Getting our Permanent Visa to Live in Mexico

How to Get Your Temporary or Permanent Residency Visa for Mexico

ByEpicurean Expats January 12, 2025January 12, 2025

**This post has been updated with 2025 financial requirements for residency from the Mexican government on getting both temporary and permanent visas.**

Mexico has one of the easiest residency requirements which makes it attractive to retirees and remote workers. Securing legal residency allows individuals to stay in Mexico indefinitely and access healthcare and bank savings CDs with high interest rates.

We went through the process of temporary residency for Mexico for four years before receiving our permanent residency. This post will highlight the financial requirements and documentation needed to obtain residency in Mexico and navigate the immigration process almost painlessly.

Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links where we receive a super-small commission at no additional cost to you if you click through and make a purchase. We call this our Chocolate & Churro Fund.

Checklist for Your Temporary or Permanent Visa

First visit a Mexican Consulate in your home country. Show proof of financial requirements. Get the pre-approved residency visa sticker in your passport.
Come to Mexico within 6 months of receiving your pre-approved visa.
Hire a lawyer/relocation/immigration expert or visit these websites to fill out the paperwork: www.gob.mx
Depending on the immigration office, make an appointment or stand in line to get your physical temporary or permanent visa.

Temporary vs Permanent Residency in Mexico

To qualify for either temporary or permanent residency in Mexico, you must show that you can financially support yourself. These financial requirements increase every year, sometimes as much as 20%. If you can only qualify for a temporary visa, you automatically qualify for a permanent visa after four years.

The requirements for permanent residency are a lot more, but if you qualify, do it. Paying for the permanent visa once compared to 3 years of a temporary visa and then the final payment for the permanent is costly. Plus, you only have to go to immigration once instead of four times. This reason alone makes it the more attractive option.

How Are the Financial Requirements Determined?

The minimum daily wage in Mexico, or MDW, increases every year and they use this formula to determine the financial requirements of foreigners entering the country. The MDW for 2025 is 278.80 pesos per day.

Some consulates will require 12 months of financial statements, so be prepared. Income can be wages, a pension, or investment profits or a combination of these. Balances in cryptocurrency will not be accepted for either residency visa.

Financial Requirements for 2025

Temporary Residency Financial Requirements

For 2025, the financial requirement for a temporary visa is now 4,185 USD (83,700 MXN) per month for 12 months or more, or a savings balance of $69,750 (1,395,000 MXN) for the last 12 months.

Permanent Residency Requirements

For 2025, the financial requirement for a permanent visa is a monthly income of $6975 (139,500 MXN) or greater per month for 12 months, or $279,000 USD (5,580,000 MXN) in savings for the past 12 months.

Dependents

If you have dependents, you will need to show an additional amount of $1395 USD (27,900 MXN) per month for 6 months or more to show that you can support your family for either temporary or permanent residency.

***We included the Mexican peso equivalent because depending on the currency exchange rate, the US dollar amount could be higher or lower than what we printed.***

Consulates may ask for 6 months to up to 2 years of financial statements. Be prepared.

#1- Applying for a Visa in Your Home Country

The first thing you need to know and do is apply for the temporary or permanent visa in your home country. Call your nearest Mexican Consulate to find out the requirements needed for each visa and make an appointment. Make an appointment to present all your paperwork and get the visa sticker in your passport.

Visit www.mexonline.com for a list of Mexican consulates in the United States and Canada.

The Mexican Consulates across the United States have similar, but different requirements. What may be required in Chicago could be different then what is required for Dallas or New York.

The following is what the Orlando Mexican Consulate office required from us: (please check with the consulate closest to you for their specific requirements):

A record of all income, stocks, 401K, and any other investments for a year (some ask for 6 months and others might ask for two years of financials) We needed to show that we had enough money to support ourselves while we are living in Mexico.
Original marriage certificate
Passports

For our appointment, we printed out two years of financial statements plus copies of our passports. The marriage certificate needed to be an original. We had our pictures taken at the Consulate and paid the necessary amount for the visa sticker in our passports. This temporary pre-visa was valid for up to 6 months.

The next time we entered Mexico we would have to go to immigration to get the “real” temporary visa.

The pre-approved visa from the Mexican Consulate is valid for six months.

You must enter Mexico within those six months to complete the process at immigration for your temporary or permanent visa. If you do not enter Mexico within those six months, you will need to go back to the consulate and restart the process.

