How to get a visa yourself and apply for a residence permit in Mexico based on economic viability

If you have sufficient financial resources, you can obtain a residence permit in Mexico based on economic ability. There are four groups of criteria for implementing such an option. All of them are associated either with having a permanent income outside of Mexico (this is not necessarily active work), or with investments in real estate or a company in Mexico.

Here and further: all economic indicators are tied to the size of a conventional UMA unit. Each year, the UMA increases by approximately 3-5%, reflecting Mexico's inflation rate.

Criteria for purchasing a residence permit

1. Having an investment or bank account balance of at least 11,460 UMA ($74,700) over the past 12 months, OR

2. Having an active or passive income or pension of at least 680 UMA per month ($4430) without collateral (i.e. after taxes) for the last 6 months minimum, OR

3. Having an investment or bank account balance of at least 45,850 UMA ($299,000) over the last 12 months (retired only), OR

4. Availability of a pension of at least 1140 UMA per month ($7430) without collateral for the last 6 months minimum (only for pensioners), OR

5. Investment in real estate (ownership) in Mexico worth at least 91,710 UMA ($598,000) directly, OR

6. Ownership of real estate in Mexican territory through a foreign company worth at least 45,850 UMA ($299,000), OR

7. Ownership of property (shares) in a Mexican public company worth at least 45,850 UMA ($299,000). The company must be incorporated. Supporting documents may be: a registration act with entry into the public register, a contract for the purchase or transfer of part of the company or shares, etc., papers on the economic activity of the company such as contracts, business plans, licenses; the company must also have at least 3 employees, according to the register of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).

If a married couple applies for a resident visa, the size of the criteria for determining the economic component increases by 220 UMA ($1430) from the total amount of savings or for each month of income, based on which assessment criterion is selected (paragraphs 1-4).

For current requirements for economic viability for acquiring a residence permit in Mexico, see thispublications.

Some notes

As a criterion for obtaining a residence permit in Mexico, you have the right to choose only one — you must show the sufficiency of either savings, or financial income, or the value of the property, or the amount of investments made.

Criterion «active income» (clause 2) relates to wages. The clarifications sent by the National Institute of Migration to a number of foreign consulates say that we are talking about the salary that a foreign company will pay when sending an employee to work in Mexico. In this case, you will additionally need confirmation from the employer that the salary will be maintained during the employee’s stay in Mexico.

However, if you are an individual / private entrepreneur, you can also try to apply for a residence permit. The key question is whether you have the ability to offer a tax return.

If you are a freelancer — additionally read thispublication

The criteria specified in points 3 and 4 are only availablepensioners. If you comply with them, you immediately have the opportunity to apply for a permanent residence permit in Mexico (Residencia Permanente, permanent residence). In all other cases, you have the right to acquire only the status of a temporary resident (Residencia Temporal, residence permit), with a chance to change it to permanent after 4 years. If you meet the criteria for permanent residence based on income or financial savings, but have not reached retirement age (65 years), you will only be eligible to obtain permanent residence if you provide an official pension certificate or similar document. However, many consulates will also ask you to confirm that you are not working.

Please note that if one of your goals — purchasing real estate in Mexico (point 5) or a share in a Mexican company (point 7), you probably also meet point 1. It is allowed, it will be easier to obtain a resident visa based on the balance in a bank account, enter using it and, after obtaining a residence permit in Mexico, purchase real estate as a resident. You will get the same result, but with less effort.

Answers to the main questions about obtaining a residence permit based on the purchase of real estate in Mexico; in addition, you have the right to purchase from thismaterial

The criteria sizes in Mexican pesos and US dollars are approximate. Only the following amount of UMA remains constant. The UMA unit size is subject to annual review. The UMA will determine whether your financial solvency meets the specified criteria based on the exchange rate between your national currency and the Mexican Peso on the day you submit your documents.

Where to start

If you need our support in obtaining a residence permit in Mexico based on economic viability, check out ouroffer.

The process of acquiring a residence permit in Mexico on the basis of economic viability, one way or another, begins outside of Mexico, with obtaining a Mexican resident visa at the consular offices of the power abroad. This means that even if you are already in Mexico, you must leave the country before starting the residency process.

