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El Salvador: Documentation required and procedures to be followed by a parent wishing to travel abroad with a minor child in the absence, or without the consent, of the second parent (2003-July 2005)

The consular information sheet for El Salvador, published by the United States Department of State and updated in March 2005, outlines the following exit/entry requirements for the travel of minors:

Minors traveling on Salvadoran passports and who are traveling alone, with one parent or with a third party must have the written permission of the absent parent(s) or legal guardian to depart El Salvador. A Salvadoran notary must notarize this document. If the absent parent(s) or legal guardian is (are) outside of El Salvador, the document must be notarized by a Salvadoran consul. If a court decree gives custody of the child traveling on a Salvadoran passport to one parent, the decree and a passport will allow the custodial parent to depart El Salvador with the child (17 Mar. 2005).

The preceding information was corroborated by documentation found on the Website of El Salvador's Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobernacion) (n.d.a). It was also partially corroborated in the entry/exit requirements section of the travel report for El Salvador found on the Foreign Affairs Canada Website (Canada 18 July 2005). In particular, the El Salvador travel report mentioned that "[a]ny adult travelling with children may be required to show evidence of parental/custodial and/or access rights" (ibid.).

With regard to travel to the United States, the Website of the Embassy of the United States in El Salvador noted that as of 3 March 2003 children wishing to acquire a visa to enter the United States "must be accompanied by both biological parents at the interview" (US 3 Mar. 2003). Furthermore, when only one parent is traveling, for reasons such as divorce or death, "a legal document would be required to show cause for the other parent's absence" (ibid.).

The El Salvador Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Website indicated that the following must be presented before authorization for travel can be given to a minor: the minor's birth certificate, each parent's Unique Identity Document (Documento Unico de Identidad, DUI) or passport, and a fee of US$20.00 (n.d.b). In addition, the applicant(s) must fill out an unspecified form (formulario) (El Salvador n.d.b).

The Website for the Office of the Attorney General (Procuraduria General de la Republica) provided a similar list of requisites needed to authorize a minor's travel outside of the country: the minor's birth certificate, two colour identity card (cedula) sized photographs, the "identity card for minors" (carnet de minoridad) in the case of a youth over 10 years of age, and a "photocopy of the applicant's personal identity document" (fotocopia de documento de identidad personal del (la) solicitante) (El Salvador n.d.c). For the last requisite, the source does not clarify whether "applicant" refers to the minor or the parent.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Canada. 18 July 2005. Foreign Affairs Canada. Travel Report. "El Salvador." <http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/reportPF-en.asp?country=80000> [Accessed 19 July 2005]

El Salvador. N.d.a. Ministerio de Gobernacion. Direccion General de Migracion y Extranjeria. "Requistos de menores de edad para salir del pais." <http://www.gobernacion.gob.sv/eGobierno/Direcciones/DGME/Pasaporte/Requisitosmenoresdeedad.htm> [Accessed 19 July 2005]
_____. N.d.b. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. "Otros tramites – Salidas de menores y celebracion de matrimonios. Autorizaciones de salida de menores de edad." <http://www.rree.gob.sv/website/infoconsular.html> [Accessed 5 July 2005]
_____. N.d.c. Procuraduria General de la Republica. Unidad de defensa de la familia y el menor. "Salida del pais de un(a) menor." <http://www.pgr.gob.sv/familia.htm> [Accessed 5 July 2005]

United States (US). 17 March 2005. Department of State. Bureau of Consular Affairs. Consular Infromation Sheet. "El Salvador." <http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1109.html?css=print> [Accessed 11 July 2005]
_____. 3 March 2003. Embassy of United States in El Salvador. "Children Under 18 Must Come With Both Parents Effective March 3, 2003." <http://elsalvador.usembassy.gov/consular/english/whatsnew.html> [Accessed 5 July 2005]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: El Salvador – Casa Presidencial, El Salvador – Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarrollo Integral de la Ninez y la Adolescencia, Embassy of El Salvador in the United States, United States – Reciprocity Schedule for El Salvador.