Place is personal, subjective, and important—and as you consider places to live in Mexico, Mexperience helps you to consider your choices and shortlist locations that may suit your lifestyle needs.

Discover locations to live, work or retire in Mexico

To help you discover and explore potential places to live here, Mexperience publishes a curated list of locations to consider for living, working or retirement in Mexico—organized by popularity and notoriety and classified by the location type.

Our articles introduce you to key places where many foreign residents live now, emerging locations that are becoming increasingly popular with foreign residents, as well as those places that are less well known, or situated off-the-beaten path. We also publish a selection of detailed guides of places to live in Mexico:

Detailed living guides

For detailed guides to selected places to live and work or retire, connect to our section with Guides to Living Places in Mexico

This article describes the typical time scales you ought to take into account when you intend to apply for a Mexico residency permit starting at a Mexican consulate abroad, as well as for residency-related procedures from within Mexico.

Principal factors that influence time scales

There are four principal factors that will influence the time scales involved in your application for residency in Mexico: from the initial application to receipt of your residency card. These are:

Supporting documentation: How long it takes you to gather the documentation required to support your application. The documentation varies depending on your situation, and may include official certificates, bank statements, investment account balances, letters of reference, etc.

Consulate appointments: If your application involves an appointment at a Mexican consulate abroad, the second factor that influences time scales is the availability of consulate appointments for your residency interview.  Availability varies by consulate and by season.  Some (but not all) consulates accept out of area applications, so if your nearest consulate has limited appointment availability, and you’re willing to travel to a consulate outside your area, you might be able to get an appointment sooner.  Our immigration associate can advise about consulates and help with appointment-making as part of their first time applicant support service.

Your arrival date in Mexico: When you have a residency visa stamp placed in your passport by a Mexican consulate abroad, you must arrive in Mexico and exchange your visa for a card before the visa’s expiry date.  Visas are typically valid for six months from the date of issue, but check the visa you are issued to be sure.

Immigration office procedures: The fourth principal factor that determines the time scales to complete your residency application is appointment availability at immigration offices in Mexico, and then the amount of time the local immigration office you file at takes to process your filing.  Some processes are completed the same day as the appointment, but can take between a few working days and 3-4 weeks to process applications at immigration offices in Mexico.  Time scales vary by location and the current workloads at that office.

More details about consulate appointments and immigration office timescales are described below.

Typical time scales at the Mexican consulate

Residency applications from outside of Mexico must begin with an appointment at a Mexican consulate.

Consulate appointments: It can take between a week and several weeks (and in some places, months) to secure an appointment for residency applications at a Mexican consulate. Lead times vary widely by location.

Procedures for consulate appointments: The procedures for booking appointments at Mexican consulates abroad varies by location:

• some consulates use an online booking system;
• others require an email request to be sent by the applicant; and
• others have walk-in dates.

Our associate can assist you with appointment scheduling as part of their application support service and in accordance with the policy and process in place at the consulate you apply at. They cannot ‘fast-track’ or get preferential treatment for any applicants.

Consulate visa time scales: Once you attend your interview at the consulate and file your paperwork, the consulate usually issues the visa sticker within 10 working days after your appointment date, if your application is successful.

Time scales at Mexico immigration offices

Mexico’s immigration offices use an online booking system for most (but not all) procedures.  Online booking is available for the most common procedures including visa-to-card exchanges and residency card renewals.

Visa-to-residency-card exchange: Although some visa-to-residency-card exchanges are processed the same day as the appointment, it typically takes between 1-3 weeks to complete the visa-to-card exchange process (“canje“) in Mexico. Some offices process the exchange the same day as your appointment, and some offices might also issue the card on the same day too—but we recommend that you allow up to three weeks wait as part of your schedule planning.  Read more details about visa-to-card exchange time scales.

Other procedures: Time scales for other procedures, e.g. residency card renewals, vary by office location: 1-3 weeks appears to be typical at the moment; and as with visa-to-card exchanges, some offices might issue cards or complete the procedures on the same day as your appointment, but we recommend you build flexibility into your plans and scheduling as not all procedures are completed on the appointment date.

Leaving Mexico during the process

If you need to leave Mexico while you are waiting for your residency card(s) to be (re)issued, you can apply for an exit/re-entry permit after you have submitted your paperwork for the procedure.  There is an application form and a fee to pay for this permit.

