Do United Kingdom passport holders need a visa to visit SV?

UK ordinary passport holders do NOT need a visa for tourism in El Salvador. You can enter visa-free and stay for up to 180 days. The former $12 tourist card fee was abolished in May 2025, so entry is now free. British (GB) ordinary passport holders can travel to El Salvador for tourism without a visa for up to 180 days, as confirmed by GOV.UK foreign travel advice. There is no longer any tourist card to buy: El Salvador eliminated the previous USD 12 tourist card fee in May 2025, so entry is free of charge for visa-exempt nationalities including the UK. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your arrival date, and immigration officers may ask to see proof of onward or return travel and sufficient funds. El Salvador is not in the Schengen area, so the Schengen 90/180 rule and ETIAS do not apply to this trip. Note that El Salvador participates in the CA-4 (Central America-4) free-movement zone with Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua: if you travel onward to Guatemala or Nicaragua, the combined visa-free period for the region is generally 90 days and the clock does not reset at each border. For a single-country tourist visit to El Salvador, however, the full 180-day visa-free allowance applies. To stay longer than 180 days, or to work or study, you must apply through the Salvadoran Embassy in London or the General Directorate of Migration before your stay expires.