Mexico has long been one of the most popular destinations for American and Canadian citizens moving abroad. It’s no surprise given Mexico’s geographic proximity, mild climate, lower cost of living, world-class resorts, and welcoming culture.
But you’ll need a residency visa to stay more than 180 days legally. Below I provide an overview of the requirements and how the process works.
But for those who have no experience with Mexican bureaucracy, please understand that the requirements aren’t applied consistently from one office to another, so it’s impossible to share information that works for everyone.
As such, this article is intended as a jumping off point for those considering relocation to Mexico. To be fully prepared, you will need to supplement it with your own due diligence – namely a careful review of the visa requirements listed on your local Mexican consulate’s website.
Overview of the Mexican Residency Process
The traditional route to residency begins outside of Mexico. Foreigners apply for a residency visa at a Mexican Consulate in their home city or state.
There are two “flavors” available from Mexico’s Immigration Office – Temporal (temporary) or Permanente (permanent). Below is a detailed list of what’s needed to be a successful applicant.
- Proof of Financial Resources
You must prove that you can support yourself living in Mexico. There are several ways to document it:
- Monthly income from your work or a pension
- Personal savings or investments
- Home ownership in Mexico with a minimum value
- Making an investment in a Mexican company
NOTE: Some Mexican consulates will insist on seeing original documents, while others will accept copies. The minimums for each type of financial proof are shown below (following the requirements list), with details on how the government calculates them.
2. Visa application
You must complete a residency visa application form and pay an application fee. (the fee is $53 USD in 2024 or $74 CAD if you apply in Canada)
When you finish the visa process in Mexico there are additional fees, which vary depending on how many years you are seeking.
For anyone seeking a new temporary visa, the only option is validity for a single year. When it comes time to renew, you have the option to renew it for 2 or 3 years. (four years is the maximum duration of a temporary visa)
For reference, the first-year visa fee in 2024 for residencia temporal was MXN $5,328 (about USD $266). Fees are payable to Immigration using cash, Visa or MasterCard.
These fees may increase in 2025.
3. Passport
You must show a valid passport and photocopies of the identification page displaying your photo, personal details, signature, and expiration date.
4. Photos
Two recent photos (headshots) in color with a white background, measuring 3.5 x 4.5 cm.
5. Letter
You must provide a letter to the Mexican Consulate explaining why you want to move to Mexico, where you intend to live, and for how long (this last part can be somewhat vague if seeking a temporary visa).
6. In-person Interview
Consular staff will interview as part of the application process. This step happens after your documents have been reviewed and approved, which will be at the initial appointment, assuming all goes smoothly.
Financial Requirements for Residency Visas in 2025
The Mexican Government hasn’t yet released the official requirements for residency visas in 2025 yet. But they do increase yearly.
For the past several years, financial requirements for Mexican residency visas increased by 20% per year. The increase is based on several economic factors, including Mexico’s GDP growth, inflation rate, and unemployment statistics.
Their formulas for calculating the financial requirements are based on the Mexican daily minimum wage, shown below.
As the legal minimum wage has increased 20% per year for the past several years, I have created the following financial estimates for 2025 assuming another 20% increase. The figures could increase at a lesser rate in 2025 given the slowdown in Mexico’s GDP growth and inflation over the past 12 months. But the conservative bet is another 20% increase.
Temporary Residency
Source: Live Well Mexico.
Permanent Residency
Source: Live Well Mexico.
Insider Tips on the Financial Qualifications
Some Mexican consulates are known for having easier financial requirements than others. This is obviously a moving target, but research done by others has found that the following consulates are accepting less than the “official” minimums in 2024. Whether this will continue is anyone’s guess.
- Boise, ID
- McAllen, TX
- Raleigh, NC
- New Orleans, LA
- San Francisco, CA
- Toronto, Canada
Real Estate Ownership
Another way to qualify for a residency visa (temporary only) is through real estate investing.
If you go this route, the Mexican property must be owned outright, with no outstanding mortgage or liens against it. In addition, the deed must be signed by a notary public and exactly match the visa applicant’s name.
For one person to qualify in 2025, the property should be valued at no less than MXN $11,948,640 (approximately $597,432 USD). The value is equivalent to 40,000 times Mexico City’s estimated minimum wage for next year.
To include a spouse or dependent children, add approximately $645 USD per person to the minimum required property value. The property’s value is determined from the price paid (as shown on the property deed) or via a recent appraisal.
Capital Investment in a Mexican Business
To qualify for temporary residency, a strategic investment in a Mexican business must be valued at a minimum of $4,148,800 MXN (about $207,000 USD) when based on the Mexican minimum wage.
Being granted a residency visa via capital investment is generally considered more arduous than qualifying via income or financial assets.
Additional requirements for capital investors include a clean criminal record in Mexico and your home country, and providing a health certificate from a recognized medical facility stating that you are in good health and free of communicable diseases.
2024 Requirements
For those who already have an appointment scheduled, there is still time to qualify via 2024 financial requirements shown below.
The “Backdoor” Method to Legal Mexican Residency
If you don’t meet the financial requirements for Mexican residency using the traditional approach, there’s another option I often refer to as the “backdoor” residency visa.
For those who traveled to Mexico before 2022 (and can prove it with stamps in their passport), you are eligible to apply for Mexican residency within Mexico via the regularization program.
Please see my previous article on this method for a deep dive into how it works.
As a final thought to anyone considering relocation to Mexico … dealing with the Mexican bureaucracy can be opaque, inconsistent, and inefficient. But with a little persistence and a basic grasp of Spanish, you can overcome these obstacles!
We completed the process without a facilitator but compensated with extra persistence, fearlessness, full use of our middling Spanish skills, mobile translation apps, and plenty of humility.
If this sounds daunting — you can hire someone to hold your hand (plan on spending at least USD $500 per person for an experienced fixer). But before you do that, I suggest checking out my post from earlier this year on the personal traits it takes to be happy living abroad.
Before you spend considerable time and money pursuing a residency visa in Mexico, it’s a good thing to know if you’ve got what it takes to be a successful Mexpat.