Note that you cannot apply for this exit/re-entry permit before you have filed your paperwork at the local immigration office and been issued with a file reference number—known as a “Pieza.”  Also, you cannot apply for an exit/re-entry permit if your procedure is classified as a ‘regularization’ process.

Learn more about Mexico visas and residency

Mexperience publishes extensive information about visas and immigration to Mexico, including:

• Our free and regularly-updated Guide to Mexico Immigration Guide encapsulates detailed information about applying for visas and residency permits
• Learn about exchanging your residency visa for a residency card
• Discover the principal routes for obtaining legal residency in Mexico
• Read our latest articles about residency and visas in Mexico

Detailed guides and helpful connections that enable you to plan and realize your relocation to Mexico

Mexperience provides in-depth insights and local knowledge with extensive articles, guides, and cross-references and connections to help you discover more of Mexico, consider your lifestyle options, define your intentions, make a plan, and help you to avoid making material mistakes with your Mexico lifestyle plans.

Our guides are written by people who know Mexico intimately, are continually revised and updated—and are free to access.

Mexperience helps you through every step of the journey

Our detailed guides and insights offer you complete information throughout every step of your journey:

• Discovering the benefits and opportunities Mexico offers to live and work or retire.
• Detailed insights that help you to consider whether Mexico is right for you and your partner—and family if relevant.
• When you’ve determined that Mexico is right for you, we offer lots of practical advice to help you plan your lifestyle in Mexico.
• Mexperience also helps you to plan your move, settle-in to Mexico, cultivate your social and community networks and helps you learn how adapt to the country and its culture.
• When you’re settled here, our up to date articles and monthly newsletter help you to cultivate a fruitful home life in Mexico.
• Our homestead articles offer practical advice to help you manage your home in Mexico and its dwelling spaces.
• Our insights and local knowledge also help if you’re living in Mexico now but want to revisit your intentions and need guidance to help you settle, adapt, and reform your plans.

Take the next step: start here

Mexperience offers extensive insights, local knowledge, and connections to help you plan and realize a relocation to Mexico, whether you’re single, a couple, or a family.

Begin your journey

Our Mexico Living & Lifestyles guide connects you to in-depth articles and information about living in Mexico. It’s continually updated, helping you to make considered choices and useful connections.

Help with lifestyle planning

Our regularly-updated section about Lifestyle Planning in Mexico shares insights to help you make informed decisions about your lifestyle choices in Mexico.

Calculate your living costs

Our detailed guide to the cost of living in Mexico helps you calculate a personalized budget based on your life stage and lifestyle choices.

Consider places to live in Mexico

We publish guides to help you consider places to live in Mexico, whether you come to live, work or retire.

Obtain your Mexico residency permit

Our detailed guide to applying for residency in Mexico shows you every step needed to qualify and apply for legal residency in Mexico

Real estate and property rental in Mexico

We publish a detailed guide to real estate in Mexico that shares practical insights when you’re buying, owning, renting, and selling property here.  We recommend you rent a house first before you buy, unless you’re familiar with the area you’re moving to.

Learn how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico

Our comprehensive guides describe how you can keep in touch when you’re in Mexico.  Our local insights include learning about Mexico cell phone plans, how to dial phones, connecting to internet services including satellite services, and also learn about post and couriers… and the cost of utilities and communications.

Cultivate your home life

When you’ve made the move and you’re living here, our regularly updated articles about cultivating a fruitful home life in Mexico will give you insights, inspiration, and ideas to make the most of your everyday lifestyle.

Manage your money & finances in Mexico

We publish detailed, updated, information about managing your finances in Mexico, including bank accounts, money exchange, and money transfers.

Homestead care and management

Whether you’re renting a home or have purchased a property here, our regularly updated guides help you manage your home and dwelling spaces in Mexico, with tips and local knowledge to keep them well maintained and secure for you and your family.

Learning and improving your Spanish

We encourage you to learn Spanish to help you make the most of your experiences in Mexico.  We connect you to language courses, and our in-depth PinPoint Spanish series helps you to learn about the nuances of language usage in Mexico.

Driving, road trips and running a car in Mexico

Our guides and articles about driving and taking road trips in Mexico help you to prepare your longer road trips as well as dealing with everyday driving matters.

