Mexico changed their immigration laws in May, 2011 and said changes took effect in November 2012. To be able to remain in Mexico past the 180 days on a tourist visa, one will need to obtain a Residente Temporal or Residente Permanente visa. Under prior law the change from tourist to other visa was easily done from within Mexico. Under the new law these visas must be solicited at a Mexican consulate outside Mexico unless you request the visa due to having a Mexican spouse or child or marriage or similar relationship with a person who has a residency visa. The other exception is the changing from a current existing visa (or one that expired within 60 days or less) to a new type (i.e. temporary to permanent or temporary student to temporary) or doing a regularization.

The requirement to request the visa outside Mexico also applies to student visas and visas with work permission.

The majority of people who come to live in Mexico are retired. They must demonstrate a certain level of income or assets to be able to qualify for the permanent or temporary visa unless they can show family ties to a citizen or temp or permanent visa holder..

The Mexican government published changes to the immigration regulations in October, 2014 which lower the financial requirements in order to apply for temporary and permanent visas at Mexican consulates outside Mexico. They still have not changed the rules for applying within Mexico. This will affect people who renew late and need to do a regularization (residente temporal) as well as people who want to change from temporary to permanent before completing four years residency.

****2021 / 2022 / 2023 / 2024 REGULARIZATION / AMNESTY UPDATE. Immigration is offering a program to people illegally in Mexico.  There have been no official guidelines published.  Basically it is different in each state but for here in Jalisco you need to have a visa that is expired and have entered Mexico during 2015-2021 now you can do it if you went home after and came back on a new visa as long as the new visa is expired.  You can get a full 4 year temporary with with no verification of income or assets this way.  Costs run $26,700 pesos for 4 years and include both government fees and the fines.  For 2024 IT APPEARS THAT THIS PROGRAM IS BEING CONTINUED

**** UPDATE. While a Federal Decree has made governmental agencies use the UMA index (Unidad de Medida y Actualización) which is 108.57 for 2024, many consulates are still using minimum wage which for 2024 is 248.93. We hope the consulates will change and use the UMA index as more people can qualify using the UMA index.

**** COVID UPDATE. Many consulates are still limiting, restricting or not  visa and other services for foreigners and nationals and some have canceled appointments made.

VISA REQUIREMENTS AT MEXICAN CONSULATES OUTSIDE MEXICO:
To qualify for the temporary visa they must show a monthly income of 300 times the minimum wage (for 2024 it is 248.93 pesos) or 74,679 pesos or $4,304 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 6 months bank statements. People who have liquid assets may qualify showing that they have maintained an average balance of 5,000 times the minimum wage (for 2024 it is 248.93 pesos) or 1,244,650 pesos or $71,738 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 12 months bank statements.

***2024 UPDATE:  Due to fraud and how easy it can be to alter and forge bank statements, many consulates are requiring the statements to be certified by the financial institution or have a letter stating you are the owner of the account.  Even if a consulate does not currently require it they may change so best practice is to preare and have your documents certified and check their current policies. 

*** TERRITORIAL UPDATE:  Some consulates like San Diego and Oregon and in Washing ton only serve people in their geographical area so always check the consulate you apply with to make sure they have no restrictions.

****2022 UPDATES: Many consulates are denying younger people permanent visas, some want people to have a pension, others want a minimum age of 65 or more, younger people in their 50s are seeing resistance although we have seen people in their 40s getting them who are financially strong.   Immigration is also cracking down on foreigners with expired visas and people reporting being detained for weeks in subhuman conditions and deported.  This fact is exacerbated by the fact that many immigration officers are randomly giving people 7, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days stay in Mexico and not the 180 days which has been pretty much automatic the past 20 years.

You may qualify for a temporary visa if you own real estate in Mexico.  You need to own property that is worth 40,000 times the minimum wage (for 2024 it is 248.93 pesos) or $9,957,200 pesos or $573,902 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). 

***Property ownership can be problematic as it is hard to figure the value, some consulates like San Diego want the property to have been purchased within the past 6 months, others make take an appraisal, also if owned jointly then the amount is double as they will apportion 50% of the value to each owner.   Property ownership is the most problematic way to qualify and right now the amounts are out of reach for most.

To qualify for the permanent visa they must show a monthly income of 500 times the minimum wage (for 2024 it is 248.93 pesos) or $124,465 pesos or $7,173 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 6 months bank statements. People who have liquid assets may qualify showing that they have maintained an average balance of 20,000 times the minimum wage (for 2024 it is 248.93 pesos) or 4,978,600 pesos or $286,951 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 12 months bank statements. It has been reported to us that in the past there was no minimum age limit on people applying for permanent visas but now many have reported that consulates are asking to see pension or retirement income in order to apply for the permanent visa or they are not giving them to people who are under 50 or 60 years old if at all. Shop around as consulates have different internal guidelines and if you are in this situation it pays to make some calls.

***While the above is per the law, many consulates set a general amount which can be a bit higher or lower so as to not have to recalculate the amounts needed daily / weekly / monthly.

You can apply for visas for your spouse (same sex couples included) and children at the consulate at the same time or we can do it when you are here in Mexico once the primary applicant has their visa. Remember that in order to do this we will need birth / marriage certificates and apostilles. Starting January, 2024 Canada will be issuing apostilles.  Some consulates will require the sponsoring spouse to show an extra 25% of income / assets for a family visa, this is not required inside Mexico (except for consulate family visas).

