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Companion Resources

References

Every fact, fee, and law in Moving to El Salvador comes from a source listed here, grouped by chapter. Each group shows when we last checked it. Government pages move, so if a link breaks, tell us and we'll fix it here.

Front Matter (checked October 8, 2026)

  • Hague Apostille Convention (Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents): 130 Contracting Parties, including El Salvador (in force May 31, 1996), the United States (October 15, 1981), Canada (January 11, 2024), and Mexico (August 14, 1995). Status table, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), last updated June 30, 2026. https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41 (checked October 2026)

Chapter 1: Making the Decision to Move (checked October 3, 2026)

Chapter 2: Security Then and Now (checked October 16, 2026)

Chapter 3: Can You Afford It? Cost of Living & Income (checked October 16, 2026)

Chapter 4: The Scouting Trip & Choosing a Region (checked September 30, 2026)

Chapter 5: Citizenship, Residency & the DUI (checked October 6, 2026)

Chapter 6: Front-Loading Paperwork & Apostilles (checked October 2026)

Chapter 7: The Repatriación Benefit (checked September 30, 2026)

Chapter 8: Finding Your Lawyer & Notario (checked October 2026)

Chapter 9: Banking, Currency & Bitcoin (checked October 6, 2026)

Chapter 10: US Taxes Abroad (checked October 6, 2026)

Chapter 11: Estate Planning Across Two Countries (checked October 2026)

Chapter 12: Timing Your Exit (checked October 16, 2026)

Chapter 13: Decluttering, Shipping & Container Delivery (checked October 2, 2026)

Chapter 14: Pets & Flying With Animals (checked October 17, 2026)

Chapter 15: Mail, Packages & Mailboxes (checked October 15, 2026)

Chapter 16: Arriving & Temporary Housing (checked October 4, 2026)

Chapter 17: Getting Connected: Phone, WhatsApp, Internet & Streaming (checked October 5, 2026)

Chapter 18: Getting Around: Car Rentals, Transit & Road Culture (checked October 2026)

Chapter 19: The CA-4 Visa Clock (checked October 6, 2026)

Chapter 20: US Embassy Registration & Passport Services (checked October 16, 2026)

Chapter 21: Long-Term Rentals (checked October 4, 2026)

  • Caszul (formerly terrenoSV), https://caszul.com. Identity verified badge for agents who choose to verify their identity (caszul.com/how-we-verify, checked October 12, 2026), rental listings filter, WhatsApp contact from listings, and land-measurement calculator (checked October 5, 2026). Also cited in Chapters 4 and 16 and the About the Author.

Chapter 22: Utilities, Home Security & Natural Disasters (checked October 17, 2026)

Chapter 23: Furnishing a Home (checked October 17, 2026)

Chapter 24: Domestic Help & Labor Law (checked October 10, 2026)

