ticket: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must have a return or onward ticket when travelling by commercial transport; a private aircraft must present its flight plan, and sea transport the navigation plan showing the port of destination. Proof of funds: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must show documents proving solvency or economic capacity, according to the means of proof and minimum amount set by the Dirección General.

Q: How long can I stay in El Salvador without a visa?

Up to 90 days for every visa-free passport.

Q: How many countries can visit El Salvador without a visa?

88 of 198 passports can enter El Salvador visa-free (44%). 3 can apply online (eVisa or eTA), and 107 need a visa from an embassy.

Most travellers need a visa for El Salvador: 107 of 198 passports must apply at an embassy or consulate, while 88 passports enter visa-free.

El Salvador's Foreign Ministry sorts passports into category A (exempt from visa), category B (consular visa without consultation) and category C (consulted visa), and its migration law treats tourists as staying up to 90 calendar days. The UK and Canadian governments say their citizens do not need a visa. The UK government says you can travel between El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua for up to 90 days without a visa, and that the 90-day period starts when you enter any of these countries and does not restart when you cross borders.

Check your passport

Your passport

Destination

Passports visa-free

eVisa or eTA online

107

Embassy visa required

Do I need a visa for El Salvador? Quick answers

Another passport? Use the checker or find it in the table below.

Visa for El Salvador — requirements summary

Visa-free: 88 (44%)
eVisa: 3 (2%)
Visa required: 107 (54%)

All travellers must meet the entry rules set by El Salvador, and they depend on your nationality. Find your passport below — you may be able to enter visa-free, or need an eVisa, a visa on arrival or a visa from an embassy.

Passport	Requirement	Max stay	Details
Afghanistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Albania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Algeria	Visa required	—	Details →
Andorra	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Angola	Visa required	—	Details →
Antigua and Barbuda	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Argentina	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Armenia	Visa required	—	Details →
Australia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Austria	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Azerbaijan	Visa required	—	Details →
Bahamas	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Bahrain	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Bangladesh	Visa required	—	Details →
Barbados	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Belarus	Visa required	—	Details →
Belgium	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Belize	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Benin	Visa required	—	Details →
Bhutan	Visa required	—	Details →
Bolivia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa required	—	Details →
Botswana	Visa required	—	Details →
Brazil	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Brunei	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Bulgaria	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Burkina Faso	Visa required	—	Details →
Burundi	Visa required	—	Details →
Cambodia	Visa required	—	Details →
Cameroon	Visa required	—	Details →
Canada	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Cape Verde	Visa required	—	Details →
Central African Republic	Visa required	—	Details →
Chad	Visa required	—	Details →
Chile	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
China	Visa required	—	Details →
Colombia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Comoros	Visa required	—	Details →
Costa Rica	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Côte d'Ivoire	Visa required	—	Details →
Croatia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Cuba	Visa required	—	Details →
Cyprus	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Czechia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Denmark	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Djibouti	Visa required	—	Details →
Dominica	Visa required	—	Details →
Dominican Republic	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
DR Congo	Visa required	—	Details →
Ecuador	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Egypt	Visa required	—	Details →
Equatorial Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Eritrea	Visa required	—	Details →
Estonia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Eswatini	Visa required	—	Details →
Ethiopia	Visa required	—	Details →
Fiji	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Finland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
France	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Gabon	Visa required	—	Details →
Gambia	Visa required	—	Details →
Georgia	Visa required	—	Details →
Germany	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Ghana	Visa required	—	Details →
Greece	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Grenada	Visa required	—	Details →
Guatemala	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Guinea-Bissau	Visa required	—	Details →
Guyana	Visa required	—	Details →
Haiti	Visa required	—	Details →
Honduras	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Hong Kong	eVisa	—	Details →
Hungary	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Iceland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
India	Visa required	—	Details →
Indonesia	Visa required	—	Details →
Iran	Visa required	—	Details →
Iraq	Visa required	—	Details →
Ireland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Israel	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Italy	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Jamaica	Visa required	—	Details →
Japan	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Jordan	Visa required	—	Details →
Kazakhstan	Visa required	—	Details →
Kenya	Visa required	—	Details →
Kiribati	Visa required	—	Details →
Kosovo	Visa required	—	Details →
Kuwait	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Kyrgyzstan	Visa required	—	Details →
Laos	Visa required	—	Details →
Latvia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Lebanon	Visa required	—	Details →
Lesotho	Visa required	—	Details →
Liberia	Visa required	—	Details →
Libya	Visa required	—	Details →
Liechtenstein	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Lithuania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Luxembourg	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Macau	eVisa	—	Details →
Madagascar	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Malawi	Visa required	—	Details →
Malaysia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Maldives	Visa required	—	Details →
Mali	Visa required	—	Details →
Malta	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Marshall Islands	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Mauritania	Visa required	—	Details →
Mauritius	Visa required	—	Details →
Mexico	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Micronesia	Visa required	—	Details →
Moldova	Visa required	—	Details →
Monaco	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Mongolia	Visa required	—	Details →
Montenegro	Visa required	—	Details →
Morocco	Visa required	—	Details →
Mozambique	Visa required	—	Details →
Myanmar	Visa required	—	Details →
Namibia	Visa required	—	Details →
Nauru	Visa required	—	Details →
Nepal	Visa required	—	Details →
Netherlands	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
New Zealand	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Nicaragua	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Niger	Visa required	—	Details →
Nigeria	Visa required	—	Details →
North Korea	Visa required	—	Details →
North Macedonia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Norway	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Oman	Visa required	—	Details →
Pakistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Palau	Visa required	—	Details →
Palestine	Visa required	—	Details →
Panama	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Papua New Guinea	Visa required	—	Details →
Paraguay	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Peru	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Philippines	Visa required	—	Details →
Poland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Portugal	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Qatar	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	—	Details →
Romania	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Russia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Rwanda	Visa required	—	Details →
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Saint Lucia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Samoa	Visa required	—	Details →
San Marino	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Sao Tome and Principe	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Saudi Arabia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Senegal	Visa required	—	Details →
Serbia	Visa required	—	Details →
Seychelles	Visa required	—	Details →
Sierra Leone	Visa required	—	Details →
Singapore	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Slovakia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Slovenia	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Solomon Islands	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Somalia	Visa required	—	Details →
South Africa	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
South Korea	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
South Sudan	eVisa	—	Details →
Spain	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Sri Lanka	Visa required	—	Details →
Sudan	Visa required	—	Details →
Suriname	Visa required	—	Details →
Sweden	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Switzerland	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Syria	Visa required	—	Details →
Taiwan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tajikistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tanzania	Visa required	—	Details →
Thailand	Visa required	—	Details →
Timor-Leste	Visa required	—	Details →
Togo	Visa required	—	Details →
Tonga	Visa required	—	Details →
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Tunisia	Visa required	—	Details →
Türkiye	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Turkmenistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Tuvalu	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Uganda	Visa required	—	Details →
Ukraine	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
United Arab Emirates	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
United Kingdom	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
United States	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Uruguay	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Uzbekistan	Visa required	—	Details →
Vanuatu	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Vatican City	Visa-free	90 days	Details →
Venezuela	Visa required	—	Details →
Vietnam	Visa required	—	Details →
Yemen	Visa required	—	Details →
Zambia	Visa required	—	Details →
Zimbabwe	Visa required	—	Details →

