Mexico · Passive income
Residente Temporal by Economic Solvency
Open, with 2026 thresholds VERIFIED against the 2026 UMA of MXN 117.31 per day. Mexican consulates were instructed (Diario Oficial de la Federación, 25 July 2025) to calculate economic solvency against the UMA rather than the general minimum wage, using higher multiples. The 2026 figures are 680 × UMA = MXN 79,770.80 per month of income, or 11,460 × UMA = MXN 1,344,372.60 in savings or investments. At roughly MXN 18.1 to the dollar, that works out to about USD 4,400 per month or USD 74,000. The switch to UMA actually favored applicants. The general minimum wage rose 13% for 2026, versus the UMA's 3.69%, so a minimum-wage basis would have pushed the income threshold to roughly USD 5,100. Government card fees roughly doubled from 1 January 2026.
The four-year conversion from temporary to permanent residency is the real product here, and it is now the only route available to anyone under retirement age. Since the July 2025 guidelines, only retirees and pensioners can obtain permanent residency directly from abroad on solvency grounds. A working-age family now has to complete four years of temporary residency first. That single change reprices the whole Mexico decision.
Qualifying routes
680 × daily UMA (MXN 117.31) per month, roughly USD 4,400. Consulates want six to twelve months of consistent, documented income, depending on the post.
11,460 × daily UMA, roughly USD 74,000. You need twelve months of an unbroken balance at or above the threshold. You must qualify on income or on savings. The two cannot be combined.
Some consulates will accept Mexican real property ownership above a threshold in place of income or savings. Practice varies by post, and this route is not reliably available.
The facts
- Minimum
- 79.8k MXN
- Total landed cost
- MXN 11,141 (approximately USD 610) for a 1-year card, up to MXN 25,058 (approximately USD 1,370) for 4 years, plus the consular visa fee (around USD 54) and any legal or facilitation cost. The government fee itself is trivial. The real barrier is clearing the qualification threshold.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 1–3 months (You attend a consular interview abroad. Once approved, you have 30 days to enter Mexico, then another 30 days from entry to complete the canje, the in-country exchange, at an INM office.)
- Physical presence
- There is no minimum stay required to hold the card, but you do need to return to Mexico to renew it. Spend 183 days in Mexico in a calendar year, though, and you become a Mexican tax resident. That is a separate matter, and a consequential one.
- Family
- Spouse or concubineDependent childrenDependent parents. Dependants generally require incremental proof of solvency, typically around 100 times the daily UMA per dependant per month, though consular practice varies
- Permanent residency
- Four consecutive years of temporary residency converts to permanent residency inside Mexico. No new proof of solvency is required. The four years of compliance are themselves the qualification.
- Citizenship
- Five years of legal residency, temporary residency counts, before you can apply for naturalisation. That drops to two years if you are married to a Mexican national or are the parent of a Mexican-born child.
- Language test
- A Spanish language and Mexican history and culture examination is required, with exemptions for applicants over 60 and certain others.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- MXN 79,770.80 per month of income (680 × 2026 daily UMA) over 6–12 months, or MXN 1,344,372.60 in savings or investments (11,460 × 2026 daily UMA) over 12 monthsapplication at a Mexican consulate outside Mexicoentry within 180 days of visa issue, and canje at INM within 30 days of entrya valid passport and a clean record
- Thresholds are indexed to the UMA and reset every year, so budget for annual increases. The UMA rose 3.69% for 2026, to MXN 117.31 per day.
- Consular practice varies more than you would expect. The federal criteria look uniform on paper, but the consulate where you apply decides in practice. Some ask for higher multiples or more months of bank statements. Confirm the details with your specific consulate before you book anything.
- Government card fees roughly doubled starting 1 January 2026.
- You must apply at a Mexican consulate abroad. You cannot convert a tourist entry into temporary residency from inside Mexico, aside from a few narrow family exceptions.
- Income and savings cannot be combined. Pick whichever is stronger and apply on that basis.
- The card is not a tax shelter. Spend 183 days in Mexico, or keep your center of vital interests there, and you become a Mexican tax resident on worldwide income at rates up to 35%. Many people who buy this residency do not intend that outcome, and many never check.
- For US citizens, none of this reduces US tax by a cent. Citizenship-based taxation follows you to Mexico regardless.
- Mexico is a full CRS participant. A Mexican account gets reported to your other tax residences.
- The canje deadline is hard. You have 30 days from entry to start the residence-card process at INM. Miss it, and the visa is void. You start over.