  • Código de Trabajo (consolidated text, CNJ compendium 2025), Arts. 29 ordinal 5 (due consideration; no mistreatment by word or act, as reformed 2018), 30 ordinal 12 (no distinctions by social origin), 76 (verbal contract; signed note every 30 days on request), 77 (domestic work defined), 78 (room and board part of pay), 80 (12 hours of rest, 10 at night in a row; weekly paid day off), 81 (double pay on holidays), 82 (30-day trial period), 113 and 309 to 311 (maternity leave, 75% pay after six months, protection from firing), 177 to 182 (paid vacation, 15 days plus 30%, 200 days worked), 190 (paid holidays), 196 to 202 (aguinaldo: 15, 19, 21 days; window from October 2025 reform; D.L. 669 of September 23, 2026 moves the start to October 1, publication pending), 307 (sick pay 75% for 20, 40, or 60 days); D.L. 339 (2016, May 10 holiday) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (consolidated through D.L. 531, March 2026), Arts. 122 (work permits: Central Americans through DGME; others need a Ministry of Labor opinion), 228(1) and 235 (hiring without permission: 1 to 10 monthly commerce and services minimum wages, $408.80 to $4,088); Ministerio de Trabajo form F3, work permits for domestic service (checked October 10, 2026)
  • "Trabajo Doméstico Remunerado en El Salvador," Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social, Unidad de Inteligencia del Mercado Laboral (UIMEL), November 2024, pp. 18 and 23, https://simel.mtps.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Trabajo-Domestico-Remunerado-en-El-Salvador.pdf (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Decreto Ejecutivo No. 11 (2025), minimum wages in force June 1, 2025 (no rate for domestic work; commerce and services $408.80 a month) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Reglamento para la Aplicación del Régimen Especial de Salud y Maternidad para los Trabajadores Domésticos, Decreto Ejecutivo No. 74 (2010), Arts. 2 (by agreement), 3 (coverage), 6 (7.5% employer, 3% worker, base at least the minimum wage); ISSS contribution rates page (December 3, 2024); Código de Trabajo Art. 29 ordinal 10 (D.L. 450, 2022, enrollment duty) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Average pay $209.91 a month and about 1.5% enrolled in ISSS (2023 data), Ministerio de Trabajo UIMEL study, November 2024 (above) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Aguinaldo payment window: Código de Trabajo Arts. 197, 200, 202 as amended by D.L. 433 (October 15, 2025; D.O. No. 194, Tomo 449) and D.L. 669 (September 23, 2026; D.O. No. 177, Tomo 452, September 24, 2026): one payment between October 1 and December 20; December 12 is the reference date for prorating; annually renewed contracts keep the original start date; amounts unchanged (Art. 198), CSJ consolidated text, https://www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv/DocumentosBoveda/D/2/1970-1979/1972/07/886E0.PDF ; D.L. 433 text, https://www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv/DocumentosBoveda/R/2/1970-1979/1972/07/10E262.HTML ; Asamblea Legislativa, https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/13723 ; elsalvador.com, September 30, 2026, https://www.elsalvador.com/dinero-y-negocios/entorno-economico/aguinaldo-jornadas-trabajo-cambios/1296084/2026/ (checked October 16, 2026)
  • Código de Trabajo, Arts. 50 and 83 (just causes, including the special causes for domestic work), 55 (dismissal presumed unjustified; a firing relayed by someone else counts only in writing signed by the employer), 58 (severance: 30 days per year, prorated, at least 15 days, daily wage capped at four times the minimum), 60 (end-of-work certificate) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Ley Reguladora de la Prestación Económica por Renuncia Voluntaria, D.L. 592 (December 18, 2013; Diario Oficial No. 12, Tomo 402, January 21, 2014; in force January 1, 2015), Arts. 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 (two years of service; 15 days' written notice; 15 days' pay per year; paid within 15 days; earned aguinaldo and vacation) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • "Cálculo de indemnización en línea," Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social, https://www.mtps.gob.sv/servicios/calculo-de-indemnizacion-en-linea/ (checked October 10, 2026)
  • ISSS Régimen Doméstico described as "el régimen especial y voluntario de Seguridad Social administrado por el Instituto," "Instrucciones para el llenado del formulario 'Aviso de inscripción de trabajador de sector doméstico'," Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social, published December 3, 2024, https://www.isss.gob.sv/servicios/instrucciones-para-el-llenado-del-formulario-aviso-de-inscripcion-de-trabajador-de-sector-domestico/ (checked October 15, 2026)

Chapter 25: Driver's License, Registration & Car Insurance (checked September 30 and October 2, 2026)

Chapter 26: Healthcare & Medical Care (checked October 17, 2026)

Chapter 27: Children's Education & Schooling (checked October 7, 2026)

Chapter 28: Everyday Convenience Services (checked October 2, 2026)

Chapter 29: Buying Property, Building & Home Insurance (checked October 6, 2026)

Chapter 30: Learning Spanish (checked October 17, 2026)

Chapter 31: Culture & Adjustment (checked October 15, 2026)

