Are you heading to El Salvador for employment, business, or education? Maybe you’re heading down there to marry the love of your life. Or to acquire property. All these and other official reasons will require you to do two things. First, you must translate the official documents you will use into Spanish, which will ease the governmental and institutional processes. And secondly, you must get an apostille for El Salvador to authenticate your documents. We explain how you should go through these processes and why they matter:
Why You Need an Apostille for Traveling to El Salvador
Assume you want to inherit property in the U.S. You must present some official documents to prove your identity, thus setting the ball rolling for the inheritance. Officials reviewing your documents would trust their validity as they would have access to the required validity checks. But what if you want to use the documents in El Salvador? Can the officials there trust the validity of your documents? Not at all. They would require you to present an apostille for El Salvador.
An apostille is a certification borne out of a need to standardize document validation processes. Before it existed, countries had difficulty distinguishing which documents had authentication and which were frauds. So, in 1961, nations came together to create the apostille during the Hague Convention. And all member countries recognize the apostille as a seal of authenticity that gives officials details about a document.
Apostilles are not always necessary. Instead, you can only use them if you will use official documents in a country that is a party to the Hague Convention. In this case, the U.S. and El Salvador recognize apostilles as certifications for foreign documents. So, when you have an apostille for El Salvador on your official document, the recipient in El Salvador can understand the following.
- Where you got your document,
- The person who signed the document and their authority to do so,
- Where and when you got the apostille,
- The apostille certificate number for verification, and
- The signature of the authority behind the apostille.
Moreover, an apostille for El Salvador makes it easy for the recipient to understand the document’s details regardless of the country and language of issue. Besides, having an apostille for El Salvador eliminates the need to get legalization at the diplomatic or consular levels for your documents. Thus, it eases transactions between the U.S. and El Salvador.
At this point, you may wonder what documents you must apostille and which ones you can use as they are. Generally, you should apostille documents that fall into the following categories:
- Documents issued in court,
- Notarial acts,
- Administrative documents, and
- Documents considered public records in El Salvador.
Such documents include marriage certificates, divorce decrees, birth certificates, legal paperwork, death certificates, court documents, and business papers. If you are unsure you need an apostille for El Salvador, consult our team, and we will let you know if getting one is necessary per your travel needs.
How to Get an Apostille for Your U.S. Documents for El Salvador
First, you should note that each state in the U.S. has the mandate to apostille the documents issued in its name. For example, if your birth certificate is from Texas, you can only have it apostilled in Texas. Secondly, some states will only allow apostille requests through the Secretary of State, while others have decentralized the process. Thirdly, apostilles differ based on who issued the documents. Those issued by U.S. federal officers, U.S. consular officers, or officers registered with the U.S. Department of State must get apostilled by the U.S. Department of State. However, those issued at the state level should get apostilles from competent authorities in the state. Such a document will be considered valid and will not require U.S. Department of State certification.
So, getting an apostille for El Salvador will follow the steps below:
- Determine if you should get an apostille at the U.S. Department of State or state level based on the document issuer,
- Have the official document notarized by a notary public. This step is not optional, as it determines whether you get an apostille or not,
- Get certified copies of the official document. If you will get an apostille at the state level, the certification can be by a notary public. But if your apostille will be by the U.S. Department of State, the certification should be through the Secretary of State, and
- Have the document translated and attach a true translation to your official document.
You will then submit the apostille request by mail or in-person to the competent authority for processing.
Fast and Reliable Apostille Services for Travelers to El Salvador
As we have laid out in the previous section, getting an apostille for El Salvador involves many steps. Moreover, there are complexities regarding where you can get an apostille, where to certify your documents, and what kind of translation the apostille issuer accepts. Did we mention that apostille requests can also drag on for weeks? In most cases, people get their apostilles after four weeks!
Travel Visa Pro eases this process by simplifying it into three steps which cover all the bases of the apostille process:
- Ordering the Apostille: We have a simple website system where you can order an apostille for El Salvador. You only need to let us know your particulars, how soon you need it, and where you will use it.
- Getting Instructions: Our qualified team will review your request and let you know what we need from you to complete the order. We also offer translation services which we can bundle with the apostille to ease the process.
- Apostille Delivery: Thanks to our rush processing, you should get your apostille for El Salvador within days. And you will be well on your way to El Salvador!
We offer apostille services across 50 states. So, no matter where you need an apostille, you can rest assured that we have your back!