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Lago de Coatepeque crater lake, El Salvador

Citizenship by Investment

El Salvador Freedom Visa

The only route we advise on paid in Bitcoin or USDT: US$1,000,000 for naturalization with no residence period, capped at 1,000 participants a year.

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Time to citizenship

≈ 6 weeks to approval

Minimum investment

$1,000,000+

Travel access

128 destinations

Figures as of September 2026, per the official program source; travel access is our own count — confirmed on application.

Program Overview

About the El Salvador program

In brief

The El Salvador program is a citizenship-by-investment program that grants full legal citizenship. The minimum qualifying investment is $1,000,000+, and approvals typically take ≈ 6 weeks to approval. It requires no residence or relocation, and El Salvador citizens can reach 128 destinations on our travel-access count — visa-free, on arrival, or with an eTA or e-visa granted on arrival terms. Figures are indicative minimums for the main applicant.

El Salvador's Adopting El Salvador program — the Freedom Visa — opened in December 2023 with Tether as its technology partner. A US$1,000,000 contribution in Bitcoin or USDT to the country's economic, cultural and social development programs qualifies the applicant, one spouse and children under 18 for naturalization under Article 156(5) of the migration law, a ground added by Legislative Decree No. 918 the same month.

It is one of the newest programs on this site and publishes the least: an approval standard of up to six weeks, a cap of 1,000 participants, and no statistics on grants to date. Because the contribution is a crypto transfer, the source-of-funds work — exchange records, wallet history, the fiat trail behind the coins — decides the file. Our assessment covers that before any fee is paid.

Presence requirement

No residence period before naturalization; absence rules apply afterwards

Document validity

Citizenship for life, subject to the loss grounds codified in Legislative Decree No. 531 (2026)

Dual nationality

Not addressed by the program; Salvadoran practice on prior nationality is confirmed in the assessment

Program Finder

Plan El Salvador for your family

Estimate the total cost with every government fee, check who in your family can be included, get the document checklist for everyone applying, and see how El Salvador ranks against the other 17 programs.

Open the Program FinderCompare with others

What Salvadoran citizenship unlocks

Naturalization under Article 156(5) of the migration law — citizenship, not a permit. What it changes from day one:

  • Live and work as a citizenFull citizenship of El Salvador for you, one spouse and your children under 18 — no permit to renew and no residence period to serve first.
  • Children born abroadThe March 2026 reform lets children of naturalized Salvadorans who are born outside the country obtain Salvadoran nationality — the Legislative Assembly named family unity as its purpose.
  • An online file, a six-week approval standardThe application is registered on the government portal; the portal states approvals typically take up to six weeks. What follows — contribution, naturalization, passport — carries no published clock.
  • A contribution in Bitcoin or USDTThe program states every fee in BTC or USDT, so holders contribute without first liquidating to fiat — provided the on-chain history is documented to the program's review standard.
  • Citizenship you must keepLegislative Decree No. 531 (in force 31 March 2026) codifies loss of naturalized nationality: two years' residence in the country of origin, five consecutive years abroad without authorization, or a final conviction for a serious intentional crime.

Capabilities follow from the status itself — citizenship or residence as the program grants it; specifics are confirmed during your assessment.

Investment Pathways

Lago de Coatepeque crater lake, El Salvador

Freedom Visa Contribution (Bitcoin or USDT)

From $1,000,000

A non-refundable contribution to El Salvador's economic, cultural and social development programs, paid in Bitcoin or USDT: US$999 on application and the US$999,001 balance after approval. Family applications add US$999 per family member.

Explore your route

From (indicative)

$1,000,000

A non-refundable contribution to El Salvador's economic, cultural and social development programs, paid in Bitcoin or USDT: US$999 on application and the US$999,001 balance after approval. Family applications add US$999 per family member.

Who comes with you

  • One spouse of the main applicant
  • Children under 18

Family additions are quoted individually — request your exact figure

Application Timeline

Government processing time

The El Salvador authorities publish a processing time for complete files — the numbered stages below show where those months go. Here is the figure to plan around.

≈ 6 weeks to approval

Official processing time, complete files

Plan around the top of the range — 4 months end to end leaves room for queries without changing your plans.

Your dates

Complete files are typically processed in ≈ 6 weeks to approval.

Based on the officially published range — last re-verified September 2026. Government timelines are not guaranteed.

  1. 1

    Weeks 1–2

    Preparation & registration

    Source-of-funds and crypto-trail file assembled first; then registration on the government portal and the non-refundable US$999 application fee in Bitcoin or USDT.

  2. 2

    Up to 6 weeks

    Government review

    The Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería reviews and verifies the application; the portal states approvals typically take up to six weeks.

  3. 3

    On approval

    Approval & contribution

    Official notification by email, then the US$999,001 balance (plus US$999 per family member) is transferred in Bitcoin or USDT and verified.

