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The path from visiting Mexico to living here, in five stages, and where each guide fits.
Most people don't move to Mexico in one step. They visit, then stay a winter, then wonder whether they could just live here, and somewhere along the way the paperwork stops being optional. This page maps that path in five stages and points to the guide for each one. To browse everything by topic instead, see all guides.
1. Visiting: how long you can stay as a tourist
As a tourist you can stay up to 180 days, but the immigration officer who stamps your passport decides the actual number, and it can be much less. If you spend long stretches in Mexico, this is the first thing to understand.
Read: How long can you stay in Mexico as a tourist?, and if you come for the winter, the snowbird's guide to splitting the year.
2. Trying it out: long stays
A winter or a few months somewhere means renting, getting pesos without losing a slice to fees, a phone plan, and knowing what healthcare costs.
Read:
- Just arrived? What to set up in your first two weeks: phone, internet, water, gas and bills
- Renting in Mexico as a foreigner, and the póliza jurídica most landlords ask for
- The CFE electricity bill, and the DAC tariff that can triple it
- Getting pesos without losing money
- Where in Mexico you can fly home nonstop, by home airport
- Choosing a city: Mérida vs Querétaro
- Driving in Mexico: insurance, licenses and tolls
- Bringing your dog or cat
- For US retirees: Does Medicare work in Mexico?
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3. Deciding to stay: residency
If you want to stay longer than a visit allows, or you're tired of wondering how many days you'll get at the airport, residency is the answer. Two things surprise most people. You apply at a Mexican consulate outside Mexico, not from inside the country. And each consulate publishes its own income and savings figures, which differ by up to 17%.
Read on ResidencyMexico: Mexico residency requirements: documents and process, and Temporary vs Permanent residency. I run ResidencyMexico too.
4. Getting your card: the canje
The visa from the consulate isn't residency yet. Once you enter Mexico with it, you have 30 days to start the canje at INM, where you swap the visa for your resident card.
Moving furniture too? Residents can bring household goods in tax-free once: menaje de casa, which has its own timing window around your arrival.
Read on ResidencyMexico: The canje: INM steps, documents and the 30-day deadline.
5. Your first year
With a card in hand, the next steps are a CURP, possibly an RFC, a Mexican bank account, and a healthcare plan. Living here also changes your taxes: see taxes for Americans living in Mexico. If you decide to buy, read buying property as a foreigner and the guide to predial, the yearly property tax.
Read on ResidencyMexico: Your first 30 days as a new resident, CURP vs RFC, banking for new residents, and healthcare for new residents.
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