El Salvador spouse visa (married to a Salvadoran)

Sheet F-34 is for foreign citizens married to, or living with, a Salvadoran who have had temporary residence for one uninterrupted year. The marriage certificate must be registered at the corresponding Salvadoran municipality; a marriage celebrated abroad must first be legally registered in El Salvador. Unmarried partners present a sworn declaration of free union stating how long the relationship has existed.

In practice, a foreign spouse therefore first obtains temporary residence and, after a year without interruption, changes to definitive residence.

Every file starts with an application signed by the foreigner, a legal representative or an attorney (with a signature legalised by a Salvadoran notary if not filed in person); a photocopy of all used pages of the valid passport with the original for comparison; an original certificate of no police or criminal record from the country of origin or where you lived in the two years before entering El Salvador; and a valid clearance from the National Civil Police if you have been in the country more than three months or entered more than twice in the last year.

Documents issued abroad must be authenticated or apostilled and translated into Spanish under article 162 of the Special Migration and Foreigners Law, and every document must show your names exactly as in your passport. The DGME may ask for additional information.

The payment order for definitive residence is USD 345 for non-Central Americans and USD 135 for Central Americans, for up to one year, and is not refundable. The DGME answers within 45 working days of a complete file. Definitive residence is renewed (refrenda) for one to four years by paying the corresponding fees, within the 30 calendar days before expiry; definitive residents can be abroad up to two years without losing the status.

Add a sworn declaration in a notarial deed by the person who will support you, or by yourself if you support yourself, stating how you will cover living costs, your work activities, place of residence and income; the marriage certificate registered in El Salvador or the sworn declaration of free union; and a photocopy of the Salvadoran spouse's Unique Identity Document (DUI) showing the married status and the spouse's name. A criminal record certificate from abroad is required only if you apply without having held a previous residence.