To become a resident of Mexico, you apply for a temporary or permanent residency visa at a Mexican consulate in your home country, then exchange that visa for a physical residency card at Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) within 30 days of arriving. Most applicants qualify by proving financial solvency against thresholds tied to Mexico’s Unit of Measurement and Indexation (UMA), set at 117.31 MXN per day for 2026. Plan on a few weeks to gather documents, one day at the consulate, and another few weeks to finish the paperwork inside Mexico.
Temporary or Permanent: Which One Fits
Mexican immigration law splits long-term residency into two categories. Temporary residency covers stays longer than 180 days and up to four years.1Consulate General of Mexico in Montreal. I Want to Live in Mexico on a Temporary Basis Permanent residency has no expiration date and never needs renewal.
Temporary residency has a lower financial bar and suits people who want to try living in Mexico before committing. After four consecutive years of temporary status, you can convert to permanent residency without re-proving your finances. You can also skip temporary and apply directly for permanent residency from abroad if you meet the higher income or savings threshold, or if you qualify through family ties to a Mexican citizen.
The work rules differ too. Permanent residents can work in Mexico without extra permits. Temporary residents who want to work need separate INM authorization, which usually depends on a job offer from a Mexican employer. That matters if you plan to earn income inside the country instead of living off savings or a foreign pension.
2026 Financial Thresholds
The government recalculates the income and savings requirements each year using the UMA (117.31 MXN per day for 2026).2Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). UMA Equivalency Chart Consulates multiply that figure by a set factor to arrive at the number you actually need to hit. The final threshold is stated in Mexican pesos, so the USD equivalent moves with the exchange rate. The approximate USD figures below assume a rate near 18–20 MXN per dollar.
Temporary Residency
- Monthly income: 680 × UMA, roughly 79,771 MXN per month (about $4,000–$4,400 USD), documented with six months of bank statements or pension letters showing consistent deposits at or above that level.
- Savings or investment balance: 11,460 × UMA, about 1,344,394 MXN (roughly $67,000–$75,000 USD) as an average balance over the previous twelve months.
Permanent Residency
- Monthly income: 1,140 × UMA, roughly 133,733 MXN per month (about $6,700–$7,400 USD), documented over the previous six months.
- Savings or investment balance: 45,850 × UMA, about 5,378,764 MXN (roughly $265,000–$300,000 USD) as an average balance over the previous twelve months.
Individual consulates set their own local-currency equivalents and can interpret the rules with some variation, so check the specific requirements posted by the consulate where you plan to apply.3Consulado de México: Leamington. Temporary Resident Visa
Other Qualifying Paths
Financial solvency is the most common route, not the only one. If your spouse, parent, child, or sibling is a Mexican citizen or already holds permanent residency, you can apply through family unity without meeting any income threshold. You will need authenticated documents proving the relationship, such as a marriage or birth certificate.
Owning real estate in Mexico can also qualify you for temporary residency. The property must exceed a minimum appraised value, and you will need a notarized deed. This path does not lead directly to permanent status, but after four years of temporary residency you can convert.
Documents to Gather Before the Consulate
Consulates are strict about paperwork, and an incomplete folder means an on-the-spot rejection. Start pulling these together well before your appointment.
- A passport valid for at least six months beyond your planned entry date, with at least one blank page.
- Color passport-sized photos on a white background, no glasses, taken within the previous six months. Most consulates accept either 1.5 × 1.75 inch or 2 × 2 inch formats, but confirm with yours.4Consulado de México. Visas
- Original bank statements or pension letters covering the previous six to twelve months, depending on whether you are applying through income or savings. The statements need to show a consistent pattern above the threshold, not a last-minute lump deposit.
- A completed visa application form from your consulate’s website, with every name, date, and passport number matching your passport exactly.5Consulado de México: Visas. Visas
- Marriage certificates, birth certificates, or property deeds if you are applying through family or property. These may need an Apostille if issued in a Hague Convention country, or full consular legalization if not.
Any document not in Spanish will eventually need a certified translation by a translator registered with the Mexican judiciary. Some consulates want the translation at the application stage; others accept English-language originals and require the translation later during the INM exchange. Ask your consulate before the appointment.
The Consular Appointment
Interviews are scheduled through the MiConsulado system at citas.sre.gob.mx, which handles bookings for all Mexican consulates and embassies worldwide.6Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). Appointments for Consular Services via MiConsulado Slots fill quickly at busy consulates, so book as early as you can. Some consulates also take phone bookings.
At the appointment, the consular officer reviews your documents and asks basic questions about your plans in Mexico. The officer is confirming that your stated purpose matches the visa category and that your financial documents are genuine. If something is missing or looks off, the application is denied on the spot.
