Mexico Golden Visa: Residency by Economic Solvency or Investment (2026)

Mexican immigration law has three conditions of stay: visitor, temporary resident and permanent resident. A temporary resident may live in Mexico for more than 180 days and up to four years, and may enter and leave freely^[1][4]. A permanent resident holds the status indefinitely. Article 54 of the Migration Law lists who qualifies, including retirees and pensioners with foreign income and anyone who has held temporary residence for four years^[4].

Two authorities share the process. Mexican consulates, run by the Foreign Ministry (SRE), assess the financial evidence, interview the applicant and issue a single-entry residence visa. The National Migration Institute (INM), part of the Interior Ministry, then exchanges that visa for a residence card inside Mexico (the canje) and handles renewals and changes of status^[1][5]. The solvency thresholds for the visa are set by the Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas, signed on 14 July 2025 and published on 25 July 2025^[1]. INM's own procedures still follow its 2012 guidelines, last amended in December 2019^[5].

The status is open. There is no annual cap, no minimum investment period and no government fund to pay into. The trade-off is that investment alone rarely gets you in. The investment routes are real estate and company capital, and they cost several times more than simply showing a savings balance. For most applicants the "golden visa" is therefore a solvency visa. Money spent on a home or business can be in addition to that, but is rarely the basis of the application.

What is marketed as a "Mexico passive income visa" or digital-nomad visa is the income limb of the temporary residence visa. You must show net monthly income from employment or a pension of more than 680 UMA, about MXN 79,771 or US$4,360, in each of the last six months^[1][2]. Consulates post their own conversions. Orlando, for example, asks for at least US$4,393 a month for six months, evidenced by bank-stamped statements. Employees must also provide an employer letter confirming that they may work remotely from Mexico^[7].

Income and savings cannot be added together: the guideline lists them as alternatives, and each limb is assessed on its own^[1]. Truly passive income such as dividends or rent is not named in the text: the guideline says employment or pension. Some consulates accept investment income documented as regular deposits and others do not, so check with your consulate before booking. A temporary resident may not take Mexican employment without a separate work permit linked to a job offer^[4].

Owning Mexican property qualifies you for temporary residence if a notarised public deed shows property worth more than 91,710 UMA: MXN 10,758,500, or about US$588,000 in 2026^[1][2]. Before the 2025 guidelines the property test was tied to the minimum wage, which was much lower in earlier years, so older articles still describe property as a cheap route. Today the savings limb is about one-eighth of the property figure. Most buyers therefore apply on savings and own the home on the side.

Buying in the restricted zone

Article 27 of the Constitution bars foreigners from holding direct title to residential land within 100 km of a border or 50 km of the coast. That covers Cancún, Tulum, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. In these areas foreigners buy through a fideicomiso, a bank trust in which a Mexican bank holds title and you hold the beneficial rights to use, rent, sell and bequeath the property^[18][19]. The SRE permit to set up the trust costs MXN 21,648.83 under the Federal Fees Law. Outside the restricted zone, a foreigner signs an SRE renunciation agreement (the Calvo clause, MXN 5,252.02) and takes direct title^[3][18]. Trusts run 50 years and are renewable. Advisers quote US$1,500–3,000 to set one up and US$500–800 a year in trustee fees^[19].

Purchase costs

Mexico has no single national closing-cost rate. The acquisition tax (ISAI) is set locally, commonly 2–5% of value. Notary fees run about 1.5–3% plus VAT, and registry, appraisal and permit costs come on top^[18][19]. Annual property tax (predial) is set locally at widely varying rates^[14]. Get an itemised quote from the notary before you commit.

The investor limb gives temporary residence to a foreigner who holds shares in a Mexican company. The evidence must show that the amount actually paid for the stake exceeds 45,850 UMA (MXN 5,378,664, about US$294,000). That stake is required in every case. On top of it, the guideline asks for one of two further items: fixed assets used for business worth more than 45,850 UMA, or proof of real business activity in Mexico. That proof can be contracts, invoices, licences, or Mexican Social Security (IMSS) registration showing at least three employees^[1][2]. This route suits people who are genuinely setting up a business. As an investor resident you still need INM permission to work for your own company, and the company carries ordinary Mexican corporate, payroll and accounting obligations.

