Dual citizenship in El Salvador: who can hold it (2026)

Does El Salvador allow dual citizenship?

Yes, with a distinction that matters. Article 91 of the Constitution gives Salvadorans by birth the right to dual or multiple nationality, and that status is lost only by express renunciation before a competent authority. For foreigners who naturalise, the position is less straightforward: the Constitution does not give them the same guarantee, and the immigration authority's checklist asks for a certificate that the applicant's home country permits dual nationality. So whether you keep your original passport depends heavily on your home country's law, not only on El Salvador's.

As of September 2026. The constitutional text quoted here is the 1983 version hosted by the Organization of American States; we saw no later change to these articles, but did not check it against a consolidated 2026 text. Statutory changes below come from the Legislative Decrees 918 (2024) and 531 (2026) as published by the Salvadoran authorities.

Salvadoran by birth: who qualifies

Article 90 of the Constitution defines Salvadorans by birth. The categories relevant to dual citizens are people born in El Salvador, children of a Salvadoran father or mother born abroad, and natives of the other states of the former Federal Republic of Central America who are domiciled in El Salvador and declare their wish to be Salvadoran. That last category does not require them to renounce their nationality of origin.

In practice, the second category is the descent route. The immigration authority (DGME) states that a child of a Salvadoran mother or father does not need to process a residence permit, because being the child of a Salvadoran parent carries the right to dual nationality. We could not find readable registration steps for children born abroad (for example consulate birth registration), so ask a Salvadoran consulate what documents it wants.

Decree 531, published on 23 March 2026 and in force from 31 March 2026, also rewrote Article 164 of the migration law for one specific group. Children under 18 born abroad before their parents acquired Salvadoran status (by birth under Article 90 no. 3, or by naturalisation under Article 92) are considered Salvadoran on their parents' request, through a special procedure the DGME is to develop. At 18 they must declare before the competent authority that they wish to keep the nationality.

Naturalisation routes and years

Article 92 of the Constitution and Article 156 of the Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (as reformed by Decree 918, Diario Oficial No. 5, Tomo 442, 9 January 2024) set who may apply. The residence periods are:

Because the five-year and two-year clocks count temporary residence as well as definitive residence, your residency status in the years before applying matters. The DGME hosts separate forms for the process, including F38 (nacionalización), F39 (naturalización), F40 (renuncia de nacionalidad) and F41 (recuperación de nacionalidad).

Cost, paperwork and timing

The following comes from a national newspaper summarising DGME requirements (elsalvador.com, 2026), not from a DGME page, so confirm it with the authority before relying on it. It reports a fee of US$150 for nacionalización (Central Americans with one year of definitive residence) and US$700 for naturalización (non-Central Americans), non-refundable. It also reports a maximum response time of nine months if requirements are met, and that applicants need a police (PNC) clearance, a criminal record certificate, and a certification from their embassy or consulate stating that their country allows dual nationality.

The investor and donor provision

Decree 918 added a new number 5 to Article 156: foreigners who meet the requirements of government programmes aimed at attracting investors or donors who support El Salvador's economic, social and cultural development, through capital in legal tender or sustainable investment projects, may apply for naturalisation. The decree's recitals connect this to Bitcoin donations under the Bitcoin Law, and it instructs the DGME to create a secure and expeditious procedure for these applicants.

What the decree does not do is set an amount, a quota, or a processing time. A separate reform of Article 152, dated 30 April 2025, lets investors and donors under government programmes apply for permanent residency. The so-called Freedom Visa, announced in December 2023, is the best-known programme marketed under this heading, but we could not find an official page confirming its current terms, and we do not repeat the prices, caps or timelines quoted by private sellers. If a broker offers you a fixed price and a citizenship date, ask for the government document behind it.

How naturalised citizens can lose nationality

Salvadorans by birth cannot lose their status except by express renunciation. Naturalised citizens have less protection. Under Article 94 of the Constitution, a naturalised Salvadoran loses status by residing more than two consecutive years in the country of origin, by absence from El Salvador for more than five consecutive years (unless permitted by law), or by final court judgment in the cases the law sets. Someone who loses status this way cannot recover it.

Decree 531 rewrote Article 279 of the migration law and added a criminal ground. Naturalised Salvadorans lose nationality (1) under the Article 94 residence and absence rules, or (2) by final sentence for delitos dolosos graves, meaning serious intentional crimes. The decree states that whoever loses nationality this way cannot recover it, and that the DGME will develop the procedure. The decree text limits the ground to serious intentional crimes, although some press coverage described it more loosely as "delito doloso".

Challenges and downsides

• Naturalisation is conditional. The residence-abroad and absence rules, and the March 2026 criminal-conviction ground, apply only to naturalised citizens, and loss under either is irreversible.
• Physical presence. Decree 531 requires temporary residents to spend at least 90 calendar days per year in El Salvador (consecutive or cumulative), except in justified force majeure. Since temporary years count towards the five-year clock, missing the minimum puts your residency, and so your timeline, at risk. The decree does not say whether this applies to every temporary category, so ask the DGME how it treats yours.
• Home-country conflict. If your own country bars dual nationality, you may have to choose, and the DGME certificate requirement means you cannot easily avoid the question.
• Processing is slow and partly unwritten. Nine months is the reported maximum for ordinary naturalisation. Procedures under Decree 531 and Decree 918 are still to be developed by the DGME.
• The investor route is uncertain. The legal hook exists, but the programme's operation, fees and terms are not confirmed by any primary source we could read, and reporting indicates terms can change. Contributions are reported as non-recoverable, so treat any brochure with caution.
• The passport has limits. The Salvadoran passport requires a visa in advance for the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, and for Mexico with exemptions for holders of certain foreign visas or residence. The UK lists El Salvador on its Visa National list.

What the Salvadoran passport gives you

Passport rankings differ by index and by date, so treat any single count with care. Passport Reports, as reported by elsalvador.com on 15 September 2026, puts El Salvador at 80 visa-free destinations, 42 visa on arrival, seven requiring an electronic authorisation and 69 requiring a visa in advance, for a mobility score of 129 and rank 65. That count includes visa-on-arrival and electronic-authorisation destinations, not just visa-free entry. The Henley Passport Index, as listed in a Wikipedia table, shows 131 destinations and 33rd place; we could not read the Henley site directly, so verify on henleyglobal.com. Our visa-free destinations guide covers the details.

Official steps and where to verify

• Start with the DGME page for nationalisations and naturalisations, which lists forms F38 to F41, and its FAQ for descent cases.
• Read the text of Decree 918 (Articles 152 and 156) and Decree 531 (Articles 49, 119, 164 and 279) rather than relying on summaries.
• Confirm current fees and processing times with the DGME, phone +503 2535-6212 or atencion.usuarios@migracion.gob.sv, and get your home country's dual-nationality position in writing.
• For any investor or donor programme, ask for the official government document that sets its terms and check that applications are being accepted.

Where it fits in a borderless plan

Citizenship and tax residence are separate decisions. Holding, or applying for, Salvadoran nationality does not by itself decide where you are taxed; see tax residency in El Salvador for that side. For the wider picture, compare citizenship by descent and citizenship-by-investment options, and read our safety guide before committing years of residence to the country.