El Salvador sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs import permit, additional vaccination and veterinary health certificate. The rules are the same for dogs and cats.
Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 4 carriers in our directory fly direct to El Salvador, and their pet conditions differ.
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
4 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from El Salvador. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.
| Airline | Cabin | Hold | Cabin fee | Direct flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avianca no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ up to 10 kg | ✓ | — | from 28 cities in 12 countries |
| Vuela El Salvador banned breeds: 20 |
✓ up to 12 kg | ✓ up to 45 kg | 192 USD per flight |
from 6 cities in 2 countries |
| United Airlines | ✓ | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 4 cities in 1 country |
| American Airlines | closed on these flights | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 4 cities in 1 country |
Showing the 4 carriers serving the most cities out of 4 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.
The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.
These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.
The full list of documents and procedures for entering El Salvador. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
Cartilla de vacunación, original o copia, emitida por el país de origen
Pagar la autorización de importación ... Vigencia de la autorización: 30 días. El trámite es válido para ser utilizado una sola vez, después de su ingreso no es válido para la salida. ... Costo del servicio: $9.04.
Certificado zoosanitario oficial, original o copia, emitido por el país de origen
The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
The requirements are the same whichever country you fly from — this country draws no distinction between departure countries. Below is the same engine answer on six examples, counted from zero: no microchip and no vaccination yet, preparation starting today.
| From | Other vaccines | Import permit | Health certificate | Earliest departurepreparing from scratch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇫🇷 France | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇨🇳 China | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇺🇸 United States | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.
The country's rules place no restriction on the arrival airport. Below are airports with direct flights; marked where we have documented the arrival procedure.
From any country: additional vaccination, import permit, veterinary health certificate.
No, a titre test is not required for entry.
The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.
For example: Avianca, Vuela El Salvador, United Airlines. The full list with conditions is in the table above.