- Download our Moving to Mexico Guide (PDF)
Visas for Mexico are, on the whole, a gentle affair. You should always check current visa rules before you cross any border, and that can be a stressful business, but Mexico’s immigration policy is fairly relaxed, and a long list of nationalities enjoy free entry.
Those nationalities that do require a visa to visit Mexico should apply at their nearest Mexican consulate before arriving in the country.
There are various categories of visas that expats may apply for. The most common types of visas are:
- tourism, business or transit visas
- work visas
- temporary resident visas
- permanent resident visas
Visa-free entry for Mexico
Permanent residents, visa holders and citizens of numerous countries do not need to apply for tourist, business or transit visas, and stays shorter than 180 days. These countries include many South American countries, Canada, the USA, the UK, Schengen Area countries, and Japan.
If your nationality does need a visa, check first whether the Sistema de Autorización Electrónica (SAE) will suffice instead. Some passport holders flying in for tourism, business, or transit can apply online for this free electronic authorisation rather than queue at a consulate. It covers air arrivals on participating airlines only, not land or sea crossings, and it is good for a single entry. Apply through the National Migration Institute before you book a non-refundable ticket, and keep the printed approval with your passport, as the airline and immigration officers will both ask for it.
You’ll need a passport that is valid for the length of your visit. Although there’s no Mexican law about its validity, some airlines require your passport to be valid for six months, so check before you book.
Immigration authorities may request certain documents confirming plans and finances for the stay, including a travel itinerary, a business letter or a letter from an educational institution in Spanish.
Officers set the length of each stay on a case-by-case basis, and people who duck out and back to reset the clock are increasingly questioned at the desk. If you want the longer end of the 180-day range, carry a return ticket and proof of where you’ll stay, and tell the officer how long you plan to stay before they write the number down.
Your entry must also be registered. At most airports, the old paper Multiple Migratory Form (FMM) has been replaced by a stamp in your passport that shows how many days you may stay, up to 180. You just download the digital FMMd as your record once the officer admits you. The paper form is still used at some land crossings.
Useful links
Tourism, business or transit visas for Mexico
The tourism visa is suitable if the reasons for travel to Mexico include tourism, sports, artistic or religious activities, transit, or business reasons. This visa is for visitors who are not authorised to engage in lucrative activities. Expats working in Mexico must get a work permit.
If new arrivals are entering as tourists or business visitors for a short stay of up to 180 days, this is the best choice of visa.
Applicants may need to show financial records to prove economic solvency, as well as documentation to prove the purpose of their travel. The documents necessary depend on the reason for the visit. They could include a letter of invitation from an organisation to participate in unremunerated activities, or an acceptance letter from an educational institution for courses that are less than 180 days.
For those entering Mexico for tourism purposes, you’ll need return tickets, an itinerary and confirmation of a hotel reservation. You may also be asked to attend a short interview at the nearest Mexican embassy or consulate. The officer will want to know why you’re coming and for how long, and whether you can pay your own way while you’re here.
If you were given a paper FMM, hand it back when you leave and pick up a fresh one on your next entry. Where your stay was recorded as a passport stamp instead, that stamp does the same job, and your airline will check it before you board.
Dependants
Family members or children dependent on the main applicant must apply for a visa alongside them and need only prove their relationship rather than supply financial records for economic solvency.
Visas for minors under the age of 18 must be signed by both parents or legal guardians, or at least one legal guardian, provided documents proving their full parental authority or the absent guardian’s authorisation.
Useful links
- Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores): visa information by country
- National Migration Institute: the digital FMM (FMMd) explained
Temporary resident visas for Mexico
The Temporary Resident Visa is the most common visa for expats employed in Mexico and their dependants who intend to live in the country for more than six months but less than four years.
Applicants for a temporary resident visa must normally provide proof of employment and comply with the stipulations of the visa and work permit.
Most of these routes ask you to prove ‘economic solvency’, which simply means evidence that you can support yourself, through income or savings. Consulates set these thresholds as multiples of Mexico’s official accounting unit, the UMA. The figures change a little each year and from one consulate to the next, so confirm the current one with the office where you’ll apply.
Expats are required to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa at a Mexican consulate before arriving in the country. Once arriving in Mexico, the visa holder must visit their nearest immigration office within 30 days to have their visa replaced with a Temporary Resident Permit card.
The first card is issued for one year. After that, you renew for one, two, or three years at a time, up to four years in total on temporary residence, after which permanent residence is the next step.
Student temporary resident visas
Students staying in Mexico for less than 180 days can apply for a tourism, business or transit visa. If attending an educational course that runs for longer than 180 days, a student temporary resident visa is needed.
Students studying courses or conducting research through Mexican higher education institutions must provide their acceptance letter and financial records or proof of acceptance of a Mexican scholarship to demonstrate that they can support themselves during their stay.
Within 30 days of arrival, students must apply to the National Migration Institute for their residence card.
Permanent resident visas for Mexico
The Permanent Resident Visa doesn’t need extensions and is for expats who plan to live in Mexico permanently. One perk: under Mexico’s foreign investment law, a permanent resident’s investments count as Mexican investment.
This visa is most common for retirees in Mexico or those with close family ties in the country. You can sometimes skip temporary residence and go straight for permanent residence, but since 2025, that direct route is mainly open to those who qualify as retired or pensioned, or who apply through family ties. Most other applicants first build up four years of temporary residence.
Like with temporary residence, visa holders must visit the nearest immigration office within 30 days to receive their residence card.
Family unity
Dependants and family members may apply for permanent residence at the embassy, accompanied by the permanent resident or Mexican citizen. A foreign spouse of a Mexican citizen usually holds temporary residence for two years, then applies for permanent residence at the National Migration Institute.
Where the sponsor is a foreign permanent resident rather than a citizen, the wait tends to be longer. Foreign parents of a child born in Mexico have a shorter path of their own: they can apply for permanent residence through family unity without the temporary stage.
Useful links
Visa regulations are subject to change at short notice, and expats should contact their respective embassy or consulate for the latest details.