The UMA multiples in the 2025 guidelines are the legal standard, but consulates publish their own figures in local currency, and they do not always match. Orlando lists US$73,215 in savings or US$4,393 a month, which implies roughly MXN 18.2–18.4 per dollar against the formula^[7]. The Washington embassy's 2026 sheet for retirees asks for MXN 5,576,000 in savings or a MXN 139,400 monthly pension. That is about 3.7% and 4.2% above the formula results of MXN 5,378,664 and MXN 133,733. Washington also limits that visa to people who are officially retired or aged 62 and over^[8]. London restates the UMA multiples and describes the permanent visa as open to pensioners and people living on their own means^[9].

Some Spanish-language guides still quote much lower multiples, such as 300 or 5,000 days. Those come from the abrogated 2014 rules or from in-country procedures. In addition, INM's 2012 guidelines for a change of status inside Mexico still express the retiree test in minimum-wage days: 25,000 days of savings or 500 days of pension^[5]. Read literally at the 2026 minimum wage of MXN 315.04^[10], that would give a far higher number. However, under the 2016 constitutional de-indexation reform, references to the minimum wage as a unit of measure in legal provisions are read as references to the UMA^[22]. On that reading the in-country test is MXN 2,932,750 in savings or MXN 58,655 a month, below the consular figures. We could not confirm how INM offices apply it in 2026. Treat your consulate's published sheet as binding for the visa, and budget a margin above the formula.

A residence visa is filed in person at a Mexican consulate outside Mexico. For the solvency, property and investor routes you cannot apply from inside the country as a tourist^[1]. The consulate requires^[1]:

• A valid passport and, if you are not a national of the country where you apply, proof of legal stay there (a visa, residence card or similar);
• Evidence for one route: 12 months of statements for savings or investments, 6 months for income or pension, a notarised deed for property, or company deeds and capital evidence for the investor route;
• Payment of the consular fee and attendance at a consular interview, where biometrics are taken;
• No grounds for refusal under article 43 of the Migration Law, such as a background that compromises national or public security, documents that are not authentic, or an express prohibition by a competent authority^[4].

Statements must be originals or digitally certified documents in your own name, and consulates often want bank stamps on downloaded statements^[1][7][8]. The account can be held abroad. There is no age limit except on the retiree permanent visa where a consulate applies one. There is no language test at the residence stage, and no requirement to invest in Mexico unless you choose the property or company route. After entry you must apply for the residence card at INM within 30 calendar days^[1]. You must report changes of civil status, nationality, address or workplace within 90 days^[1][4].

Temporary and permanent residents may bring a spouse or partner (including a common-law partner), minor unmarried children, the partner's minor children and parents^[1][4]. Each relative needs a visa and a card of their own. For each family member, the main applicant shows extra solvency of 220 UMA: a 12-month average balance or 6-month income of MXN 25,808, about US$1,410^[1][2]. In practice that is a small add-on compared with the main threshold.

Each dependant pays the same visa and card tariffs as the main applicant. Since 1 January 2026, however, residents whose stay is based on family unity can claim the 50% reduction: MXN 5,570 for a one-year temporary card or MXN 6,789 for a permanent card^[3][11]. Clark Hill reported in late 2025 that INM had not yet published the procedure for claiming it^[11]. Bring proof of the family link (apostilled and translated marriage and birth certificates).

One trap: the foreign spouse of a permanent resident is not given permanent status straight away. They receive temporary residence and may switch to permanent after two years if the marriage or partnership continues^[4].

The same six stages apply to every solvency and investment route:

Immigration status and tax residence are separate questions. You become a Mexican tax resident by establishing a home in Mexico. If you also have a home abroad, the test is your centre of vital interests: more than 50% of your income from Mexican sources, or Mexico as the main place of your professional activity^[12]. A residence card alone does not make you tax resident, but living in your Mexican home usually will.

• Worldwide income: residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates. The top rate is 35% above MXN 5,107,703.93 a year in 2026. Non-residents pay tax on Mexican-source income only^[13].
• Foreign investment income: foreign dividends and interest are fully taxable, with inflation and exchange adjustments on interest. Income from entities in low-tax jurisdictions must be reported each year even if it is not distributed^[15].
• Wealth, inheritance and gift tax: Mexico has no net wealth tax and no separate inheritance or gift tax. Inheritances received by residents are exempt, and gifts between spouses and direct-line relatives are exempt^[14].
• Home sale: gains on a resident's main home are exempt up to a cap equal to about US$244,560 of proceeds, once every three years^[15]. Non-residents selling Mexican property pay 25% of gross proceeds or 35% of net gain^[13].

