Temporary residency, the 30-day exchange, CURP, RFC, banking and tax residency for remote workers, retirees and families relocating to Mexico. We build the file, book the appointments and walk you through to the card in your hand.
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It does not exist. Mexican migration law has no category by that name, however many travel blogs repeat it. What does exist, and works well, is temporary residency by economic solvency under article 52 of the Migration Law.
The legal key is this: you prove you can support yourself without performing paid activities from a Mexican source. A client in Chicago paying you by wire while you live in Mérida is not a Mexican source. That is precisely what the scheme allows, and it is why thousands of remote workers live here under it.
Choosing the wrong one at the start costs months and money. Here is what actually exists — and if you are coming to retire, our retirement guide covers the tax and healthcare side too:
The route for remote workers, freelancers and retirees. You prove foreign income or savings and live in Mexico without depending on the Mexican job market.
When a Mexican company hires you. The employer starts the process with INM and you collect the visa at the consulate.
Spouse, partner, children or parents of a Mexican national or a resident. The most direct route, and in several cases it can be done from inside Mexico.
After four years of temporary status, through direct family ties, through retirement or on points. No expiry and no separate work permit needed.
| Visitor (tourist) | Temporary resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Length of stay | Up to 180 days, and the officer at the airport decides the number | 1 year, renewable up to 4 |
| Where it's obtained | At the port of entry | Mexican consulate abroad, then exchanged at INM |
| CURP and RFC | Very limited | Yes, with the resident card |
| Bank account | Usually refused | Yes |
| Entries and exits | Repeated re-entries raise flags and can be refused | Unrestricted |
| Path to permanent | None | Yes, after 4 years |
This is the part almost no immigration facilitator explains, and it is where we are different: we are a tax firm first, not a visa shop.
Holding a resident card does not automatically make you a Mexican tax resident. That is decided under article 9 of the Federal Tax Code, mainly by where your home and your centre of vital interests are. You can live here on temporary residency and still be taxed elsewhere, or drift into Mexican tax residency without noticing and end up with SAT obligations nobody warned you about.
If you are American, your IRS obligations do not disappear when you move — the U.S. taxes citizens on worldwide income. What the Mexico–U.S. treaty does is stop the same income being taxed twice. We handle the Mexican side and coordinate with your U.S. preparer.
You tell us your situation and we tell you which route applies, what will be asked of you and the real timeline. No cost.
We assemble the documentation, check translations and thresholds, and book the appointment at the consulate with jurisdiction over you.
Once you arrive we file the exchange within the 30-day window and go with you to the appointment until your card is issued.
CURP, RFC, bank, tax regime and renewals. We stay with you through the four years.
No, not under that name. Mexican immigration law has no such category. What digital nomads actually use is temporary residency under the economic solvency route, set out in article 52 of the Migration Law. It works because you prove you can support yourself without performing paid work from a Mexican source — and a client in Chicago paying you by transfer while you live in Mérida is not a Mexican source.
With very narrow exceptions, no. The economic solvency application starts at a Mexican consulate abroad. This is the single most expensive mistake we see: people burn their 180 tourist days, then discover they have to leave the country and start over. If your entry permit has already expired, there may also be a fine for irregular status before you are allowed to leave.
There is no single national figure. The amount is calculated on the UMA, a government reference unit, and each consulate publishes its own threshold and its own rules on bank statements. You can usually qualify either through around six months of monthly income or twelve months of average balance, and the requirement increases for each dependent. We check the exact consulate that has jurisdiction over you before you book anything.
The visa stamped in your passport at the consulate only lets you enter. Once in Mexico you have 30 calendar days to go to the INM, the immigration institute, and exchange it for your actual Temporary Resident Card. Miss that window and the whole process collapses and has to be restarted from the consulate.
The first card is issued for one year and can then be renewed for one, two or three more, up to four years total. After four years as a temporary resident you can apply for permanent residency without proving solvency again.
Not automatically. They are separate questions. Tax residency is determined by article 9 of the Federal Tax Code, primarily by where your home and your centre of vital interests are located. You can hold a residency card and not be a tax resident, or become one without holding a card. Getting this wrong is what produces surprise SAT assessments years later.
Strictly speaking it depends, but in practice you will want one. Without an RFC you cannot invoice, you will struggle to open certain bank accounts, and you cannot put utilities or leases properly in your name. If you do become a tax resident, it stops being optional.
Yes. Dependents can be included in the same process, with additional income or balance required for each one. We handle family files regularly, including cases where one spouse qualifies through economic solvency and the others follow through family unit.
We will tell you which route applies, what you have to prove and how long it really takes. Free, in English, within 24 hours.
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