Free Monthly Mexico Newsletter

Sign-up to our free monthly newsletter about Mexico that is filled with inspiration, meaningful knowledge, helpful connections, and tips for better living, lifestyle, and leisure in Mexico.

Discover even more of Mexico

Our Discover Mexico section provides a constantly updated stream of articles and guides that share knowledge and keep you updated about opportunities in Mexico.

Learn Spanish one-on-one in a relaxed online learning environment

Elisa Vidal is an independent qualified Spanish teacher based in Mexico.

She offers personalized, one-on-one online lessons in a relaxed and informal setting that puts you at ease to help you improve your language skills and increase your conversational abilities.

Choose the type of Spanish lesson you would like:

• Everyday Spanish conversation — increase your vocabulary, improve your language fluency, and learn about typical nuances and usage of Mexican Spanish in everyday situations.
• Beginner’s Spanish Lessons — start building your Spanish language skills with lessons that will get you started with conversation, understanding grammar, and building essential vocabulary.
• Intermediate Spanish Lessons — build on your existing Spanish language skills with lessons that will help improve your grammar, and build vocabulary and stronger sentence construction for writing and conversations.

Benefits of Elisa’s personalized lessons

Tailored lessons: Elisa offers lessons tailored to help you reach your Spanish language study goals, adapting the lessons to your personal needs.

Goal-oriented learning: Whether you want to improve general conversation, get a better handle on Spanish grammar, prepare for your new lifestyle in Mexico, or simply converse in Spanish with someone who can help you elevate your fluency level, Elisa will tailor the lessons to help you achieve your goals.

Cultural enrichment: Elisa’s language lessons will help you hone your Spanish language skills as you learn about Mexican traditions, expressions, everyday culture and the nuances of local language usage.

Experience you can trust: Elisa is a qualified Spanish language teacher with over eight years of teaching experience and has worked with learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Spanish lesson plans and prices

Pay per lesson or choose a monthly package. Choose the plan that best suits your language learning intentions.

*Monthly packages are based on 4-week lesson cycles.

Request your language lessons with Elisa

Complete the request form below and Elisa will contact you directly.

What happens next?

• After you complete the request form, Mexperience will send you an email that confirms your request and introduces you to Elisa.
• Elisa will respond to you directly to schedule free initial 30-minute consultation call on Zoom to introduce herself, talk about your language learning goals, and organize the lesson plan you choose.

Taking a Mexican-plated car to the US & Canada

Foreign residents living in Mexico with Permanent Residency cannot keep a foreign-plated car in Mexico outside one of the designated free zones.

If you hold Permanent Residency in Mexico and live outside one of the free zones, you might own a Mexican-plated vehicle, and you might want to drive it to the USA or Canada on short visits—usually up to six months.

Your Mexican insurance policy probably covers damage to your own vehicle and loss of any personal items inside of it when the car is outside of Mexico (check the policy); however, it will not cover third party liabilities in the USA and Canada in the event of an accident. A special top-up insurance policy is needed.

Short-term third-party liability insurance

Policies for Mexican-plated vehicles driving into the USA and Canada can be purchased on a short-term basis only—you select the number of days you intend to visit the US/Canada as part of the quotation process.

The insurance policy will:

• Cover you in the event of an accident in the USA or Canada and provide third party liability coverage up to the value of the coverage stated on the policy.
• Provide a limited amount of coverage for medical expenses—sufficient to cover very minor incidents, but insufficient for a serious situation, so a separate medical coverage policy is recommended.
• Provide roadside assistance in the event of a vehicle breakdown while you’re outside of Mexico, and legal assistance—as described in the policy.
• You can optionally purchase other defined coverages in addition to those listed above for an extra fee.

These policies are not intended to provide comprehensive coverage but instead top-up your Mexican insurance to cover you for damages in the event of an accident or other incident involving third parties while you’re driving in the USA or Canada.

Learn more about driving in Mexico

Mexperience offers articles with insights to help you prepare for your road trip and drive confidently in Mexico.

