According to a consular officer at the Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa, a person who is Salvadoran by birth cannot have his Salvadoran nationality revoked without his or her consent (19 Jan. 1994). More precisely, the only way a person who is Salvadoran by birth can lose his or her Salvadoran nationality is by expressed renunciation (renuncia expresa in Spanish) in front of a competent authority (ante autoridad competente) (19 Jan. 1994). According to the source, if outside El Salvador the Salvadoran would have to express his or her decision to renounce Salvadoran nationality in writing and present it to the country's consul, but within El Salvador the competent authority would be the migration department at the Ministry of the Interior (ibid.). Finally, the source added that persons who are Salvadoran by birth are entitled to hold dual or multiple nationalities (ibid.).

Please find attached a copy of Title IV of the constitution of El Salvador ("Citizenship"), as published in Constitutions of the Countries of the World. Article 91 of the document refers to loss of nationality and the holding of multiple nationalities by persons who are Salvadorans by birth.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of El Salvador, Ottawa. 19 January 1994. Telephone interview with consular officer.

Flanz, Gisbert H. and Margarita Ostolaza. September 1992. "El Salvador," Constitutions of the Countries of the World. Edited by Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, pp. 44-45.