#2- The Official Visa Process in Mexico

Residency visa renewals have become easier, and you can get the paperwork processed, fingerprinted, pictures taken and your new card back all in one day.

If you are getting your visa for the first time, you will still need to submit physical photos for their paper records.

Should You Hire a Lawyer/ immigration specialist?

We have used a lawyer every year we renewed mostly because our Spanish is fine for a restaurant, but not for government procedures. You can choose to do the paperwork yourself. We just felt more at ease having someone else do it who is familiar with the process. But finding the right lawyer is crucial.

Choosing a lawyer can be complicated. You want a lawyer that has good relations with immigration, otherwise, they can make your experience absolutely miserable.

We have used three different lawyers/immigration specialists:

Lawyer #1- Our first lawyer liked to use fear tactics. She told us if we didn’t have our paperwork right for importing our dog, customs would kill her right there in the airport. Obviously, we fired her. You don’t mess with our dog.

Lawyer #2- Our second lawyer had her assistants do the paperwork, but we still had to make all the additional copies and go to the bank and pay the fees ourselves. For two years (and two assistants), they never had the paperwork right. Immigration sent us away countless times because we didn’t have a certain document or enough copies.

Immigration Specialist #3- Third time’s the charm! She gathered all our past paperwork, filled out the new forms, checked over the paperwork with us, made an appointment at immigration, and checked all the documents with immigration BEFORE we went in.

Our appointment was at 10am. We arrived at 9:30, went in at 9:45am (you can only enter the building 15 minutes before your appointment), and we were called up to the immigration officer’s desks by 10:10am. They went over our paperwork, made their own copies, took our pictures and fingerprints, and we were out of there before 11:30am.

If you need a relocation specialist in Queretaro, we would certainly recommend ours.

All The Documents Are Online

There are basic forms to fill out about your height, hair color and occupation, etc. You must type in the answers into the website in Spanish and print the forms.

Print out 3 copies of each page.
Sign with blue ink.
Make three copies of your passport and your visa card if you are renewing.
Reserve an appointment with immigration and take your documents with you (or your relocation specialist can do all this for you).

Regarding Occupation

You can work in Mexico with a permanent visa, but not with a temporary visa unless you are working for a company that sponsors you or you apply for a work permit. You can apply for the work permit stating exactly what you would be doing for work (ex. wedding photography, engineering consulting, etc), but that’s a long process. It’s best to say that you are making passive income (commissions) from your original country, or not working at all.

**If you plan on working online or have a business back in your home country, tell them you will NOT be working especially for the temporary visa.

If you try to be as truthful as possible, it confuses them and there’s more paperwork involved. We told them we are “living off of commissions” from our businesses.**

Residency Visa Payment Form

There is a payment form that also needs to be printed and taken to the bank to be paid. This needs to be paid in cash. The bank will keep the form and give you back a half sheet receipt. Make at least 3 copies of this.

If this is your first year getting the visa, usually the price of the visa is included in your lawyer’s fees. This is because the form requires a bank account number, but you can’t open an account until you show proof of residency.

You can ask your lawyer to take care of the visa payment if you prefer.

2025 Residency Visa Costs

Temporary resident card, up to one year 5570 pesos
Temporary resident card for two years 8347 pesos
Temporary resident card for three years 10571 pesos
Temporary residency changing to Permanent 1780 pesos
Permanent resident status authorization 6789 pesos

Address Form

For your first year, you will need a letter from your landlord or realtor stating you live at that address. Having the rental agreement and some type of bill (electric/water/cable) with the address on it with your landlord’s name, is also very helpful.

If you renew and change addresses, there is a form you need to fill out stating the former and current address. Make 3 copies of this. Also bring some type of electric, water or cable bill for proof of address. Make copies of these, too.

* Note: If you change your address more than 3 months ago and did not inform immigration, you could be subject to a hefty fine. This pertains to both temporary and permanent residency.

Bank Statements

Immigration in Queretaro wanted to see our financial statements every year. Many expats in Facebook groups argued with me that it’s not required, but this was our experience.

It’s really unclear how many months of bank statements you have to bring to show proof that you can support yourself. The Mexican Consulate in Orlando asked us for two years of statements. For our first and second year on temporary, they asked for one year of statements when we were told they weren’t going to ask for them at all.

Our third year of temporary, they only asked for 3 months of bank statements. When we applied for our permanent visa, they only asked for one bank statement.