  4. 4

    Following payment

    Naturalization & passport

    Naturalization proceeds under Article 156(5); the passport is applied for afterwards and collected in El Salvador or at the nearest consulate.

Requirements

  • Main applicant of good character; every file is reviewed and verified by the government before approval
  • US$1,000,000 in Bitcoin or USDT, with the lawful source of the funds and the on-chain path of the coins documented
  • Nationals of Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria, residents of Crimea and the occupied Ukrainian regions, and OFAC-sanctioned persons are ineligible
  • Places are capped at 1,000 participants

Family Eligibility

  • One spouse of the main applicant
  • Children under 18

Required documents

The standard checklist for a single applicant. Get the checklist for your whole family in the Program Finder.

  • Passport Every applicant
  • Police clearance Adult applicants
  • Source-of-funds & crypto trail Main applicant
  • Portal application Main applicant
  • Contribution receipt Main applicant
  • Civil documents If married
  • Naturalization stage Every applicant

Exact formats — apostille or legalization, sworn translation, issue dates — vary by your country of origin and are confirmed document-by-document during your engagement.

What to Weigh

Honest advice includes the trade-offs. Before committing to the El Salvador program, consider:

  • Launched in December 2023 with no published grant statistics — a short track record and, at US$1,000,000, the highest single-route contribution among the citizenship programs we advise on.
  • The contribution is paid in Bitcoin or USDT. The program, your banks and any future immigration authority will want the fiat origin and the on-chain path of the coins; unexplained wallet history stops a file.
  • Naturalized citizenship can be lost: two years' residence in your country of origin, or five consecutive years abroad without authorization, under Legislative Decree No. 531 in force since 31 March 2026.

Travel access with El Salvador citizenship

Where a El Salvador citizen can travel, and what each destination requires. Entry is always at the discretion of the destination authority — confirm before booking.

128destinations, our travel-access count — 79 visa-free + 31 on arrival + 6 eTA + e-visas granted on arrival terms

110 of 198 destinations need no visa arranged before travel. Counted from the Passport Index dataset, as of 19 October 2026.

Compare El Salvador with our other citizenship programs

Last updated 19 October 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this citizenship or residency?

Citizenship by naturalization. Legislative Decree No. 918 added investors and donors in government programs as a naturalization ground — Article 156(5) of the migration law — with no residence period, and directed the migration directorate to run an expedited procedure. A passport is applied for after naturalization and collected in El Salvador or at the nearest consulate.

Can I pay in dollars by bank transfer?

The program runs on Tether's payment infrastructure and states every fee in Bitcoin or USDT only. USDT is dollar-pegged, so a client without crypto holdings can acquire it through a regulated exchange — a route we plan with source-of-funds evidence at every step, because the exchange record becomes part of the file.

Who cannot apply?

The program excludes nationals of Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria; residents of Crimea and the self-proclaimed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine; and anyone on the OFAC sanctions lists. Every other applicant is reviewed and verified before approval.

How long does it take?

The government publishes only the approval stage: typically up to six weeks after the online application. Naturalization and passport issuance follow the contribution with no published standard, so we plan in months, not weeks, and never promise a date.

Regulatory framework

Legislative Decree No. 286 of 2019, as reformed by Legislative Decree No. 918

Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (Special Law on Migration and Foreigners)

Reform adopted 20 December 2023 · Diario Oficial No. 5, Tomo 442, 9 January 2024 · in force eight days after publication

Article 156(5) — naturalization for foreigners who meet the requirements of government programs attracting investors or donors supporting El Salvador's economic, social and cultural development

The reform adds a fifth naturalization ground to Article 156: foreigners who satisfy a government program for investors or donors, funded by capital in legal-tender currency (Bitcoin has been legal tender since Law No. 57 of 2021) or by sustainable investment projects. It sets no amount and no residence period — those sit in the Adopting El Salvador program — and it directs the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería to run a secure and expedited naturalization procedure for this class. A later reform (Legislative Decree No. 531, in force 31 March 2026) codified the grounds on which naturalized citizens lose nationality, including two years' residence in the country of origin or five years' absence without authorization.

View the law (opens in a new tab)

Legislative Decree No. 918 (PDF), asamblea.gob.sv

Sources & verification

Program terms are set by the issuing government and may change without notice — figures last re-verified against the official source in September 2026. Investment figures are indicative minimums for the main applicant; fees, due diligence, and family additions are quoted individually. Government timelines are not guaranteed.

Official program authority

  1. 01Government of El Salvador — Adopting El Salvador program portalRetrieved 2026-09-18
  2. 02Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador — Legislative Decree No. 918 (PDF)Retrieved 2026-09-18

Alternatives

Related Programs

Families often weigh this program against these alternatives.

Is El Salvador right for your family?

A private assessment covers eligibility, total cost, and timeline for your situation — and says so if another route fits better.

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El Salvador≈ 6 weeks to approval

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