Please be advised that the consulates might have their own special rules. Processing time varies from a few hours to a few days on average. We can consult with you prior to your trip to the consulate and then prepare you for finishing the process here in Mexico as well as advise you how to properly fill out the FMM form upon arrival so that there will be no processing delays. 

Many consulates require an appointment be made online prior to going and the online system is broken half the time, other consulates now are returning to an email system where you email them your documents for an appointment, check their web site for current information. We can help you make your appointment and go over documentation requirements so you do not have to make two trips.

We can make your appointment for your visa at many consulates worldwide for a small fee

VISA REQUIREMENTS AT THE NATIONAL IMMIGRATION INSTITUTE INSIDE MEXICO:

To qualify for the temporary visa they must show a monthly income of 400 times UMA (for 2024 it is 108.57 pesos) or $43,428 pesos or $2,503 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 6 months bank statements. People who have liquid assets may qualify showing that they have maintained an average balance of 20,000 times the minimum wage / UMA (for 2024 it is 108.57 pesos) or 2,171,400 pesos or $125,152 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 12 months bank statements. This is most commonly applied to those who renew late and have to prove income again.  ***This requalification only applies to those who let their visas expire and only then they have 60 days to do a regularization, family unity regularization has no financial requirements.

For regularizations you will pay a fine of 20-40 days UMA or from $2,171 – $4,342 pesos, 2024 UMA rate.

To qualify for the permanent visa they must show a monthly income of 500 times the minimum wage / UMA (for 2024 it is 108.57 pesos) or $51,870 pesos or $2,679 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 6 months bank statements. People who have liquid assets may qualify showing that they have maintained an average balance of 25,000 times the minimum wage / UMA (for 2024 it is 108.57 pesos) or $2,593,500 pesos or $133,961 US dollars using an exchange rate of 17.35 to 1 (using January 23, 2024 exchange rate). This must be documented with 12 months bank statements. Immigration has been applying a rule the past few years that in order to change from temporary to a permanent visa that you must show that you receive a pension or retirement income, even $1.00. This has effectively stopped many people from “jumping ahead” if they only have savings and do not receive any pension or retirement income, in these cases people must complete all 4 years as a temporary before going to permanent if for only financial reasons (not family related).

You can apply for visas for your spouse (same sex couples included) and children at the consulate at the same time or we can do it when you are here in Mexico once the primary applicant has their visa. Remember that in order to do this we will need birth / marriage certificates and apostilles (legalized copies for those from Canada or non Hague Convention countries).

*2016 Note – Immigration has changed their position during the past year and now will deny renewals for temporary visas for people who entered Mexico with permission to work for a company and then change to be self employed. They are alleging that the same entry conditions do not exist. We feel this is a violation of the 5th Article of the Mexican Constitution as well as Human Rights so please plan accordingly if you are inside Mexico and wish to switch jobs.

The U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara has not resumed their monthly visits to the Lake Chapala Society and the American Legion Post 7. The Consulate is offering mail in US passport renewal service for those with 10 year passports that have not expired more than 5 years ago, details here: https://mx.usembassy.gov/passports/u-s-passport-renewal-by-mail/

New US Consulate appointment page is here for American Citizen Services: https://cacms.state.gov/s/new-appointment 

PRO TIP: If you see the Consulate in Guadalajara booked many months off with appointments, you can go to another even if you don’t live there, many times the Consular agency Puerto Vallarta is a 1 hour plane ride / 4-5 hour drive and has appointments within a few days for passport stuff and notary.  

 We can help you with the following immigration services:

• Official Translations of Bank Statements and Birth / Marriage / Death Certificates.
• Official Translations of negative COVID test results in order to travel
• Obtaining US Birth, Marriage or Death certificates and / or apostilles
• Representation at immigration hearings
• Renewal of Residente Temporal visas or Permanent visas for minors
• Finalization of visas obtained at Mexican consulates (temporal and permanente CANJE)
• Notifications of change of employment / address / marital status (Remember you have 90 days)
• Work permission, new and renewal and registration with the tax authorities (SAT)
• Student visas
• Registration of Companies or Updating of their “Constancia de Inscripcion de Empleador” to be able to hire foreigners
• Dual nationality / Mexican citizenship
• Travel Permission to Leave / Enter while papers in process (Remember if you are in process and leave without permission they will cancel your renewal or process)
• Registering your new immigration document with Aduana to extend your temporary vehicle import permit (law gives you only 15 days)
• Humanitarian visas for people who came as tourists but are too sick to travel back out of Mexico.
• Immigration Litigation – Appeals (recursos), Federal Nullity Suits (Juicio de Nulidad), Amparo Directo y Amparo Contra Leyes
• Getting an RFC number and efirma at the SAT offices

We also do US Tourist Visas for Mexican nationals or people who are residents in Mexico who wish to travel to the US as tourists. For American Citizens we can help with their passport renewal application as well as making an appointment at the consulate except if your passport was lost or stolen, in those cases you must appear personally in front of a US Consular representative.

Mexican Citizenship
We can help you be a Mexican citizen if you have a Mexican parent or grandparent and can do everything without you having to come to Mexico personally. Foreigners who have completed 5 years with an FM2 (inmigrante), inmigrado or residente temporal or permanente or any combination of the aforementioned documents may apply to be naturalized citizens.
People married to Mexican citizens (with their marriage duly registered in Mexico), people with a Mexican child or who are from a Latin American country only need wait 2 years to obtain citizenship.

Updated January 23, 2024