• Your Mexico road trip checklist
• Who can drive a foreign-plated vehicle in Mexico
• Insuring your vehicle for driving in Mexico
• Importing a foreign car or other vehicle to Mexico
• Latest articles about driving in Mexico
• Guide to auto insurance in Mexico

It’s possible to lose a great deal money (and even a life’s savings) if you are not insured or discover following an unforeseen event or natural disaster that your policy was not adequate or that the insurer underwriting the policy was not financially sound.

This article highlights practical aspects related to property insurance in Mexico to help you understand home insurance policies and choose coverages which are suitable to your needs and that will be adequate in the event you need to make a claim.

Home insurance if you own or rent in Mexico

You can arrange property insurance whether you own or rent a home in Mexico.

If you own a home in Mexico, you can insure the physical structure of the property as well as arrange coverages for loss of personal property at the home, and third party liabilities.

If you are renting a home in Mexico, you cannot insure the physical structure but you can arrange coverages for loss of personal property situated at the home and third party liability in relation to people visiting or working in your rented home.

Uninsurable residential structures in Mexico

Note that certain physical structures, especially risky ones like wood-framed buildings and palapa (palm or straw) roofing structures are usually explicitly excluded from all policies; if you must insure these, be prepared to pay a high premium to have them included in your coverages (it’s usually uneconomic to do so).

“All Risks” —vs— “Named Perils” insurance coverages

Some policies will offer “All Risks” cover, a form of comprehensive coverage that will pay out in the event of most incidents involving your home.

The better policies offer the option to cover catastrophic incidents such as hurricanes, floods, wind, fire, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes; surprisingly, some Mexican insurers are unable to underwrite some of these events, although specialist US insurers will.

To lower the insurance premium, you can elect to limit certain “Named Perils” assigned to your policy instead of taking All Risks coverage.  When you do this, certain events will be covered while others will not.

Less expensive policies are often the “named perils” type—even though on the surface they might appear to be comprehensive. A good broker will make a clear distinction between these two during its sales offer and demonstrate the cover and price differences between options.

Property insurance —vs— property title insurance

Note that property insurance and property title insurance are different.

Property insurance coverages are paid annually and can underwrite the physical property on the land, your personal possessions at the property, and may also cover third party liabilities related to the property.

Property title insurance is a one-time insurance payment you can buy when you purchase a property that mitigates risks related to unforeseen issues or liens associated with the property’s title.  It must be purchased before you close the property transaction.

Obtaining coverage for all your dwelling spaces

Your policy should cover the main structures of your home space and provide sufficient compensation to rebuild those structures if necessary.

Optionally, you may also cover carports, guesthouses, and other outbuildings including garages, games rooms, cabañas, equipment rooms, bungalows, stand-alone studios, etc.

Some homes in Mexico are composed of several structures (for example, several buildings situated around a central courtyard) and in these circumstances, the insurance rule is usually: everything that is directly connected is treated as one building. Anything that stands alone is considered an additional building.

Insuring your personal possessions situated at the property

A good insurance policy will cover personal goods owned by you, your guests, or domestic employees when they are working at your residence. Coverage for theft of personal property varies, depending on whether it is “scheduled” (specifically listed) or not.

Some policies include coverage for certain valuable property, such as cash, securities, jewelry, fine arts, sporting equipment and property used for business purposes—up to certain limits.

If you need higher limits for specific items of property that you own, this option is available by listing them on a special section of the application and making them a type of ‘named risk.’

Third party liability protection in relation to your home in Mexico

Good home insurance policies provide coverage for personal liabilities to third parties to protect you and your family against any lawsuits or demands presented against you.

For example, if a wall collapses and injures someone who was near it at the time; or the neighbor’s property is damaged due to a falling tree from your garden, a good insurance policy will cover your liabilities in these circumstances.

Policies can also cover injuries to people visiting or working in your home, for example if your housekeeper or gardener injure themselves on the job.

Loss of home use, or rental income

If you rely on your property for work, or to bring in a rental income, you may also choose to include a “loss of use” risk coverage in your policy.

This cover provides for additional living expenses if your house is damaged and cannot be lived in for a time while it’s repaired or rebuilt.

If you rent out your home and rely on this for income, you could take the additional option to cover rental income loss, whereby you are compensated for lost income if your home becomes damaged and unavailable for rental to others (you will need to provide evidence that a rental contract exists).

