El Salvador: visa and entry rules
What you need to get in, how long you may stay, and what an overstay costs
El Salvador's borders: every crossing point
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El Salvador's land border crossings, listed by the neighbours it shares a border with:
With Guatemala: Las Chinamas, San Cristobal, La Ermita.
With Honduras: El Amarillo, El Poy, Perquin.
Both borders are internal to the CA-4 zone, and crossing them does not reset the day counter.
The country has no Caribbean coast - only a Pacific one.
By sea, there is the port of La Union in the Gulf of Fonseca, which El Salvador shares with Honduras and Nicaragua.
Your allowance can only be reset by leaving the zone - the nearest options are Mexico, Belize or Costa Rica.
Driving to El Salvador
Land routes work with Guatemala and Honduras.
Temporary import is processed at the border.
Check the maximum import period for El Salvador in advance. An overstay on the car is dealt with separately from your visa and costs more.
Insurance is taken out locally.
An International Driving Permit is required.
The country is small and can be driven across in a day - but the paperwork at the borders takes time.
Travelling to El Salvador with a pet
An import permit is required, arranged in advance with the veterinary service.
A rabies vaccination must be valid on the date of entry.
An international veterinary certificate is required, endorsed by the state veterinary service of the country you are leaving.
Put the paperwork for bringing an animal into El Salvador together before you buy tickets. It is the carrier who checks it, and anything missing means being turned away at check-in.
Overstaying your visa in El Salvador
A fine is charged for exceeding your permitted stay and is paid on departure.
The fine is calculated as you leave the country, and there is no working it out beforehand. Rates in El Salvador change and there is no single published scale. Cash at the border is essential.
An extension is arranged with the immigration service before your permitted stay expires, not after.
A serious overstay means deportation and an entry ban.
What counts is the whole CA-4 zone.
What else to check before you go
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Entry rules change faster than anything else on this site, and they change without notice. We cross-check every page against several sources and state the date it was verified, but that does not replace the main step: before you travel, check an official source — the country’s consulate, its immigration service or its e-visa portal. Especially if more than a couple of months have passed since our check.