Moving to Mexico

Either an average monthly bank balance of 11,460 UMA = MXN 1,344,373 over 12 months (published as USD 75,950 by the San Diego consulate and USD 78,025 by Las Vegas for 2026), or income after tax of 680 UMA = MXN 79,771/month over 6 months (USD 4,510 / USD 4,630). Add 220 UMA (MXN 25,808) per month per dependant. Applied for at a consulate abroad, never inside Mexico; the visa is exchanged for a residence card at INM within 30 days of entry. UMA 2026 is MXN 117.31/day (INEGI, published in the DOF 9 Jan 2026). CAUTION: consulates are inconsistent about the index — some compute on UMA, others on the current minimum wage, and the two now diverge by roughly 15% and are widening. Quote the consulate and the date.

Ley de Migración arts. 54 VI–VII, 55, 56. Direct PERMANENT residence for a foreigner with children of Mexican nationality by birth, and for an ascendant or descendant in the direct line to the second degree of a Mexican by birth. A spouse or concubine of a Mexican receives temporary residence for two years, then permanent provided the relationship subsists. Naturalisation then needs only 2 years (Ley de Nacionalidad art. 20), but spouses must additionally have resided in the conjugal domicile in Mexico for those two years. Visitors with a family link may change status from inside Mexico, unlike other visitors.

Provided for by Ley de Migración art. 57 and Reglamento arts. 124-127, which would allow permanent residence without the usual four years of prior residence, scored on categories that may include, among others, education, work experience, investment, science and technology skills, international awards, Spanish and knowledge of Mexican culture (Reglamento art. 125). BUT both instruments condition it on implementing rules being published in the Diario Oficial, and no consulate anywhere publishes an application for it. Treat as DORMANT and not usable in practice; this is an inference from the complete absence of any operational surface, not a verified repeal.

Ley de Migración art. 54 III. Either an average monthly balance of 45,850 UMA = MXN 5,378,664 over 12 months, or pension income after tax of 1,140 UMA = MXN 133,733/month over 6 months. The statute grants this basis only to jubilados/pensionados — there is no general economic-solvency permanent route, although some consulates label it that way. Several consulates impose an age floor (Houston states over 64; New Brunswick 62 or officially retired); the Ley itself sets none. The pension must come from a foreign government, an international organisation, or a private employer for services rendered abroad.

Ley de Migración art. 54 V. Filed at INM inside Mexico before the temporary card expires. No new income or savings threshold applies — this is the standard route for anyone who entered on economic solvency. Time held as a resident STUDENT does not count toward the four years. The Ley's definition of permanent residence (art. 52 IX) includes permission to work for pay.

Reglamento arts. 115 and 166. The EMPLOYER files, not the applicant, and must hold a current Constancia de Inscripción de Empleador from INM. The offer must state the role, remuneration, duration and workplace, and undertake to fund the worker's travel. INM may run a verification visit to confirm the employer and the offer exist. Work permission covers the activity in that offer (Ley art. 52 VII); a temporary resident who takes a different job applies to INM for a new work permit (Reglamento art. 165). The Reglamento sets no salary floor, and the visa is subject to any quotas the Secretaría de Gobernación fixes (art. 115).

Ley de Migración art. 52 VIII, for programmes longer than 180 days. Requires the institution's letter of acceptance and must be renewed annually. Work permission only for higher-education, postgraduate and research students (estudios de nivel superior, posgrado e investigación), with the institution's consent and a job offer related to the studies. IMPORTANT: years held as a student do NOT count toward the four-year permanent-residence route, which runs from holding temporary residence (Reglamento art. 141 VI c), although a student may switch to temporary residence at any time. Whether student years count toward naturalisation is not settled by the Reglamento de la Ley de Nacionalidad, whose art. 14 accepts a temporary- or permanent-resident card as proof of residence.

Reglamento art. 107 VI. Participation in the share capital of a Mexican company, movable property or fixed assets used for business, or business activities generating formal jobs, above the amount set by joint SEGOB-SRE administrative provisions. Published by the Milan consulate as more than MXN 5,378,663.50 or EUR 273,000. Proven by notarised deed or certified corporate document. Not a citizenship-by-investment route — it confers residence only, on the ordinary naturalisation clock.

Reglamento art. 107 V. Ownership evidenced by escritura pública before a Mexican notary, valued above 40,000 días de salario mínimo — published by the Calexico consulate as MXN 9,957,200 on the 2024 minimum wage; about MXN 10,757,327 on the 2026 UMA basis. Note that foreigners may buy urban property regardless of migratory status, subject to the constitutional restricted-zone rules, so owning property is not itself residence.

Reglamento art. 107 IV. Invitation on letterhead specifying the activity, duration and location, with the inviting body accepting joint liability for your travel and living costs; otherwise the applicant shows economic solvency. Explicitly for activities for which no income is received IN Mexico — paid invitations fall under the visitor category instead. Among the temporary-residence grounds the Reglamento lists, this is the nearest to a talent route.

Mexico and New Zealand signed the Programa de Vacaciones y Trabajo (working holiday programme) on 7 September 2007: a New Zealander may take temporary work in Mexico provided their main intention is a holiday and work is an incidental, not primary, reason for the visit (Instituto Nacional de Migración page, last modified 30 May 2013). The New Zealand citizen must be aged 18 to 30, travel without financial dependants, hold a return ticket or funds to buy one, have enough money to live on in Mexico, pay the fee for the immigration document that allows a 12-month stay, and hold medical and hospital insurance. Documents: a valid passport, a letter stating they travel without financial dependants, proof of funds (bank or securities statement, or an international credit card) and a copy of the insurance policy; apply at the Mexican Embassy in New Zealand or any Mexican embassy or consulate. The page does not say which condition of stay is granted; the visitor-with-paid-activities condition (Ley de Migración art. 52 II) is limited to 180 uninterrupted days, shorter than the 12 months described. Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, Chile, Colombia and Peru are reported as partner countries, but no archived official text confirms their agreements, age limits or any cap on places: check with the Mexican embassy or consulate in your country before relying on them.