Rent liability coverage

Some home insurance policies exclude coverage when your home is rented (even occasionally or part time) or add a hefty supplement to the policy’s premium to include renter’s liability as part of the coverage.

If you rent out your home in Mexico (or intend to at some point) and want your coverages to be valid when others are renting the property, check with the provider you get a quote from to see if renter’s liability coverage is included in the premium, or how much more you need to pay in premium to include it.

Insuring your condominium unit in Mexico

Condominium associations in Mexico are supposed to keep a blanket commercial policy in place to cover the entire property.

Typically, this provides insurance coverage for the building as well as communal elements of the property such as pools, garages, the interior walls, fixtures, fittings, and outbuildings associated with the development, or fraccionamiento.

The wording of these commercial insurance policies tends to be very limiting in what they will cover within the terms of a blanket condominium insurance policy and it’s prudent for individual condo owners to arrange separate insurance to mitigate expenses of paying for certain types of damage.

Exclusion of third party liability

Many Mexican-issued insurance policies exclude third party liability and renter’s liability from the standard policy and charge a substantial premium to include these as optional extras. This places an obligation on condominium owners to cover elements not included by the commercial policy on a unit-by-unit basis.

Liability to adjacent properties in the building

Don’t be lured into a false sense of security by condominium blanket coverages: in a situation where an event that happens in your condominium affects an adjacent condominium —for example, a water leak in your shower room that damages your neighbor’s room below— you will be made liable for repairs to yours and your neighbors’ damages.  Having a unit-based insurance policy in place will protect you from the expenses of these sorts of events.

Check the documentation

The key documents to check on your Condo contracts are the ‘Byelaws’ and ‘Covenants’ associated with your condominium property: these are the documents that contain the small print regarding what is and what is not covered by the condominium building’s ‘blanket’ insurance program.

Insurance for beachfront and waterside property in Mexico

It’s possible to insure property near oceans, rivers, and lakes—although premiums may be higher to reflect the additional risks which may arise from storms and flooding that can be more common in these areas.

The online insurance application form will ask you for the Mexican postal code (zip code) of the property, and this is mapped to detailed topographical and statistical data which enables insurers to assess the hydro and meteorological risks that are related to the property and quote accordingly.

Some companies may refuse to insure properties very close to the sea or other bodies of water if historical statistical data show that it’s unviable, although policies may be available from different brokers that will quote for coverage in certain acute circumstances—with higher premiums to reflect the increased risk.

Insurance for homes situated on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula

If you own —or intend to own— a home situated on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, you’ll discover that getting your property insured is more difficult than if it’s situated in other regions of Mexico.

The Yucatán region’s geology, coupled with unique hurricane risks, has made it either difficult or prohibitively expensive to insure homes in this area. However, our insurance associate MexPro offers home insurance coverages in the Yucatán region.

Watercraft insurance in Mexico

A few people live on their boat moored in Mexico, while some people who own homes here near a body of water might also own a boat, a jet ski, or a yacht—and these ought to be properly insured while they are situated in Mexican waters.

The premium you pay for insurance of your watercraft is based on two factors:

• the number of days the craft will be in Mexico, and
• the value of the watercraft.

Personal injury and third-party liability cover should also be taken out in case you become involved in an accident on the water. The better policies also offer legal assistance and ‘bond’ cover in addition to the injury and liability cover.

In legal terms, accidents involving watercraft where people are injured or killed are treated in similar fashion to serious car accidents in Mexico.

If you own watercraft and and spend extended periods of time here, or live here, an annual policy may be a better investment than a short term policy covering specific dates.

Check with the broker providing your quote to find out what options they have for year-round coverage of your watercraft in Mexico.

Learn more about property insurance in Mexico

Mexperience offers detailed insights about property in Mexico for buyers, owners, renters, and sellers.

• Choosing a home insurance policy
• Insuring domestic help and workers in your home
• Third party damage cover
• Latest articles about property insurance in Mexico
• Get a no-obligation online quote for home insurance in Mexico

Get help to plan your approach when you apply for residency in Mexico and practical facilitation assistance as you make your way through procedures related to applying for and managing your residency status in Mexico.

Mexico residency facilitation and assistance support service

The tele-assistance support service saves you time and helps avoid common mistakes made by applicants.

