El Salvador: Documents required and procedures to follow when one parent travels abroad with a minor in the absence of, or without the consent of, the other parent (June 2009)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa |
| Publication Date | 29 June 2009 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV103168.FE |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Documents required and procedures to follow when one parent travels abroad with a minor in the absence of, or without the consent of, the other parent (June 2009), 29 June 2009, SLV103168.FE, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a7040b71e.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate on 10 June 2009, an official with the Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa stated that a parent travelling alone with a minor must present written authorization from the absent parent in order to leave El Salvador. If the minor travels alone, he or she must present written authorization from both parents (El Salvador 10 June 2009b). In both cases, the written authorization(s) must be authenticated by a Salvadoran notary public (ibid.; see also El Salvador n.d.b). This information was coroborated in a 10 June 2009 telephone interview with a border supervisor (supervisor de fronteras) of the Immigration Branch (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) of El Salvador. The Border Supervisor reported that no authorization is required if the minor is accompanied by both parents (El Salvador 10 June 2009a).
If the minor's parents are abroad and the child is in El Salvador, the parents must go to a Salvadoran consulate or embassy to obtain an Authorization for a Minor Child to Leave (autorización de salida del menor) and pay the required fee (El Salvador 10 June 2009a). According to the Salvadoran Department of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) website, the fee is 20 American dollars (El Salvador n.d.a). The parents are responsible for providing the authorization to the minor's guardian (or the person with whom the minor will be travelling) (El Salvador 10 June 2009a). The guardian will then have to authenticate the authorization with the Salvadoran Department of Foreign Affairs (ibid.).
It is the guardian's responsibility to ensure that a minor who is travelling alone is on board the selected carrier (ibid.). Though the legal age of majority is 18 years, a child can travel alone from 14 years of age (ibid.).
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 sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
El Salvador. 10 June 2009a. Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería. Telephone interview with a border supervisor.
_____. 10 June 2009b. Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa. Correspondence from an official.
_____. N.d.a. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. "Autorizaciones de salida de menores de edad."
_____. N.d.b. Embassy of El Salvador in Washington, DC. "Requirements for Consular Services".
Additional Sources Consulted
Internet sites, including: El Salvador – Ministerio de Seguridad Pública y Justicia, El Salvador – Procuraduría General de la República, United States (US) Department of State.
