How income tests for residence visas actually work

The number on the checklist is only part of the test

€3,680 or US$4,510 a month: a consulate checklist gives one figure, and it reads like the whole test. It is the first line of it. What the figure leaves out is whether it is before or after tax, which of your income counts, how many months of statements are needed and what happens when your pay arrives in another currency.

The four countries here show how much the wording varies. Portugal sets its remote-work line at four times the minimum wage. Spain uses 200% of the minimum wage for telework and 400% of a public benchmark called the IPREM for the non-lucrative visa. Mexico counts days of the UMA, a unit its statistics office resets every year, and Costa Rica writes US dollar amounts into law.

Route-by-route detail sits in the Portugal, Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica guides. [V1] [V3] [V4] [V6] [V9]

Gross or net

A salary of US$5,200 before tax that arrives as US$4,300 does not clear a US$4,510 line. Mexico is the clearest of the four on this. Its visa guidelines ask for monthly income "libres de gravámenes" (free of charges) above 680 days of the UMA, for the last six months, and Fernshore reads that as income after tax. Bank statements show what lands in your account, which fits the same reading.

Portugal's means-of-subsistence figure is €920 a month for one adult "net of any social security deductions", with 50% added for a second adult and 30% for each child. The remote-work test is "average monthly income", gross or net undefined. For Spain's telework and non-lucrative visas and for Costa Rica's pensions and rents: not published; ask the consulate.

In the meantime, take the lower reading and count what reaches your account after tax and social contributions. Keep whatever answer the consulate gives you. [V2] [V6] [V8] [V9]

Which income counts

An employee applying for Mexico's visa needs a letter. San Diego asks for one from a supervisor, on company letterhead, that states the monthly salary and explicitly agrees with you living in Mexico and working remotely. Portugal wants the funds to arise from a contract, and Spain's Washington consulate lists a contract or a company certificate among the proofs.

Pensions are named in most of the rules. Mexico accepts employment or a pension, and the Las Vegas list gives a pension certificate as an example. Portugal asks for a document certifying the retirement amount. Spain's non-lucrative visa accepts Social Security benefits and public or private pensions as periodic income, if the documents confirm you will keep receiving them for at least the next 12 months. Costa Rica's pensionado route is narrower: the pension must be monthly, permanent, stable, from abroad and at least US$1,000 (Law 8764, article 81).

Rental income is the least consistent. Portugal's passive income documents cover revenue from movable and immovable property and from intellectual or financial assets. Las Vegas lists a rental contract among the proofs for self-employed applicants, which is one consulate's example, not a rule for all of them. Costa Rica's rentista route asks for monthly, permanent and stable rents from abroad or from banks in the national system, at least US$2,500 (article 82). Spain's non-lucrative visa lists no rent, so ask whether a lease counts.

Savings are where the routes split. Mexico lets a balance replace income: an average monthly balance of 11,460 days of the UMA (MXN 1,344,373) over twelve months, printed as US$75,950 at San Diego and US$78,025 at Las Vegas. Spain's non-lucrative visa asks for bank statements and a certificate of average balance over twelve months, set against a yearly total. Portugal and Costa Rica describe income, not balances. Whether regular withdrawals count as income is a question for the consulate. [V1] [V3] [V6] [V7] [V8] [V9]

How many months of proof

Portugal looks back three months and Mexico six, or twelve for a balance. Portugal's remote-work test is an average over the last three months, so one strong month can offset a thin one. Mexico asks for income above the line for each of the last six months. The guidelines word the income test as monthly income "mayores" (greater than) the line and mention an average only for the balance, so plan on every month clearing the line, not the average.

Wording can drift between the rule and the checklist. The guidelines ask for an average monthly balance over twelve months, while San Diego's checklist asks for a "minimum monthly balance" of US$75,950 for the previous twelve months. An average lets a good month cover a poor one and a minimum does not, so ask which one the officer applies.

Spain's non-lucrative checklist asks for statements from the last three months on every account. It also wants a bank certificate with the 31 December balance and the 12-month average, plus proof that any periodic income will continue for a further 12 months. For the telework visa, which sets an income line without a stated number of months, the consulate is the one to ask. [V3] [V4] [V6] [V7] [V8] [P2]

Which exchange rate

San Diego prints US$4,510 and Las Vegas prints US$4,630 for the same Mexican law. The guidelines set a peso figure: 680 days of the UMA at MXN 117.31 a day from 1 February 2026 is MXN 79,771 a month. Conversion of other currencies is not set. Our arithmetic puts the implied rates at about 17.7 and 17.2 pesos to the dollar. If you are paid in Canadian, Australian or New Zealand dollars, the consulate that serves you decides how to convert, and whether it uses the rate on the day.

Spain prints euro amounts with rough dollar equivalents. Washington shows €2,442 a month ("approx. $2900") for telework and €28,800 a year ("approx. $32.000") for the non-lucrative visa, with no conversion method. A dollar income that clears the line in one month can miss it a few months later, because the euro moves.

Costa Rica states the amounts for pensions and rents in US dollars, so income paid in dollars avoids the question. For the remote-worker stay, the Dirección General de Migración can confirm the income amount and how it is converted; the Costa Rica guide has the figures we hold. Portugal's amounts are in euros, which leaves the exchange risk with you. [V3] [V4] [V6] [V7] [V8] [V9] [P2]

Why a figure just above the line is risky

Mexico asks for income greater than the line, so meeting it exactly fails. Then there is the date. The Mexican UMA rose 3.69% for 2026, so a figure that cleared the line in January sat below it from February. Portugal's minimum wage is set by decree each year: €920 for 2026 under Decree-Law 139/2025, which makes four times the wage €3,680.

Spain's pages lag. On the date of checking, Canberra's page for the telework visa still showed the 2025 amount, €2,762.66, counted over 12 payments, while Washington showed €2,442 for 2026, counted on €1,221. Applying Canberra's method to the 2026 wage gives about €2,849 (our calculation). Which one applies depends on the consulate that serves you.

Variable pay is the other risk. A bonus month raises an average and does nothing for a test that wants each month to clear, and a dip in one of the six months can sink an application that looked comfortable. These are planning targets, not approvals.

• Portugal remote-work visas: €3,680 a month. Plan on more than €3,700.
• Spain telework: €2,442 to about €2,849 a month. Plan on more than €2,900.
• Spain non-lucrative: €28,800 a year for one applicant. Plan on more than €29,000.
• Mexico income: US$4,510 to US$4,630 a month, or MXN 79,771. Plan on more than US$4,700, or more than MXN 80,000.
• Mexico savings: US$75,950 to US$78,025. Plan on more than US$79,000.
• Costa Rica pensionado route: a monthly pension of at least US$1,000 (Law 8764, article 81). Plan on more than US$1,100.

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Putting the questions to the consulate

The consulate that serves your address decides your case, and an answer is only worth having in writing. Ask for the current monthly figure in your currency and the date of the page it comes from, whether it is before or after tax, whether every month must clear the line or an average is enough, and at which rate and on which date your income is converted. Ask too what happens if your income changes between booking the appointment and the decision.

The Portugal and Spain and Costa Rica and Mexico comparisons set the routes side by side. An answer you cannot get in writing is still unknown. [V2] [V6] [V7]