Whether you’re applying for residency for the first time, renewing an existing residency permit, or need assistance with other procedures related to managing your legal residency in Mexico—our associates can help.

Our associates offer service packages for the most common residency-related procedures, with clear and transparent fixed-fees. (Consulting and assistance fees exclude the government fees applicants must pay to apply for residency in Mexico.)

Mexico residency assistance plans and fees

Learn about the service packages that our immigration assistance associates offer, with clear and transparent fixed-fees for each one.

Click on the service name for a full description of the service and procedures, and to make a service request.  Our associate will contact you directly.

• You intend to retire in Mexico or are already retired and want to move here.
• You own a house, or intend to buy a house, in Mexico.
• You live in Mexico part of the year and don’t want the hassle and risk of using visitor permit for your regular stays here.
• You intend to make a significant change in your life and work style and move your life situations to Mexico.
• You move to Mexico primarily for work reasons, usually under the auspice of a formal work contract.

Qualifying for residency in Mexico

When you have made the decision to apply for legal residency in Mexico, you will need to consider which route you will use to apply.

• Our article about the principal routes for obtaining Mexican residency summarizes the main routes most people use.
• Most applications are made via the ‘economic solvency’ route—i.e., proving that you have sufficient funds to sustain yourself here.
• If you have specified types of family connections in Mexico (including marriage/common-law partnership to a Mexican national or a foreigner with legal residency in Mexico), you may apply for residency via the Family Unit rules.
• If your income or savings are insufficient due to the recent rises in those qualification criteria, there are some other routes that might be open to you.

Type of residency in Mexico

Mexico offers two main residency types: Temporary Residency (Residencia Temporal), and Permanent Residency (Residencia Permanente).

Permanent residency is obtainable without having temporary residency first, but the situations that allow this are very limited, and thus most applicants begin holding temporary residency first.  After four consecutive years of holding temporary residency, you may apply to exchange this for permanent residency.

• Learn about the difference between temporary and permanent residency.
• If you’re a couple applying for permanent residency together, read this.
• Note that temporary residency does not automatically come with permission to work in Mexico—this needs to be applied for and granted separately.

The residency application process

When you have determined how you will qualify, and what type of residency you will apply for, you can begin the application process.

• Most applications for residency must begin at a Mexican Consulate abroad.
• If your application through a Mexican Consulate abroad is successful, a residency visa sticker will be placed in your passport. This sticker must be exchanged for a residency card in Mexico before the visa’s expiry date—usually six months after its issue date.
• Family Unit applications and applications through special procedures can be made at an immigration office in Mexico.
• If your application is one of the few that can be made at an immigration office in Mexico, you will exchange your visitor permit (or other visa type you might have) for a residency card in-country.
• Learn more about the government fees for residency permits, and typical time scales for obtaining residency in Mexico.

Residency card renewals and exchanges to permanent residency

When you take possession of your residency card, you will gain certain legal rights and obligations as a resident in Mexico and you’ll need to manage your ongoing status, thus:

• In most cases, your first temporary residency card is issued for only one year*
• After the first year, you can apply to renew your temporary residency for a further 1, 2 or 3 years.
• After holding temporary residency for four consecutive years, you may apply to exchange this for permanent residency.
• If you don’t want permanent residency, you can allow the temporary residency card to expire and restart the process with one year of temporary residency.
• Permanent residency cards issued people aged 18 years and older never expire. Minors (aged under 18 years) need to renew their permanent residency cards periodically until reaching the age of 18.

*Spouse of a Mexican national or foreign resident: If you’re applying as a spouse of a Mexican national or an existing foreign resident see this article for details about time scales.)

Mexico residency card use and management

Your Mexico residency card serves as a form of official identification in Mexico, and may be accepted abroad as form of government-issued ID.

• You must present your residency card when you enter Mexico, and each time you leave the country.
• If have a temporary resident card, or if you’re the parent or guardian of a minor (aged under 18 years) with a permanent residency card, you’ll need to manage renewals to keep your legal residency status valid.
• You need to file notifications about certain changes in your personal circumstances at your local INM office.
• If you lose your residency card, or it becomes damaged beyond use, you’ll need to apply for a replacement.

For more details, read our article about managing your resident card and residency status in Mexico.

