ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS:  To enter the country, U.S. citizens must present a current U.S. passport and either a Salvadoran visa or a one-entry tourist card.  The tourist card may be obtained from immigration officials for a ten-dollar fee upon arrival in country.  U.S. travelers who plan to remain in El Salvador for more than thirty days can apply in advance for a multiple-entry visa, issued free of charge, from the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington, D.C. or from a Salvadoran consulate in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, or Washington, D.C.  Travelers may contact the Embassy of El Salvador at 1400 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, tel. (202) 265-9671, 265-9672; fax (202) 232-3763; e-mail: correo@elsalvador.org or visit the Embassy's Internet website at http://www.elsalvador.org.  When applying for a visa, travelers may be asked to present evidence of U.S. employment and adequate finances for their visit at the time of visa application or upon arrival in El Salvador.  An exit tax of $32.00 is included in the price of any airline ticket used to depart El Salvador.  

Travelers should be aware that El Salvador's entry requirements vary in accordance with agreements the country has with foreign governments.  Citizens of several countries in addition to the United States may enter El Salvador with a current passport and either a visa or tourist card.  Citizens of many other countries, including many Latin American and western European nations, may enter with only a current passport.  However, citizens of most nations are required to present both a current passport and a visa to enter El Salvador.  Non-U.S. citizen travelers are advised to contact a Salvadoran embassy or consulate to determine the entry requirements applicable to them.

In June 2006, El Salvador entered a “Central America-4 (CA-4) Border Control Agreement” with Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Under the terms of the agreement, citizens of the four countries may travel freely across land borders from one of the countries to any of the others without completing entry and exit formalities at Immigration checkpoints.  U.S. citizens and other eligible foreign nationals, who legally enter any of the four countries, may similarly travel among the four without obtaining additional visas or tourist entry permits for the other three countries.  Immigration officials at the first port of entry determine the length of stay, up to a maximum period of 90 days.  Foreign tourists who wish to remain in the four country region beyond the period initially granted for their visit are required to request a one-time extension of stay from local Immigration authorities in the country where the traveler is physically present or travel outside the CA-4 countries and reapply for admission to the region.  Foreigners “expelled” from any of the four countries are excluded from the entire CA-4 region.  In isolated cases, the lack of clarity in the implementing details of the CA-4 Border Control Agreement has caused temporary inconvenience to some travelers and has resulted in others being fined more than one hundred dollars or detained in custody for 72 hours or longer.

Airlines operating out of El Salvador International Airport require all U.S. citizen passengers boarding flights for the United States (including U.S.-Salvadoran dual nationals) to have a current U.S. passport.  U.S. citizens applying for passports at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador are reminded that proof of citizenship and identity are required before a passport can be issued.  Photographic proof of identity is especially important for young children because of the high incidence of fraud involving children.  Since the National Passport Center in New Hampshire, and not the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador, prints U.S. passports, citizens submitting applications in El Salvador should be prepared to wait approximately one week for receipt of their new passports.

The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador reminds U.S. citizen travelers that their activities in El Salvador are limited to those prescribed by Salvadoran law and the type of visa they are issued.  Under Salvadoran law, all foreigners who participate directly or indirectly in the internal political affairs of the country lose the right to remain in El Salvador, regardless of visa status or residency in El Salvador.

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MEDICAL FACILITIES AND HEALTH INFORMATION: There are few private hospitals with an environment that would be acceptable to visiting Americans.  The Embassy recommends that these hospitals be used only for emergency care, to stabilize a condition prior to returning to the U.S. for definitive evaluation and treatment.  Private hospitals and physicians expect upfront payment (cash or, for hospitals, credit card) for all bills.  Priority ambulance (503-2264-7911) is the only ambulance service in San Salvador approaching U.S. standards.  Not all medicines found in the U.S. are available in El Salvador.  Medicines often have a different brand name and are more expensive than in the U.S.

No specific vaccinations are required for entry into El Salvador. 

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747)

MEDICAL INSURANCE:  The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

REGISTRATION / EMBASSY LOCATION: Americans living or traveling in El Salvador are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within El Salvador.  Americans without Internet access may register directly with the Embassy.  By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. 

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador is located at Final Boulevard Santa Elena Sur, Urbanizacion Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, telephone 011-503-2278-4444, fax 011-503-2278-6020, e-mail: ACSSANSAL@state.gov.  The Embassy's web site can be accessed at http://elsalvador.usembassy.gov. The Consular Section is open for U.S. citizens services from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. weekdays, excluding U.S. and Salvadoran holidays.  After business hours, the Embassy can be contacted by telephone at 011-503-2501-2316 or 011-503-2501-2253.

For any questions concerning U.S. visas for either temporary travel to or permanent residence in the U.S., please contact our regional U.S. Visa Information Center.  From El Salvador, the Visa Information Center may be reached by calling 900-6011 from any landline operated by Telecomm, or by purchasing a VISAS-USA calling card from any location that sells Telefonica phone cards.  Calling instructions are on the back of the card.  Calls using the 900 number cost approximately $2.15 per minute and will be charged to the caller's telephone bill.  The Telefonica phone card costs $15.00 and permits a seven-minute call.  From the U.S., the Visa Information Center can be contacted by dialing 866-730-2089 and charging the call to a Visa or MasterCard credit card.