News brief · Residency

Mexico: permanent residency available after four years

Mexican permanent residency is obtained at the end of temporary residency, which lasts a maximum of four years. It is one of the few routes in Latin America that genuinely leads to a lasting status.

By Editorial team · on March 31, 2026

The sequence of the two statuses

Mexico grants temporary residency to foreign nationals who can demonstrate sufficient economic solvency, assessed by reference to regular monthly income or to a balance of accounts and investments.

The reference amounts stand at around about $4,300¹ in monthly income, or around about $73,000² in account balances.

Temporary residency is granted for a maximum of up to 4 years³, at the end of which permanent residency may be applied for.

This prospect sets Mexico apart from most comparable schemes. The nomad visas created in recent years are for the most part administrative dead ends: they are renewed or expire, but lead to no lasting status.

Other routes lead directly to permanent residency without going through temporary residency, notably a family tie with a Mexican citizen or resident, and certain situations linked to age and accumulated points.

We do not publish the exact multiples applied to the Mexican unit of measurement, the points scale or consular processing times: they vary by post and we have not been able to verify them in an up-to-date official source.

It is worth measuring what permanence brings. It removes annual renewals, gives the right to work without separate authorisation, and secures a family's long-term settlement. It is a status of a different nature from temporary residency, not merely an extension of it.

The procedural trap

The initial temporary residency application is filed with a Mexican consulate abroad, not in Mexico. A person who entered as a visitor cannot, in principle, change status on the spot.

The mistake is common and costly: it means leaving the country, applying at the consulate, then returning to complete the exchange of the visa for the resident card.

This exchange must take place within a strict deadline after entering the country. Missing it forfeits the benefit of the visa obtained and means starting the procedure again from the beginning.

Finally, the annual renewal of the card, and then the application for permanence, follow their own timetables. A break in this chain can cause the loss of the seniority acquired.

What the status does not entail

Immigration residency does not entail tax residency, which follows its own criteria: first, the location of the permanent home, then that of the centre of vital interests.

A Mexican tax resident is taxed on worldwide income. The scale ranges from 1.92%⁴ to 35%⁵, and gains on the sale of securities by resident individuals are taxed at 10%⁶.

Corporate income tax stands at 30%⁷. Mexico is therefore, in no respect, a low-tax jurisdiction.

Nor does temporary residency give the right to carry on paid work in Mexico: a separate work permit must be applied for.

The Mexican passport gives visa-free access to about 159⁸ destinations. Naturalisation requires long residence and compliance with specific conditions.

What to do

File the application at the consulate, from abroad, before any move.
Exchange the visa for the resident card within the set deadline after entry.
Keep track of the renewal timetable to preserve the seniority acquired.
Distinguish immigration residency from tax residency: the latter requires moving the household.
Handle the departure from France according to its own criteria and the France–Mexico tax treaty.

Finally, property acquisition is unrestricted for a foreign national, except in the so-called restricted zone — a coastal and border strip — where it goes through a bank trust. This is a point to check for any seaside project, and it has no bearing on projects located inland, where property is acquired directly and without a bank intermediary.

Please note

General information, as of the date shown. A draft reform is not a rule in force: check the conditions with the authorities or a professional before deciding. Terms of use and disclaimers

Sources and verification dates

1.
Mexico: reference monthly income for proof of economic solvency : $4,300
« Visa de Residencia Temporal — Requisitos […] a. Solvencia económica: 1. […] comprobante de inversiones o cuentas bancarias con saldo promedio mensual equivalente a once mil cuatrocientos sesenta días en UMA, durante los últimos doce meses; o 2. […] empleo o pensión con ingresos mensuales libres de gravámenes mayores al equivalente de seiscientos ochenta días en UMA durante los últimos seis meses. — Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas, DOF, 14 de julio de 2025. 680 × UMA 2025 (113,14 MXN) = 76 935 MXN par mois. »
dof.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
2.
Mexico: reference account or investment balance for proof of economic solvency : $73,000
« Solvencia económica: 1. Original o documento electrónico con certificado digital de comprobante de inversiones o cuentas bancarias con saldo promedio mensual equivalente a once mil cuatrocientos sesenta días en UMA, durante los últimos doce meses — Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas, DOF, 14 de julio de 2025. 11 460 × UMA 2025 (113,14 MXN) = 1 296 584 MXN. »
dof.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
3.
Mexico: maximum duration of temporary residency : 4 years
« Visa de Residencia Temporal — Caso en el que se presenta: Aplicable a personas extranjeras que pretendan internarse a México en la condición de estancia de residente temporal con el objeto de permanecer por un tiempo mayor a 180 días y no mayor que 4 años. — Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas que emiten las secretarías de Gobernación y de Relaciones Exteriores, Diario Oficial de la Federación, 14 de julio de 2025 (en vigueur quinze jours après publication). »
dof.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
4.
Mexico: rate of the first bracket of the annual income tax scale : 1.92%
« Artículo 152. […] A la cantidad que se obtenga se le aplicará la siguiente: Tarifa anual — LISR, art. 152 : première tranche imposée à 1,92 % dès le premier peso (aucune tranche à 0 %). »
ordenjuridico.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
5.
Mexico: top marginal rate of the annual scale : 35%
« Artículo 152. Las personas físicas calcularán el impuesto del ejercicio sumando, a los ingresos obtenidos conforme a los Capítulos I, III, IV, V, VI, VIII y IX de este Título, después de efectuar las deducciones autorizadas en dichos Capítulos, la utilidad gravable […] A la cantidad que se obtenga se le aplicará la siguiente: Tarifa anual […] — LISR, art. 152 : dernière tranche (« En adelante ») au taux de 35,00 %, première tranche à 1,92 %. »
ordenjuridico.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
6.
Mexico: tax rate on gains from disposals of securities by individuals : 10%
« Las personas físicas estarán obligadas a pagar el impuesto sobre la renta, cuyo pago se considerará como definitivo, aplicando la tasa del 10% a las ganancias obtenidas en el ejercicio derivadas de: I. La enajenación de acciones emitidas por sociedades mexicanas o de títulos que representen exclusivamente a dichas acciones, cuando su enajenación se realice en las bolsas de valores concesionadas o mercados de derivados reconocidos »
ordenjuridico.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
7.
Mexico: income tax rate for legal entities : 30%
« Artículo 9. Las personas morales deberán calcular el impuesto sobre la renta, aplicando al resultado fiscal obtenido en el ejercicio la tasa del 30%. »
ordenjuridico.gob.mxVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
8.
Mexican passport: visa-free destinations : 159
« Henley Passport Index — classement des passeports par nombre de destinations accessibles sans visa préalable (données IATA), consulté à la date indiquée. Valeur reprise de l’index de l’ancien site (barème à 227 destinations). »
henleyglobal.comVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source