El Salvador visa types, fees and processing times

Consular visa (B) or consulted visa (C)

Embassy

Max stay: 90 days
Extension: +90 days

Fee and processing time not published — confirm with the embassy or consulate before you apply.

Extension of stay for non-residents (Prórroga de Permanencia)

Extension

Max stay: 90 days
Extension: +90 days

Fee and processing time not published — confirm with the embassy or consulate before you apply.

Entry requirements for El Salvador

Passport validity

6 months

El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says every foreigner seeking to enter El Salvador must present a passport valid for more than six months, unless a treaty, convention or agreement on the matter applies or the foreigner is in transit through the country to their country of origin or residence. The UK government says that to enter El Salvador your passport must have an expiry date at least 6 months after the day you arrive.

Diario Oficial No. 96, Tomo 423 (28 May 2019) — Decreto Ejecutivo No. 35: Reglamento de la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería✓ Checked 10 Oct 2026

Vaccinations: Yellow fever

The UK government says that to enter El Salvador you must have a certificate to prove you've had a yellow fever vaccination if you're coming from a country listed as a transmission risk.

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — El Salvador entry requirements✓ Checked 3 Oct 2026

Travel insurance

No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for entry to El Salvador.

Diario Oficial No. 96, Tomo 423 (28 May 2019) — Decreto Ejecutivo No. 35: Reglamento de la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería✓ Checked 10 Oct 2026

Return or onward ticket

El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must have a return or onward ticket when travelling by commercial transport; a private aircraft must present its flight plan, and sea transport the navigation plan showing the port of destination. Canada's travel advice says customs officials may ask you to show a return or onward ticket and proof of sufficient funds to cover the cost of your stay.

Diario Oficial No. 96, Tomo 423 (28 May 2019) — Decreto Ejecutivo No. 35: Reglamento de la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería✓ Checked 10 Oct 2026

Proof of funds

El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must show documents proving solvency or economic capacity, according to the means of proof and minimum amount set by the Dirección General. No official source we could read states that amount. Canada's travel advice says customs officials may ask you to show proof of sufficient funds to cover the cost of your stay.

Diario Oficial No. 96, Tomo 423 (28 May 2019) — Decreto Ejecutivo No. 35: Reglamento de la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería✓ Checked 10 Oct 2026

Registration after arrival

Owners, managers or persons in charge of hotels, guesthouses and similar commit a serious migration infraction if they fail to record foreign persons in the Guest Book or fail to send the report on foreign guests to the General Directorate. The fine is two to ten monthly minimum wages of the commerce and services sector.

Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador — Decreto N° 286, Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería✓ Checked 12 Oct 2026

Overstay penalties

The UK government says that if you overstay your visa, you may have to pay a fine before leaving the country.

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — El Salvador travel advice✓ Checked 12 Oct 2026

Customs allowances

USD 10,000

The UK government says to declare cash or travellers' cheques if the value is USD 10,000 or more.

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — El Salvador entry requirements✓ Checked 3 Oct 2026

El Salvador visa requirements statistics

198

Passports covered

107

Most common: Visa required

Least common: eVisa

44%

Visa-free access

Visa-free stays by length

90 days · 88 passports

Understanding El Salvador visa requirements

We track the entry rules of El Salvador for 198 passports. The most common situation is visa required, which applies to 107 passports (54%). 44% of passports can enter without a visa. The least common is eVisa (3 passports).

Entry categories for El Salvador

Visa-free entry: 88 passports can enter without a visa, for up to 90 days.
eVisa: 3 passports can apply for an electronic visa online.
Visa required: 107 passports must apply at an embassy or consulate.

What else you need to enter El Salvador

Passport validity: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says every foreigner seeking to enter El Salvador must present a passport valid for more than six months, unless a treaty, convention or agreement on the matter applies or the foreigner is in transit through the country to their country of origin or residence.
Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for entry to El Salvador.
Return or onward ticket: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must have a return or onward ticket when travelling by commercial transport; a private aircraft must present its flight plan, and sea transport the navigation plan showing the port of destination.
Proof of funds: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must show documents proving solvency or economic capacity, according to the means of proof and minimum amount set by the Dirección General.

Open your passport in the table for the exact rules — maximum stay, fees, how to apply and the official source. Entry rules change at short notice: confirm with the embassy of El Salvador or its official immigration website before you travel.

Frequently asked questions about El Salvador visas

Do I need a visa for El Salvador?

It depends on your passport. El Salvador's Foreign Ministry sorts passports into category A (exempt from visa), category B (consular visa without consultation) and category C (consulted visa), and its migration law treats tourists as staying up to 90 calendar days. The UK government says British visitors can travel to El Salvador for tourism or business without a visa, and Canada says Canadians need no tourist visa.

Do visitors still need the entry card (tourist card)?

The consolidated text of the Special Migration and Aliens Act published by El Salvador's Supreme Court shows Article 328, on the entry card (Tarjeta Migratoria de Ingreso), as repealed by Decreto Legislativo No. 286 of 30 April 2025. No official source we could read states a current fee for an entry card.

Does time in Guatemala or Honduras count against my El Salvador stay?

The UK government says you can travel between El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua for up to 90 days without a visa, that the CA-4 Agreement also includes Honduras, and that the 90-day period starts when you enter any of these countries and does not restart when you cross borders. Migración's form F44 covers an extension of a non-resident's stay of 1 to 90 days.

Is El Salvador safe to visit now?

The UK government says security in El Salvador has improved considerably with significant reductions in crime, but the risks of violent and petty crime still exist. It says a state of exception started in 2022 and gives police additional powers, and advises always carrying a copy of the photo page of your passport; Canada advises always cooperating with military and police officers and always carrying valid identification.

Do US citizens need a visa for El Salvador?

US citizens can visit El Salvador visa-free for 90 days. Full rules for United States passport holders.

Do UK citizens need a visa for El Salvador?

UK citizens can visit El Salvador visa-free for 90 days. Full rules for United Kingdom passport holders.

Do German citizens need a visa for El Salvador?

German citizens can visit El Salvador visa-free for 90 days. Full rules for Germany passport holders.

What documents do I need to enter El Salvador?

Passport validity: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says every foreigner seeking to enter El Salvador must present a passport valid for more than six months, unless a treaty, convention or agreement on the matter applies or the foreigner is in transit through the country to their country of origin or residence. Travel insurance: No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for entry to El Salvador. Return or onward ticket: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must have a return or onward ticket when travelling by commercial transport; a private aircraft must present its flight plan, and sea transport the navigation plan showing the port of destination. Proof of funds: El Salvador's migration regulation (Art. 25) says foreigners entering as non-residents must show documents proving solvency or economic capacity, according to the means of proof and minimum amount set by the Dirección General.

How long can I stay in El Salvador without a visa?

Up to 90 days for every visa-free passport.

How many countries can visit El Salvador without a visa?

88 of 198 passports can enter El Salvador visa-free (44%). 3 can apply online (eVisa or eTA), and 107 need a visa from an embassy.

Data: TravelRequirements.info — Entry Requirements Dataset, AXG Sp. z o.o. (CC BY 4.0) — official sources are linked on each passport page. Gaps filled from the Passport Index dataset (MIT).

Check other requirements

Travelling from El Salvador?

Where can El Salvador citizens travel visa-free?

El Salvador passport holders can visit 81 countries without a visa. Open a country for the exact rules.

Map and full list →