El Salvador Citizenship by Investment: the Freedom Passport for USD 1,000,000 in Bitcoin or USDT

It is a government programme of El Salvador (the portal calls it Adopting El Salvador Freedom Passport, earlier Freedom Visa). The basis is Article 156(5) of the Special Law on Migration and Foreigners: naturalisation of foreigners who meet the requirements of government programmes for investors and donors supporting the country's development with a contribution in legal-tender currency. The provision was introduced by Decree No. 918 of 20 December 2023, and the migration authority was instructed to create a secure and expedited naturalisation procedure.

The contribution is USD 1,000,000 in BTC or USDT: a non-refundable USD 999 fee at filing and USD 999,001 after approval. Each family member carries a USD 999 administrative fee. Apostille, translations and our fees are separate. The passport issuance fee is not published by the programme — we confirm it on the filing date.

No. The programme portal accepts only Bitcoin and USDT on the networks it names. That is the point of the programme: the contribution is made in El Salvador's legal-tender currency, which Bitcoin became in 2021. If your capital is in fiat it has to be converted, and the source of funds is checked all the same. For resident Indians the transfer must also fit Indian exchange-control and crypto rules — we check this before any payment.

Yes. India does not permit dual citizenship, and OCI is not dual citizenship. Acquiring Salvadoran citizenship means surrendering the Indian passport and switching to OCI for your ties to India. For families whose main need is mobility or a base abroad, a residence permit often solves the task without that trade-off — we compare both before you commit.

The application is filed online and the programme publishes no residence requirement before the passport. How the passport itself is handed over, the programme's publications describe differently: in El Salvador or at the nearest consulate, or by post or in person at an office — so we confirm it on the filing date and do not promise 'no trips' in advance. After naturalisation Article 94 of the Constitution applies: more than 2 consecutive years in the country of origin or more than 5 consecutive years outside El Salvador without permission means loss of the status.

The programme states up to 6 weeks for the review and a passport within three months. These are the programme's targets, not statutory terms. In practice, with a complete file and a clean source of funds, the path to the passport takes about two months; checks on the origin of crypto assets can stretch it. We do not promise a 'passport in 6 weeks'.

As at the verification date Salvadoran citizens enter the Schengen area visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180 (German Federal Foreign Office list). The UK requires a visa: El Salvador is on the visa national list of the UK Immigration Rules. The programme claims more than 130 destinations — we check the full list against your trips on the consultation date, as states revise visa-free regimes.

Yes, and it is the main risk for a reserve passport. Under Article 94 of the Constitution a naturalised citizen loses the status by residing more than 2 consecutive years in the country of origin or staying outside El Salvador for more than 5 consecutive years without permission granted under the law, and by a final court judgment in cases set by law. Citizenship lost this way cannot be recovered. The March 2026 reform of the Migration Law clarified these grounds. We plan trips and permissions so that the status is preserved.

Applicants from prohibited jurisdictions: Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Crimea and the self-proclaimed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia 'republics'. OFAC-sanctioned persons are ineligible. Everyone else is screened against control lists, criminal records and source of funds; the decision rests with the Salvadoran authorities.

Identity (a document valid for at least 6 months), address (a document not older than 3 months), a selfie holding your passport with a handwritten note in the portal's format, sanctions and police lists. For funds — wallet and inflow history, source of wealth and, where needed, documents of companies and foundations you are linked to. The check follows El Salvador's anti-money-laundering law and FATF recommendations; data is kept for at least 15 years. Indian civil documents are apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs; UAE documents are attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The USD 999 fee is non-refundable in all cases. The main contribution is paid only after approval, so a refusal at the review stage does not cost it. Once transferred, the contribution is not returned to the applicant — it remains at the disposal of the Government of El Salvador for development programmes. Family administrative fees are also non-refundable.

Because there is no primary source. The programme's publications describe the handover of the document differently, and passport validity and issuance fee are not published. We state only what is confirmed by law or the official portal; the rest we confirm with the programme on the filing date and give you in writing.

By price and by practice. Caribbean programmes start from around USD 200,000–250,000, have run for decades and have published regulations and statistics. El Salvador is a USD 1,000,000 contribution, a young programme with a short track record and inconsistencies in its publications. It is chosen for a specific reason: capital in crypto, a personal link to the country, an interest in its economy. If there is no such reason, we will propose another route — and for Indian citizens the dual-citizenship question comes first either way.

No. Under the programme's conditions the family application covers one spouse and all children under 18. Parents, adult children and siblings are not included. An adult child may file a separate application with their own contribution; for parents the ordinary grounds of the law remain — residence and naturalisation after the qualifying years.

The USD 1,000,000 contribution is one per family and does not grow. For each included family member — the spouse and each child — a USD 999 administrative fee in BTC or USDT is added. A couple with two children pays USD 1,000,000 plus USD 2,997 in fees. Apostille, translations and professional fees are costed separately.

Yes. If the application is refused through the fault of our team or an error in building the case, we refund the company's service fee less a minimal retention for costs actually incurred. Refund terms, the payment schedule and the rules on retaining service costs are fixed in the contract before work begins. Before we start, we check your documents and risk history free of charge and tell you about any risks in advance.