We wrote about the features of choosing a consulate to obtain a visa based on economic viabilityHere. Personal submission of papers is required, the visa issuance period is — up to 10 days, but usually on the day of application. The current price for obtaining a Mexican resident visa (visa fee) can be found here.page.

Documentation required to obtain a Mexican resident visa:

All documentation must be provided (translated) in Spanish.

If a married couple applies for a resident visa, you will additionally need to provide:

• Apostilled and translated into Spanish marriage certificate.

Officials of the consular department have the right to request any additional information from the applicant to clarify the details.

After receiving the documents, the diplomatic mission must conduct an interview.

Significant Note

The decision to issue a resident visa based on the economic viability of the applicant is made solely by the Mexican diplomatic mission. In most cases, the issuance of a permanent resident visa (clauses 3-4 of the criteria) applies to citizens of the USA, Canada, EU and other developed countries. However, nowhere in Mexican legislation is there a list of countries whose citizens are not able to obtain such visas.

On the other hand, the process of acquiring a resident visa at Mexican consulates in the countries of the former USSR and in many other countries in general may be hampered by doubts about the legality of the amounts received by the applicant, the completeness of taxes paid on them and the need to prove this additionally. There are both positive and negative examples of obtaining a resident visa based on financial solvency at the Mexican consulates in Ukraine and Russia. If the Mexican consular department refuses, it is often without explanation.

The only way to evaluate your chances — submit documents to purchase such a visa. Before that, we recommend that you carefully find out all the details and standards directly from consular officials.

Obtaining a Temporary or Permanent Resident Card for Mexico

Once a Mexican temporary or permanent resident visa is issued, the holder must enter the country within 180 days (the validity period of the visa). It is IMPORTANT that the Mexican immigration officer, when processing entry, indicates a period of stay of 30 days (which he is obliged to do after seeing your visa), and not 180 days, like a tourist.

Upon arrival in Mexico, you must submit, within 30 days, not counting the day of entry, to the regional office of the National Institute of Migration (INM) at your place of residence for registration of temporary or permanent resident status (depending on the type of visa received) and a resident card.

In Cancun, INM's office is located at Av. Carlos J. Nader, Supermanzana 5, Centro, 77500 Q.R. Reception hours — from 9:00 to 13:00 on weekdays. .

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

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

Papers required to obtain a resident card:

Do you need to bring all the same supporting documentation that you submitted to the consulate to obtain your Mexico visa? They are not listed as required on the migration service website, and they are not officially needed. However, numerous cases show that they can also be asked for when exchanging a visa for a resident card.

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

In addition, INM may require proof of residential address. Usually it is enough to show a utility bill (electricity) or a rental contract.

Once the documentation is received at INM, you will receive a confirmation. This is a document with a unique number (NUT — Número Único de Trámite), according to whichtracking pageIt is possible to track the status of your application for temporary or permanent resident status. In addition, you have the opportunity to find out the status of your application directly at the INM office.

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

Typically, a resident card is issued on the day of application. But «usually» — doesn't mean always. Sometimes the registration of a resident card may take a much longer period, sometimes — for several weeks, as happens in Cancun.

If the wait is prolonged and you need to temporarily leave Mexico, strictly follow the specificprocedureacquiring an exit permit, exit and entry into the country. Otherwise, you risk losing your Mexican resident status before you even receive it.

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 be photographed, biometrically submitted, signed, and receive your Mexican Resident Card.

Since there are usually long queues at INM offices, we strongly advise you to arrive early. You must have with you:

• Confirmation from INM containing NUT;
• Passport.

In general, there is often confusion in INM offices, and documents can get lost. For this reason, we advise you to always have a complete set of papers with copies of both those that you previously submitted and those that you received from them whenever you visit the INM office.

Most often, a resident card is issued on the day of visiting the INM office after signing additional documents. However, in some cases you have the right to 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. In the future, temporary residence can be extended for 1, 2 or 3 years. The permanent resident card has no expiration date.

How long must you live in Mexico to acquire citizenship — see bylink

When renewing a temporary resident card obtained on the basis of financial solvency, re-confirmation of this solvency is not required.

Applying for a work permit

Temporary or permanent resident status in Mexico based on financial solvency does not entitle you to engage in gainful economic activity in the country. That is, 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 or permanent residence permit, readHere.

Sample letter to exchange a resident visa for a resident card