Moving to El Salvador — the whole process, in order.

El Salvador has become unusually easy to move to, and unusually badly documented. What follows is the order that works, based on the process as it stands now — but immigration rules change, and this is journalism, not legal advice. Use a Salvadoran immigration lawyer for the filing.

1. Come first, on a tourist card

Most nationalities get 90 days for $12 on arrival. Do not commit to anything before you have spent a month here in the rainy season as well as the dry one. The country people love in February is not the country in September.

2. Pick a residency route

• Rentista — proven, stable monthly income from outside the country. The most common route.
• Pensionado — a pension or annuity, with a lower income threshold in practice.
• Investor — capital into a Salvadoran company or property.
• Marriage or Salvadoran descent — the fastest routes, if they apply.
• Freedom Passport — the $1M citizenship-by-investment programme, for a very different buyer.

The residency guide covers the documents and thresholds for each.

3. Get the paperwork apostilled at home

Birth certificate, police record, marriage certificate, proof of income. All apostilled in the issuing country, all translated by a certified translator here. This is the step that adds months when people skip it.

4. Open a bank account

Harder than you expect and much easier with residency in hand. See banking.

5. Sort healthcare, then housing

Private insurance plus a private hospital is the standard expat arrangement — healthcare has the numbers. Rent for a year before buying; buying property as a foreigner explains why.

6. Then the rest

Schools if you have children, a car if you are outside the capital, and a tax position checked by someone who understands both countries. El Salvador does not tax foreign-source income; your home country may well still tax you.

If you want this handled rather than researched, tell us what you need and we will put you in front of a lawyer or a relocation firm we have actually used.