Moving to live in another country — quite a responsible process. Moving to Mexico will be easier than moving to many other countries. Mexico's migration legislation is indeed quite liberal, and over the last year the country has been pursuing a policy of widely distributing residence permits to those foreigners who, through their previous visits, have shown a desire to live in Mexico. At the same time, the migration service has tightened its attitude towards illegal immigrants and those tourists who make regular visas in order to continue living in Mexico, but not register a residence.
The formal part of moving to Mexico — obtaining a residence permit — not complicated at all. If you have a reason for purchasing a residence permit, the paperwork process does not present any difficulties.
In this publication we want to cover the main issues of moving to Mexico. This is just general information, but it will give you a first idea of where to start. Technical issues related to obtaining a particular residence permit are described in other publications collected in the «Immigration» our site.
Come on a travel visa
We advise you to come to Mexico for the first time as an ordinary guest of the country, with a travel visa or electronic permit. You have the opportunity to look around and understand a little whether this country is right for you or not, whether you like the climate, food, culture and the people themselves.
How many days you will be allowed to stay after entry is decided by the migration officer at passport control. He will judge the length of stay by the date on the return ticket. There is a risk that the permitted period of stay that he will indicate on your FMM migration form will be short and you will not be able to extend it. Exception: during the war in Ukraine, Mexico created almost ideal requirements for legal stay in the country for Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusians. They are allowed to stay in Mexico for 180 days, and then extend this period, which is not available to citizens of other countries. No one knows how long this exception will last. In addition, it is not known what will happen after these 180 days or their extension, because a new migration document is not issued. In the meantime, there is the prospect of living in Mexico as long as you want. But the possibilities of becoming a traveler are limited: you cannot open an account, you cannot run a business, you cannot register a car in your name, etc. For this reason, sooner or later you will have to return to the issue of legalization.
Upon arrival, rent housing, first through AirBnB for a week or two, then through realtors or Facebook Marketplace for a longer period. Lowest housing prices — with a contract for six months or a year, which in your case is hardly possible. At the same time, explore the places and areas where you would like to live. Of course, you will immediately want to live right by the sea, but can you really afford it?
While you are in Mexico, you can send your child to kindergarten or school. Many educational institutions accept children without residence. In travel regions there are many schools where they teach in two languages — Spanish and English, but you won’t find Russian speakers. The price depends on the prestige of the school and the level of training. You can argue for a long time about the quality of Mexican education, but you will see one thing right away: the child will return from school happy, not depressed.
City
If communication with the Russian-speaking community is important to you, choose the Caribbean coast of Mexico to live — There are quite a few Russian speakers here. In addition, it is the easiest to get here from Europe. Where is it better to live — in Cancun or Playa del Carmen — this is an eternal debate. There are only 80 kilometers between these cities, and you can live in both of them to understand which one you prefer. Each has its own advantages and its own lifestyle. Cancun is calmer, Playa del Carmen is more youthful and party-oriented. Common disadvantages: extreme heat in summer and lack of classic Mexican culture. But the infrastructure is aimed at foreigners and the sea is always nearby.
Other cities where expats like to settle are Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Queretaro, and San Miguel de Allende. There is no sea there, but the climate is better, the cost of living is lower and there is a unique culture brought by the Spaniards. Living there requires knowledge of Spanish.
All these cities are safe to live in. When you move to Mexico, you will realize that the security problem in Mexico is not as serious as the foreign media makes it out to be.
Job
Finding a job in Mexico — sore point. You should not go to Mexico with your last money in the hope of finding a job here. Basically, those who move to Mexico are those who can work remotely or have savings. But if you are a highly qualified specialist, you have a chance to find a job in a Mexican company. Knowledge of Spanish or at least English is required. You have the right to start looking for work before arriving or once you are in Mexico.
No normal company will even consider your resume if you do not have a residence permit in Mexico, and even a work permit. Come, find a job and stay — It won't work that way. You must have a reserve of money for the first time. At the same time, representatives of the service sector have the opportunity to immediately find work, albeit without official employment. Chat on social networks with your colleagues and figure out whether the money you earn will be enough for you.
Even if you find a Mexican employer and he agrees to hire you, this does not mean anything. Firstly, the employer must be authorized by the migration service and have permission to hire foreigners. The employer has the opportunity to give you an invitation to work, but it still needs to be agreed upon with the migration service. Not every employer wants to do this, because it is troublesome, and you will have to hire a lawyer so that, on behalf of the employer, he will issue you an invitation to work in the migration service in accordance with all the rules. And then you will have to leave Mexico to obtain a work visa at one of the Mexican consulates. This is not a quick process, and at least 3 months will pass from finding an employer to official employment.
In addition, you have the opportunity to consider the prospect of opening your own business in Mexico. For now, you can only test the waters for the implementation of your plans. You have the right to open a company and have the status of a traveler, but you do not have the opportunity to work in it and cannot acquire resident status on this basis. In addition, you will be able to work as a self-employed entrepreneur only after acquiring a residence permit.
In general, finding a job will take quite a long time, and the permitted period of stay may not be enough for you. But finding a job in Mexico while being outside of it is even more difficult and most often unrealistic.
Registration of a residence permit
Drawing up a residence permit — the basics of moving to Mexico. The times when it was possible to travel to a neighboring country and re-enter once every six months are gone. Tighter immigration checks in the city and on transport make the stay of illegal immigrants in Mexico dangerous, and deportation has become not so uncommon.
To obtain residency status in Mexico, you must have a basis. There are not many possible reasons. If you think that a foundation can be invented, you are mistaken, although some foundations can be purchased.
