Visa policy of El Salvador

Visitors to El Salvador must obtain a visa from one of the Salvadoran diplomatic missions, unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

Entry and exit stamps.

Visa policy map

  El Salvador

  Visa-free access to El Salvador

  May not enter on Canada / Schengen / US visa

Visa exemption

Holders of passports of the following 89 jurisdictions can visit El Salvador without a visa for up to 180 days (all visitors except the nationals of Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama must hold proof of sufficient funds to cover their stay and documents required for next destination):^[1][2]

All European Union member states Albania Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Australia Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Bolivia (90 days)[3] Brazil Brunei Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Fiji GuatemalaID HondurasID Iceland India Israel Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein Madagascar Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Monaco New Zealand NicaraguaID North Macedonia Norway Panama Paraguay Peru Qatar Russia Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea  Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Tuvalu Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Vanuatu Vatican City

ID - May also enter with an ID card if come from a country that is part of the CA-4 Agreement.

Date of visa changes
25 February 1973: Japan[4] 1 April 1985: France[5] 23 March 1988: Argentina[6] 14 February 1997: South Korea[7] 13 December 2023: Peru[8] Canceled: 2 May 2008: Venezuela[citation needed] 12 December 2018: Taiwan

Visa exemption also applies to residents of countries that are visa exempt as well as holders of a valid visa issued by Canada, the United States or a Schengen member state. This does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and Yemen who also can't obtain a visa on a simplified procedure but their application needs to be approved in El Salvador.

Holders of diplomatic, official or service passports of Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, Suriname, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam do not require a visa.

Transit without a visa is allowed for travellers who normally require a visa but are transiting within 48 hours and hold onward tickets.

Central America-4 Border Control Agreement

The Central America-4 Border Control Agreement is a treaty between Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. A visa issued by one of the four countries is honored by all four of the countries. The time period for the visa, however, applies to the total time spent in any of the four countries without leaving the CA-4 area.^[9]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to El Salvador for the purpose of tourism (excluding those on a one-day visit) were nationals of the following countries:^[10]

Country	2015	2014	2013
Guatemala	530,531	511,829	465,055
United States	447,628	431,792	422,811
Honduras	202,339	177,777	171,763
Mexico	32,654	27,567	27,489
Costa Rica	28,737	27,981	25,150
Nicaragua	28,262	33,931	32,937
Canada	24,796	29,188	31,911
Spain	8,565	7,850	7,788
Germany	3,532	4,123	5,440
Total	1,401,598	1,345,165	1,282,792

See also

• El Salvador portal

• Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
• Visa requirements for El Salvador citizens