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LEGALTICA GUIDE

Moving to Mexico: the residency options and the steps

To live in Mexico for more than 180 days you need residency: temporary residency for up to four years, or permanent residency, which is indefinite. In most cases you apply at a Mexican consulate before you move, proving income (more than MXN 79,770.80 a month in 2026, about USD 4,250), savings, a family tie, a job offer or an investment, and then exchange the visa for a resident card at the National Migration Institute (INM) within 30 days of arriving.

The rest of Legaltica is in Spanish.

Legaltica editorial team
12 FIRMS
10 OFFICIAL SOURCES

THE GUIDE · FULL READ

Which route fits you

01 Remote worker, early retiree or anyone with savings temporary residency through economic solvency, with more than MXN 79,770.80 a month for six months (about USD 4,250) or an average balance of MXN 1,344,372.60 over twelve months (about USD 71,600).
02 Retiree with a large pension permanent residency as a pensioner, with more than MXN 133,733.40 a month (about USD 7,120) or savings averaging MXN 5,378,663.50 (about USD 286,400).
03 Married to a Mexican or a resident, or the parent of a Mexican child family unity, with no income threshold when the relative is Mexican. Parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren of Mexicans by birth can go straight to permanent residency.
04 Child of a Mexican parent you may already be Mexican by birth and need no residency at all.
05 Job offer from a Mexican employer residency with a work permit, which the employer requests from the INM.
06 Property owner or investor temporary residency with property worth more than MXN 10,758,500 (about USD 572,800) or investment of more than MXN 5,378,663.50 in a Mexican company or business assets.
07 Student at a Mexican institution student residency, renewed every year.

These amounts come from the visa guidelines of 25 July 2025, which set them in days of UMA (MXN 117.31 a day in 2026). Dollar figures use the European Central Bank rates of 23 October 2026; each consulate converts in its own way and publishes its own figure.

The statuses, side by side

01 Visitor without permission to workup to 180 days, no paid work in Mexico, and in general no switch to residency from inside the country (Migration Law arts. 52-I and 53). The days granted at the border are the ones that count.
02 Temporary residentmore than 180 days and up to four years, with family and multiple entries. Working in Mexico needs a work permit linked to a job offer or to self-employment registered for tax.
03 Student residentfor the length of your studies, renewed every year, with permission to work in some higher-education cases.
04 Permanent residentindefinite, with permission to work built in.

Immigration lawyers in Mexico who speak English

Tell a firm about your move in English: they receive your message and your phone number, and you see theirs straight away. It’s free and you’re not committing to anything. Languages are taken from each firm’s profile. Firms marked “Registered with Legaltica” manage their own profile.

  1. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Ciudad de México
    LANGUAGES
    ES · EN · FR · ZH

    Migralaw - Abogados Migratorios en México

    4.6 · 151 Google Speaks English

    MIGRALAW es una firma de abogados migratorios con sede en la colonia Granada (Av. Ejército Nacional 769, Piso 2) en Ciudad de México y presencia en Polanco, Condesa, Santa Fe, Pedregal y sedes en Monterrey, Guadalajara y Cancún. Sus áreas principales son trámites de visas, regularización migratoria y naturalización; además disponen de servicios para empresas y modalidades MigraDigital/MigraVIP. Las oficinas …

  2. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Xalapa-Enríquez
    LANGUAGES
    ES · EN

    Velarde & Caicero Asociados S.A.S. DE C.V.

    5.0 · 7 Google Speaks English

    Velarde & Caicero Asociados S.A.S. DE C.V. es una firma legal con sede en la colonia Modelo de Xalapa (C. Cándido Aguilar 73) especializada en protección integral de derechos humanos: restitución de derechos de niñas, niños y adolescentes (NNA), protección jurídica de personas adultas mayores, derecho familiar, laboral, civil, mercantil y sucesorio.

  3. Registered with Legaltica

    CITY
    Boca del Río
    LANGUAGES
    ES · CA · GL · EU · EN · FR · DE · IT · PT · AR · ZH · RU · RO · PL · UK · NL · SV · JA · HI

    Abogado Alfredo Liceaga

    5.0 · 9 Google Speaks English

    Quien necesita un abogado familiar, sucesorio, penal o constitucional en Boca del Río encontrará al abogado Alfredo Liceaga en el Fraccionamiento Costa de Oro. Atiende asuntos de divorcio, guarda y custodia, pensiones alimenticias, juicios sucesorios, defensa penal y amparos. Atiende de lunes a viernes 24 horas; sus clientes lo valoran con 5.0 sobre 5 en 23 reseñas. Es egresado de …

The steps, in order

  1. Choose your route and gather the documents: statements, pension letters, birth and marriage certificates (apostilled and translated if they come from countries other than Mexico and the United States, according to the Houston consulate).
  2. Book and attend an interview at a Mexican consulate in your country of nationality or legal residence. Every family member attends. The consulate has up to 10 working days to decide.
  3. Enter Mexico within 180 days of the visa being issued, show it at the border and hand in the immigration form (FMM).
  4. Within 30 calendar days, apply to the INM for your resident card.
  5. Keep your status up to date: renew temporary cards in the 30 days before they expire, and report changes of address, civil status, nationality or workplace within 90 days.

Fees in 2026

MXN 990.79 Consular visaunder the Federal Duties Law, charged in local currency and not refunded if refused.
MXN 11,140.74 Temporary resident cardfor one year, MXN 16,693.36 for two, MXN 21,142.58 for three and MXN 25,057.82 for four (about USD 593 to USD 1,334).
MXN 13,578.96 Permanent resident card(about USD 723).
MXN 1,847.13 Change of status or regularisationfor studying the application, plus the card.
MXN 4,340.77 Work permit for a temporary resident
· Since November 2025, residents based on family unity, a registered job offer or an invitation from an organisation pay 50% of the card fee.