Be prepared with at least a year’s worth of financial statements per person each visit. Immigration reserves the right to make your life difficult, so don’t give them an opportunity.

Photos

Immigration takes digitized photos like the ones you are used to at the DMV. And the pictures come out just as horrible.

Ladies (and gents) with long hair, bring a hairband. You will need your hair pulled back to show your ears.

Also, if your eyes are below the level of the camera, fold your legs under your butt to sit up higher so you don’t look like a troll in your picture. (Yes, it happened to me.)

Fingerprinting

Fingerprinting is digitized as well. You will put 4 fingers down at a time, right, left, then both thumbs at once.

You Cannot Use Your Cell Phones in Immigration Office

You cannot use your cell phone in the immigration building. This is to “protect” individuals and maybe even their lack of organization. If you planned to play games, scroll social media, or read a saved book on Kindle on your cell phone, it is forbidden. Bring a book as there isn’t much to look at in the stark waiting room.

Additional Notes

I have heard that getting a visa in San Miguel de Allende, Puerta Vallarta, and Cancun is a much easier process. There are more lawyers and officials there who speak English. Be aware that you need to apply for your visa in the Mexican state where you will reside.

If you need to leave the immigration building to make copies, there are businesses nearby that will make copies and have immigration counselors to help you. But if you use a relocation/immigration specialist, you should have a smooth experience. These people have good relationships with immigration and usually can get the applications processed fast.

What If I Am Married to a Mexican?

If you are married to a Mexican and move to Mexico, you will receive a temporary visa for the first year. The second year you will receive your permanent visa. We know this from two of our neighbors. Their spouses had to wait a year for a permanent visa.

Can’t I Just Get The Tourist Visa Every 6 months and Avoid All this Hassle?

Several expats have lived on a tourist visa in Mexico for years, but things have changed. The tourist visa allows you to stay in Mexico for up to 180 days. You would then leave the country for a day or two and come back and start the next 180 days on a new tourist visa.

Well, things have changed. With the United States putting pressure on Mexico to curb the influx of immigrants from Central America and Venezuela, Mexican immigration has cracked down on everyone coming into Mexico.

When you go through customs, you need to have proof of where are you staying and for how long. The length of stay on your tourist visa is up to the immigration officer. In some cases, they may only give you the number of nights of your hotel reservation plus a day. In other words, you are not guaranteed 180 days. If you do plan on living in Mexico, it just makes sense to get legal residency, whether it’s temporary or permanent.

The Mexican government can change its policies at any time.

Can I Choose Which Temporary Visa I Want?

Wouldn’t that be nice! No, you have to buy the temporary visa for the first year. After that, you can apply for the 2- or 3-year visa so you don’t have to go back to immigration as often. We were able to get a 1-year, 2-year, 1-year temporary visa before we attained our permanent visa.

You might want to have a relocation specialist help you with this, though most of them would prefer to get paid each year.

One more thing…Smile. A lot. This will test your patience, but it will be worth it!

Migratory requirements and address of the INM can be found on www.gob.mx

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Relocation Consultation

Do you have questions on prices, neighborhoods, and expectations about starting your new life in Mexico? Ask us directly! We can set up an hour long video conference call on Whatsapp and help answer questions that pertain to you and your lifestyle. Our consultations are $70 USD for an hour. If we go over the allotted time, no worries. We won’t charge you extra. We want you to get the answers you need to make the best decision for a new life. Plus, we will send you a follow-up email with resource links specifically for you.

Email us directly at [email protected].

Check out these other posts regarding life in Queretaro:

11 Comments

Blake says:

April 1, 2018 at 11:25 am

Love the blog and the details of your journey. I’ve been strongly considering Queretaro. Would you mind sharing the name of your visa attorney and general costs associated? Much thanks and best wishes!

Reply
1. tiffnhudson says:
  
  April 3, 2018 at 7:48 pm
  
  I’ll send you the details in an email. What attracts you to Queretaro?
  
