Mexico Residency (investment or economic solvency)
- Processing time
- 2–6 months
- Physical presence
- Temporary residents should not be absent from Mexico for more than two consecutive years to keep the status; permanent residence is more flexible. Naturalisation is possible after five years of residence (two years if married to a Mexican or from certain Latin American or Iberian countries), and expects real presence and some Spanish.
- Family
- Spouse and dependent children are included; each dependant adds to the required financial thresholds (roughly 1,400 USD per dependant).
See the investment routes and what each one really costs →
Limits and drawbacks
- This is the big one: Mexico taxes its tax residents on worldwide income, at rates up to 35%. If you make Mexico your home or centre of vital interests, your global income can be taxed here — this is not a tax-haven move.
- Tax residency turns on your home and centre of interests, not a simple day count, so you can hold immigration residency without becoming tax-resident — but get advice before assuming that.
- Every threshold is written in days of the UMA index, not in dollars. INEGI publishes a new UMA each January and it takes effect on 1 February, so the peso figures move once a year and the dollar figures move with the exchange rate; consulates also apply them with some discretion. Confirm current figures with the consulate you will use.
- This is residency, not citizenship. Naturalisation takes five years and expects genuine presence and Spanish.
What it gets you
- A clear path from temporary to permanent residence, and citizenship after five years
- Proximity, time zones and lifestyle aligned with the United States and Canada
- An economic-solvency route with no fixed investment, based on income or savings
- A large, diversified economy and deep property market