Entry rules, how long you can stay, and your options if you want to stay longer.
Not legal advice. Verify all information with official sources before travel.
Entry requirements
Select your passport region
Entry requirements
North America & EU
USA, Canada, UK, EU/Schengen, Australia, New Zealand
Visa-free
Tourist stay
Up to 90 days
Passport validity
More than 6 months' validity
Entry at
SAL airport or land border
No visa required on arrival. Part of the CA-4 agreement, your 90 days is shared across El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. A return or onward ticket may be requested at the border.
Stay length
How long can you stay in El Salvador?
Most passports get up to 90 days on arrival, shared across the CA-4 zone, not per country
Day 42 ←
Arrive
30 days
60 days
CA-4 warning zone
Day 90
The CA-4 Agreement
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua share a single 90-day tourist window under the CA-4 agreement. Your 90 days is counted across all four countries, not per country.
Spend 45 days in Guatemala, then enter El Salvador, and you have 45 days left, not a fresh 90. Leaving the zone and coming back is common, but the law doesn't entitle you to a new 90 days: the border officer decides each time, and repeated runs invite questions. The routes with a rule behind them are an extension under Art. 85 of the migration law, or residency.
Beyond 90 days
How to stay longer than 90 days
Four routes: from the simple to the serious
Leaving the CA-4 zone and re-entering is common among long-stay travellers, but nothing in the migration law entitles you to a new 90 days. Admission is decided by the officer at the border each time, and repeated runs invite questions. An extension under Art. 85 of the migration law, or residency, is the route with a rule behind it.
FAQ
Common visa questions
The tourist category does not cover work: it is for recreational, scientific, family or religious visits, with no labour, academic or commercial purpose, and a tourist who takes up remunerated activity commits a serious migration offence. The law has no remote-worker or digital-nomad category, and nothing official settles how remote work for a foreign employer is treated. This is not legal advice. If you plan to stay, residency is the clean answer; for your own case, ask a Salvadoran immigration lawyer.
Last updated Aug 19, 2026.Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general guidance only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change. Always verify current requirements with the El Salvador DGME, your country's embassy, or a qualified local immigration attorney before making travel or residency decisions.