A child under 18 who leaves El Salvador with only one parent, alone, or with another person may need an authorization to leave the country. When the parent who must give permission lives in the United States, the authorization can be issued before a Salvadoran consular officer. The Salvadoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists a consular fee of US$20 for this service.
Process for a parent in the United States:
- Schedule an appointment with a Salvadoran consulate.
- Sign the appropriate consular travel authorization.
- Send the original document to El Salvador.
- Legalize the consular officer’s signature in El Salvador.
- Submit the authorization to Salvadoran Immigration for review before departure.
Appointments can be requested through the official El Salvador Consular Appointment Portal. Depending on the consulate, the service may appear as autorización para salida de menor, acta notarial, or under services for children and adolescents.
Which Parent Must Authorize the Trip
The required consent depends on who will travel with the child. If the child leaves El Salvador with one parent, the parent who is not traveling must authorize the departure. If the child travels alone or with a third person, authorization from both parents is required.
| Travel arrangement | Who gives permission | Expected document |
|---|---|---|
| Traveling with both parents | No absent parent | No separate parental exit authorization is normally required |
| Traveling only with the mother | The father who is not traveling | Authorization from the father |
| Traveling only with the father | The mother who is not traveling | Authorization from the mother |
| Traveling with a relative or another person | Both parents | Authorization from both parents |
| Traveling alone or with airline staff | Both parents | Authorization from both parents and the required travel details |
If both parents live in the United States but cannot appear together, separate authorizations may be necessary. When permissions are issued separately, the travel dates, destination, length of stay, child’s passport information, and accompanying person’s details should match in both documents.
Documents Required at the Salvadoran Consulate
The Salvadoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the following documents for a child exit authorization:
- An original and recent certified birth record for the child, issued no more than 12 months before it is presented.
- The child’s valid passport or a copy of the page containing the photograph and personal information.
- Valid Salvadoran DUI cards or Salvadoran passports for both parents. A copy may be presented when one parent is in another country.
- The accompanying person’s valid passport when the child will travel with someone else. A copy may be presented when that person is in another country.
The parent should also have the travel itinerary ready. The consular authorization must contain enough detail to identify the planned departure and the people involved.
Travel information to prepare: departure date, destination, transit countries, length of stay, the child’s passport details, and complete information for the accompanying person. A return date should also be available when it applies to the trip.
Information the Authorization Must Contain
A short letter saying that a parent “gives permission to travel” is not enough. Salvadoran Immigration requires the authorization to identify the child, the person granting consent, the planned trip and, when applicable, the person accompanying the child.
- The authorizing parent’s full name, age, occupation, address, identification number, and the expiration date of the identification document.
- The child’s full name and passport number, including the passport issue and expiration dates.
- Information from the child’s certified birth record.
- A statement indicating whether the child will travel alone or with another person.
- The destination country and the length of the stay, whether temporary or permanent.
- The accompanying person’s full name, identification number, and relationship to the child, when applicable.
- The reason for traveling with an unrelated person, airline employee, or ground transportation employee when that situation applies.
- A copy of the identification document of each person granting permission.
The Ley Crecer Juntos provides that a notarial authorization or a document issued by the Procurador General de la República under Article 72 may have a validity period of no more than one year from its date of issuance. The authorization’s validity period is not the same as the amount of time the child will remain outside El Salvador.
An authorization that omits required travel or identification information can fail the immigration review and may need to be corrected before departure.
How to Complete the Process from the United States
Schedule the Consular Appointment
The parent granting permission must choose a Salvadoran consular office and reserve the appropriate service. If an exit authorization is not listed by that exact name, it may appear under actas notariales or authorizations for children and adolescents.
Sign Before the Consular Officer
The parent must establish their identity and sign before the Salvadoran consular officer. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the fee for the child exit authorization as US$20.
This document is different from permission to issue or renew the child’s passport. A family may need both authorizations, but each one serves a separate purpose.
Send the Original to El Salvador
The original authorization must reach the parent, relative, or other responsible person in El Salvador before it is used. A digital copy may be useful when requesting advance review, but it does not replace an original document when the original is required at immigration control.
Legalize the Consular Signature in El Salvador
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that an authorization issued abroad before a Salvadoran consular officer must be presented to the Directorate of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalization before it is used.
This legalization is not the same as obtaining a U.S. apostille. Because the authorization was issued before a Salvadoran consular officer, the consular signature is legalized in El Salvador. The original should therefore arrive with enough time to complete this step before departure.
Submitting the Authorization for Immigration Review
El Salvador’s Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería offers advance review of exit authorizations. Its service covers authorizations issued in notarial or consular instruments, as well as PGR opinions and judicial resolutions. The review can identify missing signatures, incorrect passport information, inconsistent dates, or other defects before the family reaches an airport or land border.
The agency offers in-person review at its branches, which it describes as immediate and free. An online option is also available. For online submission, the authorization must be scanned clearly and sent as a PDF to atencion.prechequeo@migracion.gob.sv. When the document meets the requirements, Migración sends a validated authorization containing a QR code.
