El Salvador.
How El Salvador sells citizenship for investors: 1 citizenship programme, now closed. Every number and rule below links to the document it comes from.
5 documents and articles behind this page, listed at the bottom.
Citizenship
Sells citizenship, and with it a passport. El Salvador: 1 citizenship programme, now closed; 0 numbers, 15 prices and rules. Every country's citizenship programmes
All the numbers, sources and downloads for El Salvador in the data portal →
El Salvador naturalisation and permanent residence for investors and donors in government programmes (Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería arts. 156(5) and 152(13); 'Freedom Visa')
Sells citizenship, and with it a passport.
Not set: the law (art. 156(5), from Jan 2024) allows naturalisation for people who meet government programmes for investors or donors but sets no amount, and no official text of the programme's requirements was found. The press (Cointelegraph, Dec 2023) reports a US$1 million donation in bitcoin or tether for the 'Freedom Visa'; the US State Department (2025) gives US$999,001. These are secondary reports, so they are not used as the price. Fees excluded.
Notes from the research
D.L. 918 of 20 Dec 2023 (D.O. 9 Jan 2024) added art. 156(5): foreigners who meet government programmes for attracting investors or donors who inject capital in legal tender may apply for naturalisation. Launched 2024-01-17 (in force 8 days after publication in Diario Oficial 5 of 9 January 2024, date computed): D.L. 918 itself is not stored, so its in-force date (Salvadoran decrees usually state one) cannot be checked; the publication date of 9 Jan 2024 is kept as a 'legal' event. D.L. 286 of 2025 (in force 13 May 2025, eight days after publication on 5 May; counted by us) lets people joining central-government programmes obtain permanent residence directly, with no absence limit and a USD 690 fee. The press reports the 'Freedom Visa' (launched 7 Dec 2023 with Tether, before the law was published): USD 1 million donation in bitcoin or USDT, 1,000 places a year; no official text of the programme's requirements or any count was found. Status not confirmed.
Prices and rules
What is measured
No published numbers found for this programme. That is itself worth knowing: see the notes and the documents below.
What we know is missing
- El Salvador naturalisation and permanent residence for investors and donors in government programmes (Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería arts. 156(5) and 152(13); 'Freedom Visa'): we found no published numbers at all, only rules and events.
A gap means no figure is in our data: either it was never published or we haven't found or read it yet. Charts leave gaps open rather than drawing across them.
What happened, and when
The 5 documents behind this page
- 2026-03 · Law or regulationLey Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (Decreto Legislativo No. 286 de 2019), texto con reformas hasta D.L. No. 531 de 2026 · Corte Suprema de Justicia de El Salvador, Centro de Documentación Judicial
- 2025-05 · Law or regulationDecreto Legislativo No. 286: Reformas a la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (30 de abril de 2025) · Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador (text hosted by Corte Suprema de Justicia, Centro de Documentación Judicial)
- 2025-03 · Government2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Volume II: Money Laundering · U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
- 2024-01 · Law or regulationDiario Oficial No. 5, Tomo 442 (9 de enero de 2024): Decreto No. 918, Reforma a la Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería · Imprenta Nacional de El Salvador (Diario Oficial)
- 2023-12 · NewsEl Salvador expects to sell out Bitcoin 'Freedom Visa' by end of year · Cointelegraph
Who buys passports and golden visas, what they cost, and what happens when governments change the rules. Written from this data, in the newsletter.