  Reply
Pingback: Our First 100 Days Living in Mexico - Epicurean Expats
Matthew says:

June 9, 2019 at 11:58 am

I enjoyed reading your article. Here is my experience. I applied for a temporary residency card 4 years ago. I started the process in Houston and finished it in Mexico City. I would say it took about 2 weeks. The first time I went, they gave me the requirements. I was able to leave the office and return the same day with some of what they required: proof that I had paid the fee at nearby bank (I had to go to three to find one that would do it) and the special-sized photos. Then I had to wait about 10 days for an email. Then, I went back to the immigration office and gave my fingerprints and picked up my residency card. Each time, I had to wait several hours. The times I went right when they opened, it was much quicker. Also, in your post you wrote that you can’t get a work permit with a temporary visa: however, I applied for one and was approved. Thanks again for your article. It helped me remember the process.

Reply
1. Tiffany says:
  
  June 9, 2019 at 7:46 pm
  
  Hi Matthew,
  
  Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I think it’s good for our readers to see differnet expereinces. I guess I should clarify that we can apply for a work permit while we have a temporary visa, but our lawyer told us that we have to state exactly what we will be doing for work in order to apply for it. (Example: wine consulting, wine marketing, photography, etc)
  
  We renewed our visas this year, and immigration printed that I have the right to work on mine even though I did not apply for it. Our lawyer said immigration made a mistake and if we were to go and get a tax ID, they would confiscate my card. I have to turn in my “work” visa once they reprint the right one. Since we aren’t sure what we want to do in the future, we are going to wait and continue working remotely with our US businesses.
  
  Reply
  1. Rose says:
    
    January 20, 2020 at 3:46 pm
    
    Thank you for this informative article. I came across it while looking into the temp visa application process in Mexico. We’re looking at moving to Queretaro at the moment. Would you be able to share details of your visa attorney at all?
    
    Reply
    1. Tiffany says:
      
      January 20, 2020 at 3:48 pm
      
      Hi Rose! Yes, I’d be happy to send you our lawyers information. I will send it to you by email.
      
      Reply
2. Steven Burtchaell says:
  
  December 20, 2019 at 4:24 am
  
  Hello Matthew,
  I read that you completed the Permanent Resident VISA process in Mexico City.
  
  My wife and I are retired and planning to visit Mexico City in Jan 2020 to do the same thing. If you please, might you share some details about your experience. Where did you take your passport pics? Did you hire an attorney or someone there for help to review your application and guide you through the process?
  
  Thank you
  Nancy and Steve Burtchaell
  
  Reply
Steven Burtchaell says:

December 20, 2019 at 4:18 am

Hello

Very grateful to have found your webpage about your experience at INM. It is hard to find much info about the process.
My wife and I are retired and have completed the first step of receiving our Permanent Resisdent VISA at our local Mexico Consulate in New Orleans, Louisiana USA.
We are planning to visit Mexico City end of January 2020 to finish the process there. Is there any chance you can forward my address to your friend mentioned in your article that completed his Permanent Residency application in Mexico City please. We wondering what attorney he used if any and we want to make sure we bring all the necessary documents. It would be nice if there was someone to help us through the process. Where did he take passport photos and did they need to translate any documents, etc. Hope to hear from you. Merry Christmas!
Thank you in advance!
Nancy and Steve Burtchaell

Reply
Mihaela says:

December 24, 2019 at 3:39 pm

Thank you so much for the wealth of info on your website! We have been looking at moving to Merida for an early retirement but after visiting it and dealing with the heat and hearing stories about scorpions in the homes and snakes on the patios – we said NOOOO!
My question is: since you lived in Queretaro, is it “normal” to hear such stories there? I can deal with little lizards or other small insects but can’t take the sight of snakes or scorpions!
We were going to discard Mexico entirely from our plans, when we saw Queretaro/Oaxaca at higher altitude (so not as hot) and thought that maybe these don’t have the reptiles and crawlers that we cannot live with…
All the other problems like selling the house and getting visa pale in comparison to this issue of ours! 🙂
Thank you!

Reply
1. Tiffany says:
  
  December 27, 2019 at 2:56 pm
  
  Hi Mihaela! It is true that we are at a much higher altitude, but it’s hard to escape creepy crawly things. We will say that after living here for almost 2 years, we’ve only seen one 2 snakes (crossing the road), and though we haven’t seen scorpions, our friends did find one in their house. We use this white powder stuff in our yard 2-3 times per year to dehydrate (kill) crickets, and maybe that’s why we haven’t seen any. This white stuff is like SevenDust and washes away after a good watering or rain so its safe for pets. Since many houses here are built with cement walls around the yard, it would be hard for critters to move from one yard to another. I hope this relieves your concerns.
  
  Reply