How to Apply For Residency in Mexico — Detailed Summary

There are lots of different reasons why people decide to apply for residency in Mexico.  The most common scenarios are:

• You intend to retire in Mexico or are already retired and want to move here.
• You own a house, or intend to buy a house, in Mexico.
• You live in Mexico part of the year and don’t want the hassle and risk of using visitor permit for your regular stays here.
• You intend to make a significant change in your life and work style and move your life situations to Mexico.
• You move to Mexico primarily for work reasons, usually under the auspice of a formal work contract.

Qualifying for residency in Mexico

When you have made the decision to apply for legal residency in Mexico, you will need to consider which route you will use to apply.

• Our article about the principal routes for obtaining Mexican residency summarizes the main routes most people use.
• Most applications are made via the ‘economic solvency’ route—i.e., proving that you have sufficient funds to sustain yourself here.
• If you have certain types of family connections in Mexico, you may apply for residency via the Family Unit rules.
• In exceptional circumstances you may apply for residency via asylum or on humanitarian grounds, but these are specialized applications.

Type of residency in Mexico

Mexico offers two main residency types: Temporary Residency (Residencia Temporal), and Permanent Residency (Residencia Permanente).

Permanent residency is obtainable without having temporary residency first, but the situations that allow this are very limited, and thus most applicants begin holding temporary residency first.  After four consecutive years of holding temporary residency, you may apply to exchange this for permanent residency.

• Learn about the difference between temporary and permanent residency.
• If you’re a couple applying for permanent residency together, read this.
• Note that temporary residency does not automatically come with permission to work in Mexico—this needs to be applied for and granted separately.

The residency application process

When you have determined how you will qualify, and what type of residency you will apply for, you can begin the application process.

• Most applications for residency must begin at a Mexican Consulate abroad.
• If your application through a Mexican Consulate abroad is successful, a residency visa sticker will be placed in your passport. This sticker must be exchanged for a residency card in Mexico before the visa’s expiry date—usually six months after its issue date.
• Family Unit applications and applications through special procedures can be made at an immigration office in Mexico.
• If your application is one of the few that can be made at an immigration office in Mexico, you will exchange your visitor permit (or other visa type you might have) for a residency card in-country.
• Learn more about the government fees for residency permits, and typical time scales for obtaining residency in Mexico.

Residency card renewals and exchanges to permanent residency

When you take possession of your residency card, you will gain certain legal rights and obligations as a resident in Mexico and you’ll need to manage your ongoing status, thus:

• In most cases, your first temporary residency card is issued for only one year*
• After the first year, you can apply to renew your temporary residency for a further 1, 2 or 3 years.
• After holding temporary residency for four consecutive years, you may apply to exchange this for permanent residency.
• If you don’t want permanent residency, you can allow the temporary residency card to expire and restart the process with one year of temporary residency.
• Permanent residency cards issued people aged 18 years and older never expire. Minors (aged under 18 years) need to renew their permanent residency cards periodically until reaching the age of 18.

*Temporary residency cards issued by immigration offices in Mexico to foreigners who are married to Mexican nationals are issued for two years.  Temporary residency cards granted through this temporary Special Procedure are issued for four years.

Mexico residency card use and management

Your Mexico residency card serves as a form of official identification in Mexico, and may be accepted abroad as form of government-issued ID.

• You must present your residency card when you enter Mexico, and each time you leave the country. If you are a legal resident and enter Mexico as a visitor, your residency status will become jeopardized.
• If you change home address in Mexico, if your marital status changes (marriage, divorce, death of spouse), if your nationality changes, or if you’re working here and you change jobs, you must notify your local INM office in person about these changes.
• If you lose your residency card, or it becomes damaged beyond use, you’ll need to apply for a replacement.
• If you allow your temporary residency card to expire and want to continue living in Mexico, special rules apply to get it renewed provided you do so within 60 days of its expiry date; otherwise, you need to start your residency application all over again.

Learn more about residency in Mexico

Mexperience publishes information and resources to help you learn about how to apply for and obtain legal residency in Mexico:

• Learn about the principal routes to obtaining legal residency
• The difference between temporary and permanent residency permits
• Financial criteria for residency in Mexico
• Time limits on Mexico’s visitor and residency permits
• Renewing your residency permit
• Temporary residency: expiry and renewal