Before sending the document: This site is an independent information resource and is not part of the Government of El Salvador. Requirements, fees, and procedures can change. Confirm the instructions that apply to the planned trip with the selected Salvadoran consulate and the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería.
Documents the Child Must Carry at Departure
The child and accompanying person should keep the required travel documents together. Depending on the type of authorization and how it was reviewed, these may include:
- The child’s valid passport in good condition.
- The original physical exit authorization.
- Legalization of the consular officer’s signature when the authorization was issued before a Salvadoran consular officer abroad.
- The QR validation when the online review service was used.
- The accompanying person’s valid travel document.
- Any visa, entry authorization, transit document, or other requirement imposed by the destination or transit country.
The Salvadoran exit authorization does not replace airline forms, a visa, an electronic travel authorization, or the entry rules of the United States or another destination.
Cases That Follow a Different Procedure
When a Parent Cannot Be Located
One parent cannot sign for the other simply because contact has been lost. Salvadoran law provides for intervention by the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) when a parent is absent or cannot be located, when the child lacks a legal representative, and in other circumstances covered by the applicable rules.
The passport process and the authorization to leave El Salvador are separate. Salvadoran Immigration explains that a family dealing with an absent or missing parent may need one PGR opinion for issuance of the child’s passport and another authorization for the child’s departure.
A different rule applies when a parent can be located but unjustifiably refuses to authorize the passport, a temporary departure, or a visa procedure. Article 72 of the Ley Crecer Juntos provides for the competent Specialized Court for Children and Adolescents to decide the request through the procedure established by law.
When the Child Uses a U.S. Passport
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs page for consular child exit authorizations states that this specific consular procedure applies to minors traveling with a Salvadoran passport. If the child has dual nationality, plans to use a U.S. passport, or entered El Salvador as a foreign visitor, request instructions from Salvadoran Immigration for that situation before scheduling the consular service.
When the Child Travels with Airline Staff
The parents should first verify that the airline provides an unaccompanied minor service for the child’s age and itinerary. Salvadoran Immigration requires the authorization to explain the reason the child will travel with airline personnel when that arrangement applies.
Airline forms are additional documents. They do not replace the Salvadoran exit authorization required for the child’s departure.
Passport Authorization Is Not an Exit Authorization
A passport authorization allows a child to obtain or renew a Salvadoran passport when the required parent cannot appear. An exit authorization addresses permission for the child to leave El Salvador without both parents traveling together. Having one document does not grant the permission provided by the other.
Salvadoran Immigration also states that a power of attorney containing a special clause allowing one parent to appear later and authorize the child’s departure is not accepted as a substitute for the required exit authorization.
Published Fees and Other Expenses
| Service | Published cost |
|---|---|
| Consular child exit authorization | US$20 |
| Salvadoran Immigration review | Free |
| Delivery of the original to El Salvador | Depends on the courier |
| Unaccompanied minor airline service | Set by the airline |
Errors That Can Delay or Prevent Departure
Salvadoran Immigration identifies several recurring problems in child exit authorizations:
- Citing Article 44 of the former LEPINA instead of the applicable Ley Crecer Juntos provisions.
- Leaving out the destination or the length of the stay.
- Confusing the authorization’s validity period with the child’s length of stay outside El Salvador.
- Using a travel date that does not correspond with the authorization.
- Leaving out the child’s passport number or entering it incorrectly.
- Using an expired passport or other expired document.
- Entering incorrect information for the child or accompanying person.
- Failing to identify the relationship between the accompanying person and the child.
- Preparing separate parental authorizations with dates that do not match.
- Authorizing the accompanying person without expressly authorizing the child’s departure.
- Omitting a required signature.
- Presenting only a copy when the original document is required.
An authorization containing one of these defects may need to be corrected or prepared again, and an unresolved defect can prevent the document from being accepted at immigration control.
Official Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador — Authorizations for Children and Adolescents — Lists the documents required for a consular child exit authorization and the US$20 fee.
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería — Review of Child Exit Authorizations — Describes who must authorize the departure, information required in the document, cases covered by the review service, and the no-cost review.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador — Authorization for a Minor to Leave El Salvador — Explains the consular procedure for minors traveling with a Salvadoran passport and the legalization requirement for authorizations issued before Salvadoran consular officers abroad.
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería — Child Exit Authorization Review — Provides the in-person and online review procedures, the submission email, and QR validation information.
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería — Authorization When a Parent Is Absent — Explains the PGR procedure when a parent is absent or cannot be located and distinguishes passport permission from authorization to leave the country.
- Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería — Common Errors in Child Exit Authorizations — Identifies defects that can result in correction, replacement, or rejection of an authorization.
- Consejo Nacional de la Judicatura — Child and Adolescent Law Compilation — Includes the Ley Crecer Juntos with its reforms; Article 72 addresses travel outside El Salvador, parental authorization, the validity period, PGR intervention, and judicial authorization when consent is unjustifiably refused.