How to apply for a student visa and residence permit in Mexico for studies

Applying for a temporary residence permit in Mexico as a student has its own characteristics. You are able to apply for student status — temporary resident of Mexico only if the process of study on the territory of the country lasts continuously for more than 180 days, and the level of study — Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral degrees.

Read thismaterial. It provides answers to key questions about the eligibility and use of a Mexico student visa.

If you need to enter Mexico to submit documentation to a Mexican university or the process of study will last continuously less than 180 days, you cannot be considered a student and must enter Mexico on any other visa: traveler, US visa or electronic authorization (for citizens of Ukraine and Russia).

The procedure for obtaining a residence permit to study in Mexico is as follows:

• Receive an invitation to study from a Mexican university.
• Purchase a Mexico student visa at state consulates abroad.
• Enter Mexico with a student visa.
• Obtain a student temporary resident card from the National Institute of Migration (INM).

Purchasing a Mexico Student Visa

It is possible to purchase a Mexico student visa only at the consular offices of the country abroad. This means that even if you are already in Mexico, you will have to leave the country to begin the process of becoming a student — temporary resident.

We wrote about the peculiarities of issuing Mexican visasHere, they also apply to obtaining a student visa. Personal submission of documents is required, the visa issuance period is — 1-2 days, but there may be a waiting period (queue) before submitting documents.

Documents required to apply for a Mexico student visa:

If a certificate from your place of employment shows that you have been working at this place of work for less than 1 year, you will need both a certificate and a bank account statement.

Individual entrepreneurs provide:

• individual entrepreneur registration papers;
• bank account statement for the last 3 months with a minimum balance of approximately $4432.

Financial guarantors can be: parents, children, spouses, and in addition Mexican universities or Mexican companies.

It is important to note that evidence of financial solvency cannot be combined: either proof of active income (salary) or a bank account statement, unless you have been working for less than a year. In addition, it is possible to provide documents on passive income, for example, dividends from investments.

Letter template — guarantees from the parent — a financial guarantor addressed to the Mexican consul may be as follows:

Mexico Student Visa Cost

US$56, 2026. You can check the current price for a Mexican resident visa (visa fee) herepage.

Purchasing a student temporary resident card

Once the holder receives a Mexico student visa, he must enter the country within 180 days (the validity period of the visa). It is essential that the Mexican immigration officer indicate on the entry stamp that the authorized stay is 30 days (which he should do when he sees your student visa), and not 180 days as a tourist. After entry, you download and print the FMMD migration form.

Upon arrival in Mexico, you must submit documents to obtain student status at the office of the National Institute of Migration (INM) at your place of residence within 30 days, not counting the day of entry. temporary resident (temporary living student) and temporary resident student card.

For the coordinates of the offices of the National Institute of Migration in different states and cities of Mexico, seelink.

You can sign up to submit papers to the selected migration service office online by following thisinstructions. Registration times (queue) vary depending on the state, but most often do not exceed several weeks.

Papers required to obtain a student temporary resident card:

Letter template — guarantees from the parent — a financial guarantor in the name of INM may be as follows:

Photos are not needed; they will be taken at the migration service office when issuing a resident card.

In some cases, INM may require proof of residential address. Usually it is enough to show a utility bill (electricity).

In addition, we suggest that you have an original/copy of an invitation to study from a Mexican university.

Once the documents are received at INM, you will receive a confirmation. This is a document with a unique number (NUT — Número Único de Trámite), according to whichtracking pageYou can track the status of your application for study resident status. In addition, you can check the status of your application directly at the INM office.

From now on, you no longer have to worry about your Mexico visa expiring. You have submitted documents to acquire temporary resident status, received confirmation of this, and on this basis you are legally in Mexican territory.

It usually takes 5 to 15 business days before your application for temporary resident status is approved. Usually — does not mean always; Sometimes obtaining a resident card can take a much longer period. Confirmation of your application approval will be displayed on the tracking page or in an email sent to you. You will be asked to select a date and time to visit the INM office to complete the biometric process, sign and prepare your Mexican Temporary Resident Card.

Since in most cases there are long queues at INM offices, we suggest arriving early. You need to have with you:

• Confirmation from INM containing NUT;
• Passport.

Most often, a resident card is issued on the day of visiting the INM office after signing additional documentation. At the same time, in some cases you may be asked to come back for the card in a couple of days.

A first-time Mexican temporary resident card is always issued for a period of 1 year. But if you came to apply for a doctorate, then a resident card for studies can be issued for 4 years at once. In the future, the temporary residence can be extended for 1, 2 or 3 years, providing justification for such an extension (due to study).

Cost of a student temporary resident card

Registration and renewal of a card — free of charge.

Other subtleties

Duration of residence in Mexico as a student — temporary resident does not count towards the period required for naturalization. If you plan to become a Mexican citizen in the future, you will need to change your status to another one.

Temporary residents — students do not have the opportunity to change this status to permanent resident status after 4 years. Typically, permanent residence can be obtained this way: change a temporary residence permit for study to a temporary residence permit based on an invitation to work, and then apply for permanent residence. However, this requires finding an employer. On the other hand, in this situation, to obtain a residence permit based on an invitation to work, you do not need to leave Mexico for the first time.

How long do you need to live in Mexico to gain citizenship — see bylink

Relatives of a future student can also apply for a visa for temporary residence in Mexico (not a student visa), and then obtain a temporary residence permit (RT). This applies to the student's spouse, parent or child. To do this, they need to submit an appropriate package of documents, similar to the package for issuing a travel document.visas, but indicating a different reason for its acquisition (Family Unit). However, evidence of financial solvency must be the same as for obtaining a student visa. In addition, one of the relatives will have to provide double proof of financial solvency: for themselves and for the future student.

Obtaining a work permit

Temporary residence for study in Mexico does not give you the right to conduct paid economic activity on the territory of the country. In other words, you do not have the right to legally work or conduct business. But this situation is very easy to fix.

How to obtain a work permit in Mexico with a temporary residence permit, readHere.

Sample letter to exchange a temporary resident visa for a temporary resident card for studies