Learn more about residency in Mexico

Mexperience publishes information and resources to help you learn about how to apply for and obtain legal residency in Mexico:

• Learn about the principal routes to obtaining legal residency
• The difference between temporary and permanent residency permits
• Financial criteria for residency in Mexico
• Time limits on Mexico’s visitor and residency permits
• Rights and obligations when you have legal residency
• Renewing your residency permit
• Temporary residency: expiry and renewal

Continually updated and detailed guides to living costs in Mexico

Detailed insights about living costs in Mexico

Mexperience publishes information that enables you to calculate your living costs in Mexico and compose a budget based on your individual lifestyle situation.

Don’t just guess at what living in Mexico might cost you. Everybody’s situation is unique, and so too are the costs.

Our regularly-updated insights to the Cost of Living in Mexico help you to create an accurate estimate of your living costs, based on your life stage, individual situation, and lifestyle choices.

Connect to detailed insights with our regularly-updated articles

Start to learn about living costs in Mexico and create a budget based on your own individual lifestyle plans:

• How to calculate your living costs in Mexico
• Cost of utilities and communications
• Typical costs for running your own car in Mexico
• Directory of stores, supermarkets and services in Mexico

See also:

• Read latest updates and insights about living costs in Mexico
• Articles and insights about your money and finances in Mexico

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Detailed guides about relocating to Mexico
• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
• Detailed insights for lifestyle planning and your home life in Mexico
• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free

Whether you’re moving your personal goods to Mexico or moving your goods out of Mexico, a company that specializes in moving household goods can alleviate many of the most significant burdens of your move.

The moving company also facilitates the Customs paperwork and procedures, leaving you to focus on moving your life situation without having to worry about the logistics of moving your household goods.

Connect with an experienced home moving company

Browse online for removal companies that can assist you:

• Moving home to/from Mexico internationally (Google)
• Moving home within Mexico domestically (Google)

You can also find tips and advice about moving to Mexico on these Mexperience guides and articles:

• Importing your personal goods to Mexico
• Moving your personal goods to, from, or within Mexico
• Importing pets to Mexico
• Moving: Actions Checklist and Timeline
• Importing your foreign-plated car to Mexico

Comprehensive and detailed guide to living and cultivating a lifestyle in Mexico, continually revised and updated. Free—no payment or subscription needed.

Complete and detailed guide to Living & Lifestyles in Mexico that’s continually updated

Our extensive guides and articles offer insights to anyone exploring prospects for living, working, retirement and cultivating your lifestyle in Mexico.

They provide practical insights, incisive local knowledge, and meaningful guidance that helps you to discover opportunities, consider your choices, and make informed decisions.

Discover what lifestyles Mexico offers, identify opportunities of interest to you, weight up the compromises, consider your options, and plot a course based on the things that are important to you.

Guides to lifestyles in Mexico, for all life stages

Our continually-updated guides help you to begin weaving together the key components which create a workable and realistic lifestyle plan in Mexico, whatever planning stage and life stage you are in presently:

• To those considering a move to Mexico, whether you are single, with your partner, or a family with young children, Mexperience helps you to discover the country and evaluate living and lifestyle choices available here.  Our guides also offer thoughtful guidance about setting out your intentions and reshaping your situations.
• To those planning their retirement or seeking a place to retire, Mexperience guides provide specific guidance about matters related to retirement planning and retirement lifestyles, as well as the practicalities of retiring in Mexico.
• When you’re already living in Mexico, our guides and articles provide practical insights that help you to settle-in, adapt, and cultivate your new lifestyle here day-to-day.
• Regardless of your life stage, the information we publish provides meaningful insights about the essential day-to-day practical matters of living in Mexico, adapting to the country, the climates and culture, and more—with extensive cross references and links to further information and helpful contacts who can help you to realize your Mexico plans.

Planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico

Obtain practical insights, get incisive local knowledge and meaningful guidance that helps you to consider opportunities, weigh up your choices, and make informed decisions about planning or redefining your lifestyle in Mexico.

Mexico as a place for your retirement

We publish comprehensive information to help you plan a retirement here, whether you’re planning ahead or already retired and considering Mexico as a potential retirement haven.

Exploring locations and finding a place to live in Mexico

Our extensive articles help you to consider key aspects as you explore your options and make choices about your lifestyle and potential location types in Mexico.