Mexico has no non-dom, flat-tax or remittance regime for new residents. If you plan to live there most of the year, take cross-border tax advice before you move. US citizens remain taxable in the US on their worldwide income regardless.

The route runs from temporary residence to permanent residence to naturalisation. After four years of temporary residence you may switch to permanent residence by asking for it on that basis. INM only checks the four-year period, not your finances^[4][5]. Retirees who qualify can get permanent residence from the start.

Naturalisation is handled by the SRE under the Nationality Law. The standard requirement is five years' residence immediately before you apply. This is cut to two years for nationals of Latin American countries or the Iberian Peninsula, people with Mexican-born children, direct descendants of Mexicans by birth, and spouses of Mexicans who have lived together in Mexico for two years^[6]. Time as a temporary resident counts. However, absences in the two years before you apply must not exceed six months in total^[6]. Applicants must show they speak Spanish, know Mexican history and are integrated into the culture, which in practice means SRE exams. They must also make a formal renunciation of other nationalities^[6]. The SRE fee for a carta de naturalización is MXN 9,502.01^[3].

Mexico requires that renunciation in writing. Whether your other country treats it as effective is a matter of that country's law, so get advice if you need to keep your original passport. Realistically, a non-Latin American investor who moves full-time can apply in about five to six years. Retirees who spend half the year abroad will not meet the absence limit. If a fast second passport is the goal, see our guide to the fastest citizenship through residency.

The biggest change was the visa guideline reset of 25 July 2025, in force 15 days after publication. It abrogated the 2014 guidelines and expressed every solvency test in UMA. The UMA is worth much less than the minimum wage, so the multiples were raised. As a result the peso thresholds stayed broadly in line with the figures consulates were already using in 2025, and future increases now follow inflation rather than the minimum wage, which had been rising by double digits each year^{[1][16][23][24]}. The second change was the Federal Fees Law reform published on 7 November 2025. From 1 January 2026 it roughly doubled residence card fees and created the 50% family, employment and invitation reduction^[3][11]. The Migration Law itself was last amended on 15 January 2026, but that reform did not change the residence categories or financial tests^[4].

Three things to watch:

• 1 February 2027: INEGI will publish a new UMA in January, and every peso threshold will move with it. The 2026 rise was 3.69%^[2].
• Exchange rate: the peso traded around 18.3 per dollar in early October 2026 after a volatile week. A stronger peso raises the dollar cost of every threshold^[20].
• INM guidance: watch whether INM updates its 2012 in-country guidelines to UMA terms, and what procedure it sets for the 50% reduction^[5][11].

Good fit:

• Remote workers and retirees with verifiable income above about US$4,400 a month, or about US$75,000 in liquid savings, who want to live in Mexico rather than buy a Plan B;
• Retirees with substantial savings or pensions who want permanent residence immediately;
• North Americans who want a residence base a short flight from home, and who will buy a home in their own name inland or through a bank trust on the coast;
• Entrepreneurs who are genuinely building a Mexican business with staff.

Look elsewhere if:

• You want residence granted for a passive investment with no proof of income. Panama, Paraguay and Costa Rica offer investor permits with clearer investment-based rules;
• You want a fast passport without living in the country. Mexico counts physical residence, and the naturalisation exams assume real integration;
• You cannot document 6–12 months of steady balances or income in your own name;
• You want EU or US status. Mexican residence gives neither, though a US route is covered on our EB-5 visa guide.

If Mexico's solvency tests or property threshold do not fit, these programs are the closest comparisons:

• Panama Qualified Investor residency: permanent residency from day one for US$300,000 in new property, in a dollarised economy. See also the path to Panamanian citizenship.
• Costa Rica investor residence: US$150,000 under Law 9996, though some advisers quote US$200,000 after 14 July 2026. Our Costa Rica naturalisation guide covers the onward route.
• Paraguay Investor Pass: permanent residence from US$150,000, or US$70,000 through a productive investment, with low ongoing costs.
• Colombia investor visa and Ecuador investment residency: lower capital thresholds in the Andean region.
• Dominican Republic investor residency and Belize QRP retirement program: Caribbean-facing options for retirees and investors.
• US E-2 treaty investor visa: for those who need to live in the US itself.

For the full ranking by capital required, see our comparison of low-cost golden visas. If you are still deciding between residence and a second passport, read citizenship by investment vs golden visa, or browse every program on the golden visa hub.