Marry a Mexican citizen and resident or have a child here — and immediately receive resident status, temporary or permanent, without having to leave Mexico when applying for it.
Those who have already been here in 2020 and earlier have the opportunity to obtain a residence permit without leaving the country. This is a temporary migration program, and no one knows how long it will last. Resident status is granted immediately for 4 years (the settlement program no longer works).
The remaining grounds for obtaining a residence permit in Mexico are usually related to economic viability and the requirement to first purchase a resident visa at foreign consulates of Mexico, then enter the country using it and exchange it for a resident card upon arrival. If you are in Mexico now, you will have to leave. Even if you have found an employer in Mexico or bought real estate here, you have the right to acquire resident status on this basis only by first obtaining a visa at the Mexican consulate abroad.
If you are applying for a visa based on financial ability (in other words, your income was greater than $4,432 in each of the last 6 months or your bank account balance was at least $74,700 in the last 12 months), you must apply to the Mexican consulate in your country of citizenship or source of income. Contacting the consulates of third countries sharply reduces the likelihood of you obtaining such a visa.
It is much easier to get a work visa, but the Mexican employer should issue you an invitation to work. You can contact any diplomatic mission. There are also «harmful» consulates, and the most loyal — in neighboring Latin American powers. Mexico is widely integrated into the global labor market, and therefore inviting foreigners to work for Mexican companies — common thing. But you need to understand that knowledge of Spanish or English is highly desirable: at the consulate you will have to undergo an interview in one of these languages, and although it is allowed to attract a translator, it will be strange that you go to work abroad without knowing the language. We received a work visa — return to Mexico and exchange it for a resident card. Only after this the employer has the right to officially hire you.
It is also possible to obtain a residence permit after purchasing real estate in Mexico or shares of a Mexican public company. And you can buy real estate even as a traveler. But the real estate price to be given a residence permit must be at least $598,000.
Obtaining a residence permit through refugee status — not the best way to stay in Mexico. You are unlikely to receive refugee status itself unless you have clear grounds for it. You will only be given temporary visitor status, and you will be able to live in Mexico for about a year while your case is considered by the Refugee Assistance Commission, but without the opportunity to leave the state, much less the state. After a year, you will still have to find a reason to stay in Mexico.
Even before your arrival, consult with specialists on what basis for obtaining a residence permit in Mexico is suitable for you. You will know what documentation you need to collect in advance, what stages of obtaining a residence permit you will have to go through and how long it will take.
Drawing up a residence permit in the migration service — It's not a complicated process at all. In most cases, there is no need to wait for a decision to be made. You submit your documents, and they are reviewed right away, most often in front of you. Then you are photographed, your biometrics are taken and you are given a resident card. But you will have to wait for your turn to submit papers. Often this queue lasts for several months.
Papers from home
In most cases related to obtaining a residence permit in Mexico, you will only need documents confirming your relationship (birth certificate for children and marriage certificate for spouses). Of course, he should have an apostille stamp on them. For example, a husband receives a residence permit upon invitation to work, and the wife and children — based on their relationship with him. A birth certificate is not required for adults (but will be needed after 2 or 5 years when obtaining citizenship).
If you are going to work in Mexico in your specialty, confirmation (nostrification) of your diploma requires much more effort. You should first find out the criteria of the university or government agency where you will confirm your educational documents.
Do not translate documentation before arriving in Mexico. The translation should be done by an official translator in Mexico, who will certify it with his seal.
There is general advice: take as much paper as possible to Mexico so that you don’t have to come back for them later. We consider it excessive. If you clearly know what goals you are pursuing when moving, the list of required documents can be easily specified.
Family
Follow the principle: when one family member receives a Mexican resident card, the rest of the family will also receive resident cards. This very simple principle makes moving to Mexico much easier for the entire family. Mexico considers spouses and their minor children to be members of the family, and at the birth of a child in Mexico — also grandparents.
If the whole family is already in Mexico, the best option — one of the spouses travels to a neighboring country and receives a resident visa, returns and receives a resident card. Immediately after this, the rest of the family members also receive resident cards.
Another option — the whole family first goes to the diplomatic mission and receives visas. In this case, financial guarantees will be required from the main visa recipient for the remaining family members. If your family is large, this may make it difficult for your primary recipient to obtain a visa, for this reason we only recommend this option if you are confident that you will be granted a visa.
After receiving your resident card
When you have completed the procedure for obtaining a residence permit in Mexico, you can begin to take advantage of all the advantages that this country gives to residents. You no longer need to have a return ticket and a hotel reservation upon arrival, you have the right to leave and enter as many times as you want, and stay in Mexico within the validity period of your resident card.
You have the opportunity to independently generate an RFC tax number and open a bank account. You will not be able to open a foreign currency account, but you can fully use an account in pesos: any amount transferred to it in any foreign currency will be automatically converted into pesos. You will first be given a debit card, and in order to start using loans, you need to accumulate a history of banking transactions at the bank, which will take several years.
In addition, you have the right to buy a car and register it in your name. You have the right to take out social health insurance, which is very inexpensive and covers all costs for the prevention and treatment of simple diseases.
You are able to start your own business and register as a self-employed worker or open a company. To do this, you no longer need to hire a Mexican director, but it won’t hurt to hire an accountant. But to work, you must have a work permit. Such permission automatically gives only one residency status — upon invitation to work. In other cases, a work permit will have to be obtained from the migration service through a separate procedure.
Very important advice when moving to Mexico — learn the language! Of course, you have the right to get by with English, but for a full life in Mexico you need Spanish. The main thing you get by knowing the language — self-confidence in a new place.