It’s a common practice with the expat community in Mexico to keep a foreign bank account(s) and make electronic transfers from it to fund a local account when cash is needed to pay living expenses. This raises the question of which money transfer service to use, because there are now
A surprising item in the Morena Party’s proposed 2026 federal budget is a doubling of the fees foreigners would pay to INM (Mexican Immigration) for their temporary and permanent residency visas. According to the government, the sharp fee increases are necessary to address the impact foreign residents have on infrastructure,
With Mexico’s residency visa fees expected to double in 2026 under the federal government’s newly proposed budget, the cost of relocating to Mexico keeps going up. For those experiencing sticker shock when checking Mexico’s 2025 requirements, it may be time to consider the alternatives more seriously. For others, the value proposition
If you’re seriously thinking about getting foreign residency somewhere that offers a better quality of life than your home country, there are worthwhile alternatives to consider in 2025, at a discount to Mexico. Before we dive in, let me address the obvious question this post raises — why would I
It’s estimated that only 10% of home purchases in Mexico involve a mortgage. Stated another way, 90% of Mexican property deals are cash transactions. For foreigners who move from countries where taking out a mortgage is typical and straightforward, that may seem hard to believe. The reason mortgages are
Airbnb has been doing business in Mexico since 2011. Most people know it began as a way for locals to make extra cash by renting out a room in their home. More recently, investing in short-term rentals (STRs) has become big business, earning the wrath of many who see it
Thinking about using a new property purchase as an Airbnb in Mexico? You may want to familiarize yourself with the anti-Airbnb initiatives gaining momentum here first. In this article, I’ll examine the current restrictions on Airbnb in Mexico City, proposed restrictions in Guadalajara, and where and why there’s been blowback.
As if the news coming out of the U.S. wasn’t bad enough already, I am sorry to pile on. If you’re living abroad and rely on U.S.-based funds to pay for expenses, your taxes are going up. Why? Because of the new U.S. remittance tax signed into law a few
In June, the U.S. announced sanctions on Mexican banks CIBanco, Intercam Banco, and Vector Casa de Bolsa that prohibited dollar-based transfers to or from those institutions to the U.S., as part of a wider effort to disrupt fentanyl trafficking, which I first wrote about here. Yesterday, the Mexican government fined
As a foreign resident in Mexico, Dengue is the viral infection I fear getting the most. The good news is that so far in 2025, Dengue infections across Mexico are down from a year ago. At the same time, these infections are becoming more deadly. (more on that below) If