Getting your residency permit for Mexico

Mexico’s immigration laws are reasonable and allow non-Mexicans with the financial means or family roots, and/or skills, to live here legally. We publish extensive knowledge to help you, including:

Moving and settling-in to life in Mexico

When you’ve decided to move to Mexico and made key decisions about where and how you’ll live, there’s the move a period of adapting and settling-in.  We publish extensive guides and articles to help you settle.

Learn how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico

Our guides include detailed information about how to keep in touch when you’re in Mexico: by phone, by internet, as well as using postal and courier services here.  Our local knowledge helps you to choose a mobile phone plan, explore choices for high speed internet in Mexico (even if you live in a remote area) and our cost of living guide includes a section about the cost of communications services.

Detailed insights into the practicalities of living in Mexico day-to-day

Our articles and guides also include comprehensive insights about day to day living in Mexico that help you to plan your lifestyle, settle-in, and make the most of your life and activities in Mexico.

Mexico’s living costs and managing your finances

Financial considerations are an important aspect of any move.  Mexperience helps you to calculate your cost of living in Mexico and offers practical tips for managing your money and finances here.

Mexico as a place for working-age professionals

Working-age professionals, especially those plying a trade in the knowledge economy, are also considering Mexico as a base to live and work.

And more… resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• A regular Mexico Newsletter you can subscribe to for free
• Regularly-updated articles about lifestyle planning  in Mexico
• Insights about day to day living with Mexico Home Life

The most common family connection that applicants use to apply for residency using Family Unit rules is being the spouse or common-law partner of a Mexican national, or the spouse or common-law partner of an existing foreigner with legal residency status in Mexico.

How residency applications for couples are treated

How your application for residency in Mexico using this route is treated will depend on:

• Whether you apply at an immigration office in Mexico, or start your application at a Mexican consulate abroad; and
• Whether your spouse or common-law partner is a Mexican national or a legal foreign resident; and
• If your spouse or common-law partner is a legal resident, whether they currently hold Temporary or Permanent residency status.

Applying as a couple at a Mexican consulate abroad

If you’re the spouse of a Mexican national or existing foreign legal resident in Mexico and choose to begin the application for residency at a Mexican consulate abroad you will:

• Be granted residency under Family Unit rules; and
• Get a residency visa sticker placed in your passport; and
• You’ll need to arrive in Mexico and exchange that sticker for a residency card at your local immigration office.

When you apply via a Mexican consulate, your Temporary Residency card will be issued for one year only and must be renewed near the end of year one for a further three years. Near the end of that consecutive four year period, the spouse or common-law partner can then apply to exchange temporary residency for permanent residency.

Applying as a couple at an immigration office in Mexico

Spouses and common-law partners are among the few people who can exchange a visitor permit for a residency card inside Mexico without having to apply through a Mexican consulate abroad.

Applying at a local immigration office in Mexico requires that your key documents —e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificates— be notarized/apostilled, and translated into Spanish. It’s a good idea to get this done for any future presentation in Mexico of these documents for official purposes.

The table below describes how your residency status will be granted when you apply as a couple for legal residency at an immigration office in Mexico.

Variations in terms given to spouses/partners on residency cards issued in Mexico

The table below shows typical times issued on residency cards given to applicants who are spouses/partners of Mexican nationals and existing legal residents.

We are aware that immigration offices in Mexico are treating some applications differently, sometimes offering spouses/partners one year of Temporary Residency and then one additional year of Temporary Residency before they can apply for Permanent Residency.

In some cases applicants have been issued with one year of Temporary Residency and told to return to apply for three more years of Temporary Residency before they can apply for Permanent Residency—as if they had applied via a Mexican consulate, even though they applied in Mexico.

Be aware that the immigration office you apply at might vary the time scales cited in the table below.

Learn more about Mexico visas and immigration

Mexperience publishes extensive information about visas and immigration to Mexico, including:

• Read about the principal routes to obtaining residency in Mexico
• Our article about temporary and permanent residency describes legal residency permits in Mexico
• Our latest articles about visas and immigration keep you apprised of current situations
• Read FAQs about residency visas and cards and FAQs about economic solvency criteria.
• Our free Mexico Immigration Guide that encapsulates what you need to know about applying for visas and residency permits.