Chapter 32: Safety & Community (checked October 10, 2026)

  • "El Salvador: Level 1, Exercise Normal Precautions" (travel advisory; Level 1 since April 8, 2025; reissued June 25, 2026; state of exception paragraph), U.S. Embassy San Salvador, https://sv.usembassy.gov/el-salvador-travel-advisory/ (checked October 10, 2026)
  • "El Salvador Country Security Report," Overseas Security Advisory Council, US Department of State, February 25, 2026 (petty theft, motorcycle pairs, detention up to 15 days under the state of exception), https://www.osac.gov/Content/Report/a96e39d6-0be6-4254-90c9-1c884f45d34f (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Decreto Legislativo No. 333, "Régimen de Excepción" (March 27, 2022), consolidated text with the list of extensions, Corte Suprema de Justicia; 55th extension approved September 23, 2026, in force from September 28, 2026 (El Diario de Hoy, https://www.eldiariodehoy.com/?p=94115) (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Ley Reguladora de las Actividades Relativas a las Drogas, D.L. No. 153 (2003), Art. 34 (possession under 2 grams, 1 to 3 years), Universidad de El Salvador legal database text; Observatorio Salvadoreño sobre Drogas, public alert on cannabinoid products, November 2022, https://www.seguridad.gob.sv/cna/ (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Código Penal Art. 345-C (gang graffiti and visual expressions, 10 to 15 years; April 2022 reform; second paragraph repealed November 2023), JURIST, November 2023, https://www.jurist.org/news/2023/11/ (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Fake kidnapping calls (142 cases in 2025; numbers from Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala), Security officials and the Fiscalía, as reported by El Diario de Hoy, January 2026; WhatsApp "lend me money" takeovers, Diario El Mundo (checked October 10, 2026)
  • "Launch of the New Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), Re-Enroll Now!," U.S. Embassy San Salvador, September 16, 2024, https://sv.usembassy.gov/enroll-in-step/ ; Embassy emergency line on the homepage, https://sv.usembassy.gov/ (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Smart Traveler Enrollment Program sign-up (Solo or Group plans; "Trip" or "Resident"; subscriptions carry an expiration date and can be extended from Travel Subscriptions), U.S. Department of State, MyTravelGov, https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step (checked October 16, 2026); benefits ("helps the U.S. embassy or consulate contact you or your emergency contact in an emergency"), El Salvador Travel Advisory, Level 1, issued June 25, 2026, https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/el-salvador.html (checked October 16, 2026)
  • Protección Civil, beach safety under Plan Verano 2026 (March 31, 2026), https://www.proteccioncivil.gob.sv/2026/03/31/ ; Santa Ana volcano guided climbs, elsalvador.com, September 22, 2025 (checked October 10, 2026)
  • ISDEMU, "126 Te Orienta" help line, https://www.isdemu.gob.sv/ ; POLITUR role, Ministerio de Turismo FAQ and OSAC 2026 (checked October 10, 2026)
  • Ley Especial de Migración y de Extranjería (D.L. 286, 2019; 2026 reform D.L. 531 changed Arts. 49, 119, 164, 279, not Art. 21), Art. 21 num. 2 (foreigners must present their travel document or proof of legal residency to Salvadoran authorities; the law says "presentar," not carry at all times), https://www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv/DocumentosBoveda/D/2/2010-2019/2019/04/D49FF.PDF (checked October 15, 2026)

Chapter 33: Aging in Place: Elder & Special Needs Care (checked October 10, 2026)

Chapter 34: Staying Connected to the US & Military Retiree Benefits (checked September 2026)

Chapter 35: If It Doesn't Work Out (checked October 10, 2026)

Moving to El Salvador

The book behind these resources

Moving to El Salvador

One family's real move, turned into a clear, step-by-step roadmap.

Paperwork and residency. Banking and taxes. Shipping a household, finding a home, schools, health care, and getting around. Written for those returning home and those arriving for the first time.

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