Fromdifference from many countries of the world, entry to Mexico is not so simple. The state neighbors the United States and is therefore forced to fight illegal migration through its territory towards the United States. To enter Mexico, it is not enough to have a visa or electronic permit. Other documentation and confirmation is also needed to convince border guards that you are a traveler and not an immigrant. It is mandatory to have a return ticket and accommodation reservation, but an invitation to Mexico or confirmation of family ties with a citizen or resident of Mexico can also play a positive role upon entry.
To enter Mexico must have the following documents and confirmations.
1. Passport for traveling abroad
Every tourist, including children, should have their own passport. The passport has the option of being biometric or regular. No other documents that replace a passport for travel abroad are accepted for entry into Mexico. Extended passports for entry to Mexico beyond this are not accepted.
Passport validity period:
- requirement of the Mexico Migration Service — valid at the time of entry,
- airline requirement — valid for another 6 months after entry.
2. Visa basis
Depending on citizenship:
- a visa is not required to enter Mexico,
- you need a Mexico consular visa,
- need electronic authorization or consular visa Mexico — only for citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
The Mexico consular visa must be affixed to the passport. The electronic permit must be printed on paper.
Visa or electronic permission is not needed if you have:
- USA, Canada, UK, Japan visa, multi-Schengen visa or its analogues,
- card of a permanent or long-term resident of the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Schengen state, Chor, Colombia, Peru.
Even if you have one of the visas, but you are a citizen of Ukraine or Russia, we still recommend making an electronic permit to be on the safe side.
3. Return ticket from Mexico
You must have a return ticket! The ticket can be:
- requirement of the Mexico Migration Service — by any type of transport to any country in the world,
- requirement of some airlines — to the country from where you will fly to Mexico.
Turkish Airlines requires that the return ticket be in the same booking as the ticket to Mexico. There are no criteria stating that he should have a return ticket to his country of citizenship. Ticket reservations can be checked in the reservation system.
4. Accommodation reservation
Accommodation reservation is a must! Housing can be of any level — AirBnB, hostel or fromhotel. The reservation must be:
- requirement of the Mexico Migration Service — valid at the time of entry,
- requirement of some airlines — paid.
Turkish Airlines requires that the reservation be paid for the entire stay in Mexico. The Migration Service assumes that housing will be booked only for the first time of your stay in Mexico. Be wary of being asked to show your reservation in an accommodation booking app.
The obligation to provide accommodation specified in the private letter of invitation is not accepted by airlines (if they require accommodation reservation upon boarding) and is conditionally accepted at the discretion of the Mexico Migration Service.
5. Purpose of coming to Mexico
When going through passport control, you will be asked to indicate the purpose of your visit to Mexico. A guest of the country, he must convince the Mexico migration service officer that the purpose of his visit corresponds to the stated one. If purpose of arrival — tourism, it will cost you to tell what exactly you will do in Mexico as a guest of the country, how you will spend your trip, where you will visit and what sights you plan to see. If purpose of arrival — business or attending an event, you must show the relevant documents.
6. Financial support
The traveler must confirm that he has sufficient funds for the entire period of stay in Mexico. The law does not establish any requirements for daily expenses. It is believed that a traveler must have a minimum of 50 US dollars for each day of stay in Mexico.
We advise you to have a few dollars in cash (you may be asked to show it) and inform that the rest of the money is on your bank card. Usually they take their word for it, but in very rare cases — upon additional verification — have the opportunity to ask to see the card balance in the mobile application. You also have the opportunity to take a bank account statement with you, but you may not need it.
7. Permission from both parents
Permission will only be needed if the child is traveling to Mexico alone or accompanied by a third party. This is a formalized document, with translation into English or Spanish. If a child is traveling to Mexico with one parent, permission is not required. Just in case, take with you the child’s birth certificate, with an apostille and a simple (without certification, but with formatting) translation into English or Spanish. If a parent changes their last name after the birth of the child, you will need a document explaining the different last names on the child's birth certificate and in the parent's passport.
This is a complete list of required documentation. There are no other required documents. The difference between all these documents does not guarantee entry to Mexico.
All papers and confirmations must be printed on paper. Documents on your smartphone or computer screen will not be accepted.
There is a separate publication on each of the mandatory documentation on our website. For detailed information, use the site search.
Next we will talk about non-binding documents.
8. Invitation from a private person or company
The invitation has the ability to facilitate entry to Mexico or will not have any effect. The Mexico Migration Service is not obliged, but may accept the invitation as confirmation of the purpose of coming to Mexico. If a migration service employee has suspicions about a tourist’s migration intentions, an invitation is unlikely to help. In most cases, successful entry is possible without an invitation.
The person indicated in the invitation as the inviting party must be in touch at the time the invitee goes through passport control. The Migration Service has the right to call him and ask him to confirm the information specified in the invitation.
Invitation to treatment — almost a guarantee from kaza at the entrance. We strongly advise against having such an invitation.
9. Marriage or birth certificate
Confirmation of family ties can be useful if one of the travelers and family members — a resident or citizen of Mexico who has an unconditional right to enter the country. The foreign certificate must have an apostille stamp and be accompanied by a simple translation into English or Spanish.
Make sure that the names and surnames on the certificates and passports match, otherwise provide papers explaining the change of surname.
10. Route sheet
A free-form trip plan to Mexico will rightfully convince the migration officer of the travel purpose of the visit. The itinerary will show that you have thoroughly prepared for the trip. Indicate in it the dates, cities, places of interest and attractions you want to visit.
The following papers and confirmations not needed for entry to Mexico and will not affect entry in any way:
- Medical insurance
- Certificate from the place of work
- Vaccination certificates