Example: a couple moving on one income, both on temporary residency for one year: two visas (MXN 1,981.58) + a full card (MXN 11,140.74) + the spouse’s card at 50% (MXN 5,570.37) = MXN 18,692.69, about USD 995, in government fees for the first year.

Documents checklist

  • Passport valid for the whole process, and proof of legal residence if you apply outside your country of nationality.
  • Proof for your route: six months of payslips or pension statements, or twelve months of bank or investment statements; an employer letter if you work remotely (asked for by the New York consulate).
  • Family: marriage and birth certificates, apostilled, with an official translation if not in Spanish or English.
  • A recent passport photo on a white background and the consulate’s application form.
  • Once in Mexico: the visa, your FMM and the INM form and fee receipt for the card.

If you are already in Mexico

If you are in Mexico as a visitor and your spouse, partner, parent or child is Mexican or a legal resident, you can change status or regularise at the INM without leaving (Migration Law arts. 53 and 133). If your stay expired less than 60 days ago, or you have been doing activities your status doesn’t allow, you can ask to regularise, paying a fine of 20 to 100 days of UMA (MXN 2,346.20 to MXN 11,731) (arts. 134 and 146). Outside those cases you go back to a consulate abroad. The INM can’t detain you for coming forward to regularise (art. 136).

Where moves go wrong

  • Moving on a tourist entry and planning to sort out residency later: it rarely works from inside Mexico.
  • Following old guides with amounts in minimum wages: the guidelines changed in July 2025.
  • Missing the 30-day window to get the card at the INM.
  • Working for a Mexican client or employer without a work permit: the card can be cancelled.
  • Letting a temporary card expire, which breaks the four years towards permanent residency.
  • Buying land within 50 km of the coast or 100 km of a border without a bank trust: foreigners can’t own it directly.

If your application is refused

A consular refusal can be followed by a new, better documented application (Migration Law art. 43). An INM refusal must give reasons; you can appeal it within 15 working days (recurso de revisión) or go to the Federal Administrative Court within 30 working days, and if your card has already expired you get 20 to 30 days to leave, regularise or challenge it.

When you should talk to an immigration lawyer

A lawyer earns the fee before you go to the consulate, when choosing the route is half the work, and in any procedure at the INM in Spanish. Typical cases:

Your income is close to the threshold or comes from freelance or remote work.

You are already in Mexico as a tourist and want to stay: only family ties or humanitarian grounds work from inside.

Your stay or card is about to expire: 30, 55 and 60-day windows decide whether you can fix it in Mexico.

You want to work for a Mexican company or invoice Mexican clients: work permits and the employer’s INM registration.

You are buying property or setting up a company.

A previous refusal, overstay, deportation or criminal record.

The firms below handle moves to Mexico and say they speak English.

Talk to a lawyer who speaks English

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Immigration lawyers in Mexico who speak English

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Frequently asked questions

Apply for temporary or permanent residency at a Mexican consulate in the US, enter Mexico with the visa within 180 days, and get your resident card at the INM within 30 days of arriving. The most common route is temporary residency through economic solvency.

Visitors can be authorised to stay up to 180 days; the number written on your entry record is what counts. To live there longer you need temporary or permanent residency.

Only in specific cases, mainly a family tie with a Mexican or a legal resident, or humanitarian reasons. Otherwise you apply at a consulate abroad.

For temporary residency in 2026, more than MXN 79,770.80 a month net for six months or an average balance of MXN 1,344,372.60 over twelve months. For permanent residency as a retiree, more than MXN 133,733.40 a month or MXN 5,378,663.50 in savings. Add government fees of about MXN 12,000 per person for the first year.

Temporary residents need a work permit, linked to a job offer from a registered employer or to self-employment registered for tax. Permanent residents have permission to work.

Yes. Temporary and permanent residents can bring a spouse or partner, minor children and parents, if they show 220 days of UMA more (MXN 25,808.20) per person. Spouses of Mexicans don’t need to meet an income test.

In general after five years of legal residence, or two in some cases, such as marriage to a Mexican, Mexican children or being from Latin America, Spain or Portugal. If a parent is Mexican, you are Mexican by birth already.

Official sources

Ley de Migración, arts. 43, 52-56, 59, 63 y 133-137 y 146 (última reforma DOF 15-01-2026) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Reglamento de la Ley de Migración, arts. 102, 107, 109, 112, 138, 139, 141, 142, 156 y 165 Cámara de Diputados · checked
Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas (DOF 25-07-2025) SEGOB y SRE, copia del Consulado de México en Houston · checked
Ley Federal de Derechos, arts. 8-10, 13 y 22 (cantidades actualizadas por la RMF, DOF 28-12-2025) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Ley de Nacionalidad, art. 20 Cámara de Diputados · checked
Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, arts. 27-I y 30, y artículo tercero transitorio del decreto de desindexación del salario mínimo (DOF 27-01-2016) Cámara de Diputados · checked
Ley Federal de Procedimiento Administrativo, arts. 83 y 85 Cámara de Diputados · checked
Unidad de Medida y Actualización 2026 (comunicado 1/26) INEGI · checked
Visa de residente temporal Consulado General de México en Nueva York · checked
Euro foreign exchange reference rates, 23-10-2026 European Central Bank · checked

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and amounts change: check the official sources below or ask a lawyer about your own situation.