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Pathway

El Salvador Citizenship by Investment

El Salvador Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

This is an unusually new, government-run expedited naturalization program; verify the live terms and legal consequences before transferring irreversible funds.

Contribution
USD $1,000,000 total in Bitcoin or USDT
Application payment
USD $999, non-refundable; credited to the total if successful
Family on official site
One spouse and children under 18
Official target
Passport within 3 months; not a guarantee
Payment method
Bitcoin or USDT
Residence required
Not stated by the official program

Summary

El Salvador's government operates the “Adopting El Salvador” Freedom Visa website as an expedited citizenship program. Despite the word “visa,” the official site markets fast-tracked Salvadoran citizenship and a passport, based on a USD $1,000,000 contribution paid in Bitcoin or Tether (USDT).

The current public terms say:

Those timing statements are program targets, not statutory guarantees. The applicant still needs approval, must follow the official account and payment process, and should verify the live terms immediately before paying.

The legal foundation is more than marketing. Decree 918, effective in January 2024, added Article 156(5) to the Special Migration and Foreigners Law. It allows naturalization for foreigners meeting government programs that attract investors or donors supporting El Salvador's economic, social, or cultural development. DGME must create a secure, expedited procedure for that category.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The public program is directed to a principal applicant able to make the full USD $1,000,000 contribution. A careful pre-filing review should confirm:

The site says the initial application takes only a few minutes and that the submitted information is reviewed and verified. Its public FAQ does not provide a complete legal due-diligence checklist. Do not infer from that brevity that background and funds checks are optional. Obtain the checklist inside the official application account before committing the larger amount.

The USD $999 application payment is non-refundable. The site says it becomes part of the USD $1,000,000 total for a successful applicant. If the case is refused or withdrawn, do not assume it will be returned.

Family inclusion should also be confirmed in writing. The current public FAQ states one spouse and all children under 18. It does not publicly explain every custody, dependency, consent, stepchild, adoption, or post-filing age issue.

What This Route Allows

If the government approves the application, accepts the full contribution, completes naturalization, and issues the required records, the successful person can obtain Salvadoran citizen documentation and a passport. Salvadoran nationality allows residence and work in El Salvador without a separate immigration permit.

The program advertises a family application within the USD $1,000,000 total for the principal applicant, one spouse, and children under 18. Each family member still needs individual identity and civil-status documentation and must be expressly included and approved.

Multiple nationality requires case-specific advice. Freedom Visa recipients use a naturalization provision. Article 91's unconditional dual-or-multiple-nationality protection is written for Salvadorans by birth, while Article 93 and the ordinary naturalization documents address retention of prior nationality through treaty and reciprocity rules. The public Freedom Visa site does not resolve every nationality-law consequence for every origin country. Get written advice before assuming a prior nationality will be retained.

What This Route Is Not

The Freedom Visa is not:

Cryptocurrency transfers can be irreversible. The official site should be reached by typing or independently verifying the government-domain address. Confirm the destination inside the authenticated program flow, use a controlled test process if the official instructions permit it, and retain every invoice, exchange record, wallet address, transaction hash, approval, and government receipt.

The program is new, and its operational details can change faster than the statute. The official website remains active in 2026, but a live website does not eliminate the need to verify acceptance, capacity, and terms on the date of filing.

Next Steps

  1. Read the live official FAQ and account terms. Save a dated copy of the terms that apply to the application and family.
  2. Confirm capacity before paying. Verify that the program is accepting applications and how its stated 1,000-participant limit is being administered.
  3. Obtain Salvadoran legal advice. Ask counsel to confirm the Article 156(5) procedure, naturalized status, family inclusion, refusal consequences, and final citizenship records.
  4. Obtain home-country advice. Review dual nationality, tax consequences of disposing of cryptocurrency, reporting, sanctions, and any source-of-funds obligations.
  5. Build the evidence file. Prepare identity and civil records, police certificates, financial statements, tax returns, business or asset-sale evidence, and a clear source-of-wealth narrative.
  6. Pay the USD $999 only through the verified official flow. Treat it as non-refundable. Preserve the receipt and the program's statement that it will be credited if the case succeeds.
  7. Wait for written approval and payment instructions. Do not send the balance based on a third-party promise. Re-verify the official destination and amount.
  8. Complete citizenship documentation. After approval and payment, make sure every named family member receives the final naturalization record before applying for a DUI or passport.
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