Decide first
- Which activity takes place in each country
- Which entity contracts, invoices and assumes each responsibility
- Flows of people, documents, goods and payments
Coverage
Business expansion between Honduras and El Salvador
For Honduran companies opening operations in El Salvador and Salvadoran companies operating in Honduras. We coordinate a common activity plan for both countries. The contracting entity, the scope and the invoicing for each country are identified separately.
Initial guidance
Is this the right route for your project?
Honduras–El Salvador: When the operation, the people responsible, payments or documents depend on activities in both countries.
Prepare for the assessment
- Map of entities, contracts and people responsible
- Common timeline and dependencies between countries
- Documents for each operation and counterparty
Essential limit
Common coordination does not replace the legal, tax, customs, immigration or accounting review required in each country.
01Who it is for
Who it is for
For Honduran companies and business owners forming a company or opening a branch in El Salvador, and for Salvadoran companies coordinating activities in Honduras.
Honduras and El Salvador share a language and a border, but each country keeps its own registry, its own tax authority and its own immigration rules. We prepare the documents from one country with a view to how they will be filed in the other.
02Problems it solves
Problems it solves
- Documents prepared in one country that are not valid in the other.
- Decisions on the structure in El Salvador made without knowing their consequences in both countries.
- Assuming that moving between the two countries is the same as being authorized to work in, or to manage a company in, the other.
- Separate compliance calendars that no one brings together.
03What can be coordinated
What is coordinated and who carries it out
- Structure in El Salvador: a Salvadoran company formed by your company, or a branch of your company. The choice is confirmed by your lawyer. Company formation →
- List of Honduran documents and coordination of apostilles.
- Incorporation and registrations in El Salvador, with the professionals the law requires.
- File for opening the bank account.
- Immigration documentation for shareholders and executives. Executive mobility →
- Operations involving goods or services between the two countries. Honduras–El Salvador operations →
- Calendar of obligations in both countries, prepared with the accountants in each country.
Who carries it out
Vertex prepares, organizes and coordinates with operational capacity in El Salvador and Honduras. In each country, regulated acts are carried out by licensed professionals of that country: notaries for deeds, powers of attorney and legalizations; lawyers for opinions and reserved filings; accountants or tax advisors for taxation; customs brokers for customs procedures. The institutions and banks of each country decide. The proposal identifies the contracting entity and the responsibilities for each activity.
04Deliverables
Deliverables
Depending on the service contracted, you receive:
- A common activity plan for both countries, with responsible parties by country.
- A list of Honduran and Salvadoran documents and a checklist.
- Progress reports at the frequency set in the proposal.
- A bank file.
- A calendar of obligations in both countries, prepared with your accountants.
Client requirements
- Documents evidencing the existence and representation of your company and of its shareholders, apostilled where applicable.
- Identification of shareholders, directors and, where applicable, beneficial owners.
- A description of what your company does in one country and what it wants to do in the other.
- Contact details of your accountants or advisors in each country, if you already have them.
- The decisions that are yours to make: structure, directors, domicile and bank.
05Process
Process
Free initial call, with no obligation, of up to 30 minutes.
Initial assessment, if your case requires it. The initial assessment is normally delivered 3 to 7 business days after we receive the complete information needed to begin.
Proposal by country: the contracting entity, the scope and the invoicing for each country, identified separately.
Documents and apostilles in the country of origin.
Incorporation and registrations in the destination country.
Banking, staff and payroll.
Compliance calendar in both countries.
Timelines depend on the institutions involved and on the documents available. We give you a written estimate in the proposal or in the initial assessment; we do not promise timelines we do not control.
06Contracting
Contracting, invoicing and limits
Contracting
We coordinate a common activity plan for both countries. The contracting entity, the scope and the invoicing for each country are identified separately. Each proposal states which entity provides each part of the service. You can hire only the initial assessment or specific services. The initial call is free and creates no obligation for either party. We quote according to scope, complexity and country. The proposal separates Vertex fees from third-party costs. If you completed the initial assessment beforehand, its fee may be credited as set out in the proposal.
Invoicing
For each country, the proposal identifies the contracting and invoicing entity, currency and applicable taxes. The professionals in each country invoice their own fees according to the agreed scope.
