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 those are about USD 4,400 per month or USD 74,000. The switch to UMA was in applicants' favour: 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 temporary-to-permanent conversion is the real product here, and it is now the ONLY route for 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 must do four years of temporary residency first. That single change reprices the whole Mexico decision.
Qualifying routes
680 × daily UMA (MXN 117.31) per month, ≈ USD 4,400. Six to twelve months of consistent documented income, depending on consulate.
11,460 × daily UMA, ≈ USD 74,000. Twelve months of unbroken balance at or above the threshold. You must use income OR savings — they cannot be combined.
Some consulates accept Mexican real property ownership above a threshold in lieu of income or savings; practice varies and this is not reliably available
The facts
- Qualifying figure
- 79.8k MXN
- Total landed cost
- MXN 11,141 (≈USD 610) for a 1-year card up to MXN 25,058 (≈USD 1,370) for 4 years, plus the consular visa fee (~USD 54) and any legal or facilitation cost — the government cost is trivial; the qualification is the threshold itself
- Timeline
- 1–3 months — Consular interview abroad, then 30 days to enter Mexico and 30 days from entry to complete canje at an INM office
- Physical presence
- No minimum stay to hold the card, but you must return to Mexico to renew; 183 days in a calendar year makes you a Mexican TAX resident, which is a separate and consequential line
- Family
- spouse or concubinedependent childrendependent parents — dependants generally need incremental solvency, typically around 100 × daily UMA per dependant per month, but consular practice varies
- Permanent residency
- Four consecutive years of temporary residency converts to permanent residency inside Mexico, with NO new proof of solvency required — the four years of compliance are the qualification
- Citizenship
- Five years of legal residency (temporary counts) before applying for naturalisation; two years if married to a Mexican national or parent of a Mexican-born child
- Language test
- Spanish language and Mexican history/culture examination (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/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 entryvalid passport and clean record
- Thresholds are indexed to the UMA and reset every year — budget for annual increases. The UMA rose 3.69% for 2026 to MXN 117.31 per day.
- Consular practice varies materially. The federal criteria are uniform on paper; the consulate you apply at decides in practice, and some apply higher multiples or demand more months of statements. Confirm with your specific consulate before booking.
- Government card fees roughly doubled from 1 January 2026.
- You must apply at a Mexican consulate ABROAD. You cannot convert a tourist entry into temporary residency from inside Mexico (narrow family exceptions aside).
- Income and savings cannot be combined. Pick the stronger one.
- The card is not a tax shelter: 183 days in Mexico, or a Mexican centre of vital interests, makes you a Mexican tax resident on WORLDWIDE income at rates up to 35%. Many buyers of this residency do not intend that and do not check.
- For US citizens, none of this reduces US tax by a cent — citizenship-based taxation follows you to Mexico.
- Mexico is a full CRS participant; a Mexican account is reported to your other tax residences.
- The canje deadline is hard: 30 days from entry to start the residence-card process at INM, or the visa is void and you start over.