Most people who want to apply for legal residency in Mexico use their monthly income or savings/investment balances to prove ‘economic solvency’ and qualify for residency that way. If your income or savings are too low to qualify, there are some other routes you may consider.
Why have the ‘economic solvency’ criteria for residency increased so much?
Mexico’s minimum wage has more than trebled since 2016—and along with it, so too did the monthly income or savings/investment balances required to qualify for residency.
UMA was introduced to create a buffer for prices and other official calculations that were tied to minimum wage before it was purposely ramped-up. UMA has also increased each year since 2016 but at a much slower pace in line with official inflation.
Mexican Consulates abroad were directed to adopt UMA for their residency qualification criteria in July 2025 —nearly a decade after UMAs were introduced— and at higher multiples than the original law stipulated, effectively rebasing the ‘economic solvency’ requirements for residency to 2025 levels.
Income qualification —vs— actual living costs
The amount of monthly income required for residency qualification is higher than most people living in Mexico spend on living costs. The two figures are not correlated.
People with insufficient income to qualify might qualify through savings/investments, or another route unrelated to economic solvency—see the next section for details.
Income —vs— savings for qualification
Mexican consulates abroad are using UMAs for their calculations.
Temporary residency
Using your monthly income: The monthly income required to qualify for Temporary Residency in Mexico when you apply at a Mexican Consulate is around US$4,100 per month in 2025. (2026 amounts are pending.)
Using your savings/investments: If your monthly income is too low to qualify, you may instead qualify for Temporary Residency in Mexico if you have savings/investments—that can include a combination of cash, 401k (or equivalent), trust funds, and some other investment funds. You need around US$70,000 in savings/investments in 2025. (2026 amounts are pending.)
Using savings/investments remains a viable route to qualify for many people who have been saving throughout their lives, or who have that amount or more in cash deposited at a bank account(s)—for example, from a recent house sale.
Permanent residency
If you intend to apply for Permanent residency right away, to qualify in 2025 you need to demonstrate around US$7,100 of monthly income or a total balance of around US$280,000 in savings/investment account(s). Consulates only issue Permanent residency visas to people who are “retired.” (2026 amounts are pending.)
Qualifying income and savings
See our guide to financial criteria for residency in Mexico and read these FAQs for more information and rules about qualifying for residency in Mexico using your monthly income or savings/investments—including what types of income/savings qualify.
Mexico Immigration Assistance
If you need assistance with your Mexico residency application, renewals, regularization, or special procedures, our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service provides consulting, advice, and practical support that assists you through the entire residency application or renewal process, including visa exchanges, regularization procedures, and troubleshooting.
If you’re unsure about how to approach a residency application and need advice about your individual situation, consider hiring our associates for an initial personal consultation.
Alternatives to economic solvency
If you want to live or retire in Mexico but don’t have sufficient monthly income or savings/investments to qualify for residency under the ‘economic solvency’ rules, there are some other routes you can consider.
Most, but not all, applications for residency must begin at a Mexican Consulate abroad. There are some circumstances when you can apply for residency in Mexico without the need to visit a consulate first. The principal ones include:
Marriage to a Mexican national, or foreign resident
If you are married (or are getting married) to a Mexican national, or to an existing foreign resident in Mexico, you could arrive in Mexico as a visitor and exchange your visitor permit for a residency card. Mexican immigration law also recognizes same-sex marriages. Learn more about residency through marriage in Mexico.
Common-law partner of a Mexican national, or foreign resident
Mexican immigration law recognizes a common-law partnership, “Concubinos,” with a Mexican national, including same sex common-law partnerships. You must inquire at a local immigration office about the criteria they ask for to prove your common-law partnership in lieu of a marriage certificate. As with married couples, you can exchange your visitor permit in Mexico for a residency card using this route. Learn more about residency through common-law partnership in Mexico.
Defined family roots
Other than spouses/partners, defined family connections can also enable you to qualify for residency in Mexico. This article describes them.
Your baby born in Mexico
If your child is born in Mexico, both parents become immediately eligible for legal residency in Mexico. You don’t need to go to a consulate abroad for a visa—you can apply directly at an immigration office in Mexico.
Humanitarian grounds
Applications for residency on Humanitarian grounds are specialized and dealt with on a per-case basis. Visit your local immigration office to ask for details.
Mexico Immigration Assistance
If you need assistance with your Mexico residency application, renewals, regularization, or special procedures, our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service provides consulting, advice, and practical support that assists you through the entire residency application or renewal process, including visa exchanges, regularization procedures, and troubleshooting.
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
- Read about the financial criteria to qualify for residency in Mexico
- Learn about Family Unit routes to apply for residency in Mexico
- See our detailed summary about how to apply for residency in Mexico
- Find out the latest residency-related fees charged by Mexico’s government
- See our Mexico Immigration Guide that covers all of the essential information about visas and residency permits for Mexico.
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Hello,
I am currently retired (California) and have savings/CD & a bank account plus a property in Portugal.
What are the requirements for a Brazilian national to obtain a temporary / permanent residency in Mexico?
Thank you,
Hi Jacob,
You can find a detailed overview and qualification criteria on this article
https://www.mexperience.com/how-to-apply-for-legal-residency-in-mexico/
Can I apply for Permanent Residency if I am retiring “soon?” I want to apply for the Permanent Residency while I still have enough assets in banks to qualify but planned to buy a house before we finally retired and moved there. Once I buy the house, I won’t have the assets to qualify for PR. So can I apply now for PR and then retire and move there later? If so, how much “later?”
Hi Ben, it depends on your individual situation and the consulate that you apply at.
Our associates offer an hourly consultation service if you would like to talk to someone in detail about your individual situation and get help to plan an application strategy.
You can find details about the service here:
https://www.mexperience.com/get-assistance-with-your-mexico-residency-application/
Does income from my lifetime annuity count? And is it considered income or savings? I have savings in an IRA as well.
Hello Mark,
Income from an annuity is regarded as income, not savings/investment.
Some consulates accept balances held in an IRA, others don’t. IRA balances are regarded as savings/investment.
I’m coming from a place of complete ignorance here, so please grant me some grace with your response…
I live in San Diego & will be 67 in ten years. I know I won’t be able to afford to live here when I can no longer work (70?) & start drawing social security. That’ll be under $2000 a month. The notion of moving to Playas de Tijuana where I could afford rent is what keeps me from panicking. Is this article saying I’d need over twice the income to do that?!? (Savings is a non-issue as it’s wiped out by medical situation & unlikely ti replenish.) I’m stunned and may need a new life plan!
Hi Joanie, the figures (income/savings) quoted above are current. If you don’t qualify financially, there are some potential alternative ways you might qualify and they are described above.
I don’t know a single person that makes 4-7k a month here.. this is really depressing. I make ~2800 BEFORE taxes, I thought those numbers were totaled over the 6 months.
Hello B.,
If you don’t qualify using monthly income, you might qualify using savings/investments, or other routes.
The article above describes the alternatives in detail.