🇸🇻El Salvador Visa for Guatemalan Citizens2026 Requirements, Fees & Documents

Permiso Especial de Ingreso para Eventos de Artistas (Special Entry Permit for Artists)

Allows foreign artists to enter El Salvador to perform at concerts, theater, dance, circus, or other cultural and commercial entertainment events.

Form F51. Fee: USD 60 for Central American artists, USD 100 for non-Central American artists. Processing: 5 business days after payment and document verification. Application submitted by email to peiartistas@migracion.gob.sv. Requires authorization from the General Directorate of Public Spectacles, artist roster with passport details, and travel itineraries. The sponsoring entity must be a Salvadoran-based person or company.

Permiso Especial de Ingreso (PEI) – Special Entry Permit (Online)

Allows foreign nationals who require a visa but cannot access a Salvadoran consulate (due to lack of embassy, residency issues, or force majeure) to obtain entry authorization online.

Applied online at https://elsalvadorpei.migracion.gob.sv/. Eligibility: any foreign national whose nationality requires a visa (Category B or C) but who cannot obtain one through a Salvadoran consulate. Fee: USD 100. Outcome (approval, conditional approval, denial, or cancellation) sent by email. Not a substitute for a standard visa when consular access exists.

Residencia Temporal F3 – Trabajador con Autorización (Temporary Residency with Work Authorization)

Temporary residency status for foreign nationals who have received a job offer or employment contract in El Salvador and require authorization to work.

Form F3 for initial application; Form F20 for renewal. Issued as a residency card with a validity period specific to the category. Applicants submit to the DGME (General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners) with required employment documentation. Fees not published on official page. Renewable.

Residencia Temporal F4 – Inversionista (Temporary Residency for Investors)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals making qualifying investments in El Salvador.

Form F4 for initial; Form F21 for renewal. Minimum investment amount not specified in any official document reviewed. Residency card issued with category-specific validity. Also available via Art. 152 reform (May 2025): investors in government-promoted programs may obtain definitive (permanent) residence directly, bypassing temporary residence, for a fee of USD 690.

Residencia Temporal F7 – Pensionado (Temporary Residency for Retirees)

Temporary residency for foreign retirees receiving a pension who wish to reside in El Salvador.

Form F7 for initial; Form F24 for renewal. Minimum pension income requirement not specified in any official document reviewed. Fees and specific duration not published on official page. Renewable.

Residencia Temporal F8 – Rentista (Temporary Residency for Income-Based/Annuitant)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals who can demonstrate sufficient passive income or annuity to support themselves in El Salvador without employment.

Form F8 for initial; Form F25 for renewal. Distinct from the pensioner category (F7) - covers private income, investment income, or annuities rather than formal pension. Minimum income requirement not specified in any official document. Fees and duration not published on official page. Renewable.

Residencia Temporal F9 – Para Acompañar (Temporary Residency for Accompanying Dependents)

Temporary residency for family members (spouse, children) accompanying a principal foreign resident in El Salvador.

Form F9 for initial; Form F26 for renewal. The principal holder must already hold or be applying for a qualifying residency category. Fees and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F10 – Estudiante (Temporary Residency for Students)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals enrolled in an accredited educational institution in El Salvador.

Form F10 for initial; Form F27 for renewal. Requires enrollment documentation from a Salvadoran educational institution. Fees and specific duration not published on official page. Renewable as long as studies continue.

Residencia Temporal F1 – Transitoria (Transitory Residency)

Short-term transitional residency status for foreign nationals in specific transitional circumstances prior to obtaining a substantive residency category.

Form F1. Specific conditions, fees, and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F2 – Temporal (Standard Temporary Residency)

General temporary residency status for foreign nationals not falling into other specific categories.

Form F2. A catch-all temporary residency category. Specific conditions, fees, and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F11 – Accionista (Temporary Residency for Shareholders)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals who are shareholders in Salvadoran companies.

Form F11 for initial; Form F28 for renewal. Distinct from the investor category (F4). Fees and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F12 – Comerciante Individual (Temporary Residency for Individual Merchants)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals operating as sole traders or individual merchants in El Salvador.