Approved applicants pay a visa processing fee of roughly $54–$56 USD in cash. The fee is non-refundable even if the final residency card is never issued. The consulate places a residency visa sticker in your passport, valid for six months and good for a single entry into Mexico.7Consulado de México. Visas (English) Many consulates issue the sticker the same day as the interview.
That sticker is not your residency card. It is an entry authorization that gets you across the border with the correct status. The real card is issued after you arrive.
Completing the Canje at INM
Once you cross the border and receive your entry stamp, you have 30 calendar days to visit an INM office and start the canje, the exchange process that converts the visa sticker into a physical residency card.8Embajada de México en Trinidad y Tobago. Important Information After Obtaining a Temporary or Permanent Resident Visa Miss that window and the visa can be voided, sending you back to a consulate abroad to start over.
The process begins online at the INM portal, where you fill out the exchange application and enter your local address, entry date, and other details from your immigration stamp.9Instituto Nacional de Migración. Electronic Authorization Print the form and bring it to the INM office with your passport, the visa sticker page, and your entry stamp page. Officers take your fingerprints and a digital photograph for the card.
Processing time depends on the office. Some smaller-city locations hand you the card the same afternoon. Larger offices in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and popular expat hubs can take several weeks. You will get a tracking number and a call or email when the card is ready, and you have to pick it up in person.
What Residency Costs in 2026
The INM fees for residency cards roughly doubled in 2026 compared to the year before. These are separate from the consular visa fee and must be paid in Mexican pesos at a Mexican bank before your INM appointment.
- Temporary residency, 1 year: 11,141 MXN
- Temporary residency, 2 years: 16,693 MXN
- Temporary residency, 3 years: 21,143 MXN
- Temporary residency, 4 years: 25,058 MXN
- Permanent residency: 13,579 MXN
At recent exchange rates these fees run from roughly $550 to $1,400 USD. Add the consular fee of about $54–$56 USD you already paid abroad. The permanent card is cheaper than a multi-year temporary card because it is a one-time charge with no renewals, while temporary fees compound each renewal cycle. Budget for this before you arrive; it catches many new applicants off guard.
After the Card Arrives
Getting the plastic card is the finish line for immigration, but several other registrations follow almost immediately.
CURP
Your Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP) is an 18-character ID the government uses to track every person living in Mexico. It is generated automatically when INM processes your card and is printed on the card itself, so no separate application. You will use this number constantly, from opening a bank account to signing a lease to registering for taxes.
RFC
The Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC) is your Mexican tax ID, issued by SAT. Since a 2022 reform, all individuals 18 or older living in Mexico are expected to register, even without Mexican-source income. If you plan to work or freelance, registration is mandatory. Even if you do not, you will eventually need one for banking and property transactions. Book an in-person appointment at a SAT office and bring your residency card, CURP printout, passport, and proof of address. The certificate is usually issued the same day. SAT requires you to appear personally.
Reporting Changes to INM
Foreign residents must notify their local INM office within 90 days of any change in home address, marital status, nationality, name, or workplace. Failing to report can result in a fine under Article 158 of the Migration Law.10Mexican National Institute of Migration. Procedures Guide for Migratory Procedures
One boundary worth flagging: becoming a resident does not just get you a card, it can also make you a Mexican tax resident with obligations on worldwide income if you spend more than 183 days per year in the country or make Mexico your primary center of economic activity. Talk to a Mexican tax professional before your first April 30 filing deadline.
Renewing and Converting to Permanent
Temporary cards are issued for one, two, three, or four years. If you received a one-year card, you will need to renew before it expires. The renewal window opens 30 days before the expiration date printed on the card. You cannot file earlier, and you cannot file after the card has expired; at that point, your accrued years of residency are gone.
Renewals are handled in person at the same INM office that issued your card, unless you have formally registered a change of address to a different jurisdiction. Bring your current card, passport, the renewal application (started online and printed), a Spanish covering letter requesting the renewal, and proof of address. Some offices also ask for recent bank statements even if you originally qualified through a pension. Pay the applicable fee at a bank before the appointment.
After four consecutive years of temporary residency, you can apply to exchange your temporary card for a permanent one. The same 30-day-before-expiry window applies. File the request at your local INM office with your current card, passport, and supporting paperwork. If approved, you give new fingerprints and a photo, pay the 13,579 MXN permanent residency fee, and receive a card that never needs renewing.
Let a temporary card expire without renewing or converting and you lose your residency status. From there, your options are to leave Mexico and start over from a consulate abroad, or attempt regularization inside Mexico, which is more complicated, more expensive, and not guaranteed to work.