Third-party costs
Fees of notaries, lawyers, accountants or other professionals, official fees, translations and apostilles are itemized before work begins. Whenever possible, you pay the professional, supplier or operator directly. If Vertex needs to handle a payment, the item requires your prior authorization and is presented separately. No hidden markups are applied.
Exclusions
The following are not part of the service: tax analysis in either country; legal opinion on the structure; notarial acts; customs brokerage, transport and storage; the company's bookkeeping and tax returns; official fees and third-party fees.
Limits
- We do not guarantee decisions by authorities, registries, customs, immigration authorities or banks in either country.
- Your company keeps its obligations in its country of origin and acquires those of the other country; your accountant determines the treatment of each operation.
- The regulatory information on this page is general and may change.
- We communicate directly in Spanish and English. When a counterpart requires Mandarin or another language, we coordinate translation tools and external interpreters according to the needs of the case.
07Reference regulatory framework
Reference regulatory framework
This section describes in general terms the framework that is usually involved. It is not advice and does not detail requirements, fees or timelines. Check the official source and the opinion of your professionals in each country.
Company or branch in El Salvador
The Oficina Nacional de Inversiones (National Investment Office) of the Ministerio de Economía (the Salvadoran Ministry of Economy) publishes the service charter for the registration of foreign investment, which covers both foreign legal entities that are shareholders of Salvadoran companies and branches of foreign companies.[1]
Honduran documents in El Salvador
Honduras and El Salvador are parties to the Apostille Convention (the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents). Each institution may ask for additional requirements.[3]
Residency in El Salvador
The permanent residence service charter of the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (the Salvadoran General Directorate of Migration and Foreign Nationals) includes, among its categories, Central Americans by birth. The requirements are confirmed by the immigration authority and, when the law requires it, by a lawyer.[2]
Tax obligations in Honduras
The Servicio de Administración de Rentas (the Honduran Revenue Administration Service) administers Honduran national taxes and publishes guides for the returns of legal entities.[4]
08Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
01Do I sign a single contract for both countries?
Not necessarily. We coordinate a common activity plan for both countries. The contracting entity, the scope and the invoicing for each country are identified separately.
02Can my Honduran company be a shareholder of a Salvadoran company?
It is one of the options usually evaluated. Your lawyer confirms the right form and the documents your company must apostille.
03Do I need residency to operate in El Salvador?
It depends on the role each person will perform. We review this when preparing the plan, together with the appropriate immigration option and with a lawyer when the law requires it.
04Can I invoice Honduran clients from El Salvador?
The tax treatment of each operation is determined by your accountant in each country.
09Regulatory sources
Regulatory sources
General information, verified as of October 21, 2026. It does not constitute legal, accounting, tax or immigration advice. Laws and procedures change: always check the official source.
- [1]"Registro de inversión nacional y extranjera (Inversiones)" (registration of domestic and foreign investment), service charterInstitution: Ministerio de Economía, Oficina Nacional de Inversiones (Ministry of Economy, National Investment Office). Verified on October 21, 2026.
- [2]"F-32 Trámite de residencia definitiva para categorías varias" (F-32, permanent residence procedure for various categories), service charterInstitution: Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (General Directorate of Migration and Foreign Nationals). Verified on October 21, 2026.
- [3]"Convenio de 5 de octubre de 1961 suprimiendo la exigencia de legalización de los documentos públicos extranjeros: estado actual" (current status of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents)Institution: Conferencia de La Haya de Derecho Internacional Privado (Hague Conference on Private International Law), depositary of the Convention's information. Verified on October 21, 2026.
- [4]"Declaración jurada impuesto sobre la renta, activo neto y aportación solidaria persona jurídica (código 103)" (guide to the sworn return of legal entities for income tax, net assets tax and solidarity contribution, form 103), guide dated February 2026Institution: Servicio de Administración de Rentas (Honduran Revenue Administration Service). Verified on October 21, 2026.
Verification date: October 21, 2026
First step
Plan your expansion between Honduras and El Salvador. Tell us what your company does in one country and what it wants to do in the other. Request your free initial call, with no obligation, of up to 30 minutes. If your case requires it, we will propose an initial assessment.