Form F12 for initial; Form F29 for renewal. Fees and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F13 – Cooperante (Temporary Residency for Aid/Cooperation Workers)

Temporary residency for foreign nationals working in El Salvador under international cooperation, development, or humanitarian aid agreements.

Form F13 for initial; Form F30 for renewal. Typically requires sponsorship from a recognized international organization or NGO operating in El Salvador. Fees and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F14 – Víctima de Trata (Temporary Residency for Trafficking Victims)

Humanitarian temporary residency granted to foreign nationals identified as victims of human trafficking in El Salvador.

Form F14 for initial; Form F31 for renewal. Granted through official anti-trafficking identification processes. Fees waived or not applicable in humanitarian cases.

Residencia Temporal F15 – Razones Humanitarias (Temporary Residency for Humanitarian Reasons)

Temporary residency granted to foreign nationals requiring protection on humanitarian grounds.

Form F15. Specific conditions, fees, and duration not published on official page.

Residencia Temporal F16 – Personal Religioso (Temporary Residency for Religious Personnel)

Temporary residency for foreign religious workers, missionaries, clergy, and other religious personnel serving in El Salvador.

Form F16. Requires documentation from the sponsoring religious institution. Fees and duration not published on official page.

Diplomatic/Official Passport Visa Exemption

Visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic, official, or service passports from countries with bilateral agreements or arrangements with El Salvador.

Holders of diplomatic, official, or service passports from countries such as 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, Vietnam, and others (full list at rree.gob.sv) are visa-exempt. India diplomatic/official passport holders are visa-exempt for 90 days under a bilateral agreement (signed 2008, in force 2009). The RREE table is paginated and the full list was not retrievable in a single scrape.

Residencia Definitiva para Categorías Varias (Definitive/Permanent Residence – Various Categories, F32)

Permanent (definitive) residence for foreign nationals qualifying under general categories, typically after holding temporary residence or meeting long-term regular-residence conditions.

Form F32. Definitive (permanent) residence is a distinct legal status from the F1–F16 temporary residences, granted by the DGME after qualifying conditions are met (e.g., prior continuous temporary residence, or more than seven years of regular residence). Renewal/endorsement is via Form F37 (Refrenda de Residencia Definitiva). Fees and validity not published on the official page.

Residencia Definitiva para Pensionado (Definitive/Permanent Residence for Pensioners, F33)

Permanent residence for foreign retirees/pensioners who wish to settle permanently in El Salvador.

Form F33. Permanent-residence counterpart to the temporary pensioner residence (F7). Minimum pension income, fees, and validity not published on the official page. Renewal/endorsement via Form F37.

Residencia Definitiva para Casado o Conviviente de Salvadoreño (Definitive/Permanent Residence for Spouse or Cohabiting Partner of a Salvadoran, F34)

Permanent residence for foreign nationals married to, or in a recognized domestic partnership (unión no matrimonial) with, a Salvadoran citizen.

Form F34. Marriage/partnership-based permanent residence. Per DGME rules a foreigner married to or cohabiting with a Salvadoran who has continuously held temporary residence for one year may apply for definitive residence. Distinct from the temporary accompanying-dependent residence (F9). Fees and validity not published on the official page. Renewal/endorsement via Form F37.

Residencia Definitiva para Personas Refugiadas o Apátrida (Definitive/Permanent Residence for Refugees or Stateless Persons, F35)

Permanent residence granted to recognized refugees or stateless persons who have resided in El Salvador under protection.

Form F35. Refugees and stateless persons may apply for definitive residence (generally two years after filing their protection request; one year for Central American refugees). Humanitarian category; fees typically waived or not applicable. Renewal/endorsement via Form F37.

Residencia Definitiva para Personas Víctimas de Trata (Definitive/Permanent Residence for Trafficking Victims, F36)

Permanent residence granted on humanitarian grounds to foreign nationals identified as victims of human trafficking.

Form F36. Permanent-residence counterpart to the temporary trafficking-victim residence (F14). Granted through official anti-trafficking identification processes; fees waived or not applicable in humanitarian cases. Renewal/endorsement via Form F37.