Mobility brief
Mexico offers income-from-abroad earners a North American base by economic solvency, a land border with the US, and dual nationality. A temporary residence card leads through permanent residence to a passport, and tax residency turns on where your home and center of vital interests sit.
Sources verified 2026-07-12
About 4 minutes. Free matches; $149 for a human-verified plan.
The temporary residence visa by economic solvency accepts monthly income from abroad above 680 days of UMA. It fits earners paid from outside Mexico who want a North American base with a US land border.
For income-from-abroad earners staying more than 180 days and up to four years.
| Monthly income proof | 680 UMA/mo |
| Card exchange (canje) | 30 days |
| Tax residency trigger | 50% income test |
Four years as a temporary resident opens permanent residence.
Retirees and pensioners apply directly at a consulate on income from abroad.
| Pension income | 1,140 UMA/mo |
| Tax on foreign pensions | Worldwide basis |
Figures vary by consulate and year.
The residence ladder that ends in Mexican naturalisation.
| Time to permanent | 4 years |
| Time to citizenship | 5 years |
| Spanish and history exam | Required |
Two years suffices for nationals of a Latin American or Iberian country.
These are decided by different authorities, under different rules, on different clocks. The one people get wrong is the second.
Granted by the immigration authority. Says nothing about tax.
Temporary and permanent residence let you live in Mexico. Neither decides the tax question, and Mexico does not settle it with a day count: establishing a home here is the test, with the centre of your vital interests as the tie-breaker. A Mexican tax resident is taxed on worldwide income.
Four years as a temporary resident opens permanent residence.
Naturalisation requires five years of residence immediately before applying.
The center of vital interests sits in Mexico when over half of yearly income is Mexican-sourced.
Temporary residence by economic solvency accepts monthly income above 680 days of UMA.
A generic read against Mexico's cited thresholds. Your plan weighs all six of your inputs against every destination.
Mexico's Residente Temporal condition lets a foreign national live in the country for up to four years. It allows unlimited entries and exits and can carry a work permit tied to a job offer. It also protects family unity.
The temporary residence visa by economic solvency accepts one of two proofs, measured in UMA, Mexico's official index unit. One is savings or investments averaging 11,460 days of UMA over the last twelve months. The other is monthly income above 680 days of UMA over the last six months.
The visa suits people who plan to stay in Mexico more than 180 days and less than four years. It can be requested directly at any Mexican consular office abroad. That puts the application within reach from the US, Canada, or the UK.
The visa is an entry document, not the final status. After arriving, the holder exchanges it for a residence card at the Instituto Nacional de Migracion. The exchange, called the canje, must happen within 30 calendar days of entry.
A temporary resident can move to permanent residence by three routes. The points system, being a retiree or pensioner with sufficient income from abroad, or completing four years as a temporary resident.
A pensioner or retiree can also apply for permanent residence directly through a consulate. The threshold is monthly pension income above the value of 1,140 days of UMA, or savings averaging 45,850 days of UMA over twelve months. Figures vary by consulate and year.
Foreign nationals with temporary or permanent residence have the right to a CURP. The CURP is Mexico's unique population registration key, assigned through the Instituto Nacional de Migracion. It is needed for banking, tax, and most official processes.
Naturalisation requires at least five years of residence in Mexico immediately before applying. Two years is enough for direct descendants of a Mexican by birth, parents of Mexican-born children, or nationals of a Latin American country or the Iberian Peninsula.
Mexican law has permitted dual nationality since 1998. A naturalised Mexican may hold another nationality alongside the Mexican one. Whether the other country lets you keep its passport is governed by that country's law.
An individual becomes a Mexican tax resident by establishing a home in Mexico. With a home in two countries, the test is the center of vital interests. That center sits in Mexico when over half of yearly income is Mexican-sourced, or the main professional base is there.
Mexican tax residents owe income tax, ISR, on all income regardless of where it is earned. Worldwide income includes foreign salaries, investment income, and pensions. Non-residents are taxed only on Mexican-source income.
Moving to Mexico is four different jobs for four different people, and the order matters more than the choice of any one of them. Here is the sequence, what each person settles, and what to hold them to in writing.
Before you sell anything, move your family, or claim to have left
This is the one whose answer can make the rest of the plan pointless, so it is worth knowing before you spend anything on the rest. A residence permit somewhere else is not the same thing as having stopped being tax-resident where you are.
What only they can settle
Ask for it in writing. A written residence and departure-date memo, with the tax on leaving set out asset by asset, and a list of the evidence your position depends on.
Six to twelve months before you intend to move
Routes look interchangeable from outside and are not. Which one you qualify for depends on evidence you may not have gathered yet, and gathering it is often the long pole.
What only they can settle
Ask for it in writing. A route recommendation with the eligibility tested against your documents, plus a dated checklist of what is still missing.
Only after the lawyer has frozen the list
Ordering apostilles and translations before the list is settled is the most common way to pay twice. Certified documents also expire, so starting early can be worse than starting late.
What only they can settle
Ask for it in writing. Authenticated originals and accepted translations, tracked so you know where every document physically is.
Once your status is approved
Approval is not the same as a working life. Banking, health cover, and a tenancy each have their own requirements, and several of them want the paperwork from the earlier stages.
What only they can settle
Ask for it in writing. A working household: identity documents, an address, cover, banking, and a calendar of what renews when.
A good introduction is not the same as a good engagement. These are worth asking on the first call, whoever made the introduction.
OmniFlag is not a law firm or a tax adviser. Experts are retained independently and their engagement letter defines what they advise on, what they file, and what they deliver.
A note for US citizens and green-card holders. US federal tax follows you wherever you live. A move to Mexico does not reduce your US federal tax, and this page makes no such claim.
Once you establish your home and center of vital interests in Mexico, you become a Mexican tax resident and owe ISR on worldwide income, including foreign salaries, investment income, and pensions.
The consular visa is only an entry document. You must exchange it for a residence card at INM within 30 calendar days of entry, and missing that window costs you the status.
UMA thresholds vary by consulate and year, so confirm the current peso figure with your specific consular office before you build a budget around it.
Four years as a temporary resident opens permanent residence. Retirees and pensioners with sufficient income from abroad, and applicants who qualify on the points system, can reach it sooner.
For tax residents, yes. Residents pay ISR on all income wherever it is earned, including foreign salaries and pensions. Non-residents are taxed only on Mexican-source income.
Mexican law has allowed dual nationality since 1998, so naturalising does not require giving up your other nationality under Mexican law. Whether your home country lets you keep its passport is governed by that country's law.
Yes. Applicants pass exams proving they speak Spanish and know Mexican history and culture. Refugees, minors, and people over 60 need only prove they speak Spanish.
At any Mexican consulate abroad, so US, Canadian, and UK residents apply before leaving. After arriving in Mexico, exchange the visa for a residence card at INM within the first 30 days.
South America
Territorial tax, an accessible route to permanent residence, and a low-cost base in the Southern Cone.
Central America
Territorial tax, residence through pension or investment, and naturalisation on a five-year clock in a dollarised base.
South America
Mainly territorial tax, a multi-year holiday on foreign capital income, and a defined route from residence to citizenship.
The Planner ranks Mexico against your profile alongside every other destination OmniFlag covers, and returns a plan with every claim cited. A human reviews it before it reaches you.
Free. No card. Verified plan optional at $149.
Already considering somewhere? Name up to three and see where they rank.
OmniFlag helps you research and plan. It is not a law firm or tax advisor and does not give legal or tax advice. Licensed experts validate the plan before anything is filed: a cross-border tax adviser where you are leaving, then an immigration lawyer in Mexico.