Retirement visa in Mexico

• The Migration Law grants permanent residence to retirees and pensioners who receive, from a foreign government, an international body or a private company for services rendered abroad, an income that lets them live in Mexico. The guidelines call the category jubilados o pensionados (procedure 7).
• The guidelines set no age. The Washington consular section asks for proof of official retirement unless you are 62 or older, so an early retiree shows retirement papers and an older applicant does not.
• If you are retired but your pension or balance falls short of the permanent test, temporary residence on economic solvency asks for less: about MXN 79,800 a month or about MXN 1,300,000 in savings. To be safe, have more than MXN 80,000 a month or more than MXN 1,400,000.
• Permanent residents may obtain permission to work for pay, subject to a job offer. A pension on its own carries no permission to work.

Sources: Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), Consular Section, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Checked 16 October 2026.

• The pension test is a pension income, free of tax, above 1,140 days of UMA a month over the last six months. At MXN 117.31 a day that is about MXN 133,733 a month, and Washington prints MXN 139,400. To be safe, have more than MXN 140,000 a month.
• The savings test is an average monthly balance of 45,850 days of UMA over the last twelve months in investment or bank accounts. That is about MXN 5,378,664, and Washington prints MXN 5,576,000. To be safe, have more than MXN 5,600,000.
• Washington states both tests in pesos and tells you to check the official exchange rate on the day of your appointment. The UMA changes each February, so the peso figures change with it.
• A spouse who joins you as the partner of a permanent resident applies for temporary residence and shows solvency of 220 days of UMA, about MXN 25,808. To be safe, have more than MXN 26,000.

Sources: Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), Consular Section. Checked 16 October 2026.

• Washington lists the visa application form, a valid passport with a copy of the main page, one passport-size colour photo on a white background and, if you are not a US citizen, proof of US legal residence such as an I-797 or I-20.
• For the pension test, bring your retirement letter and bank statements showing the direct deposit of the last six months. For the savings test, bring the last twelve monthly statements. Statements must be originals; paperless statements need the bank's stamp, and simple printouts are refused.
• Documents issued in a country other than Mexico or the United States need an apostille or legalisation and an official Spanish translation. The guidelines apply the same rule to foreign public documents, apart from your passport.

Sources: Consular Section, Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores). Checked 16 October 2026.

• You apply in person at a Mexican consulate and the visa is issued only if the consular interview goes well; the guidelines give the consulate up to 10 working days. The visa is valid for 180 days and one entry, and you then have 30 calendar days from arriving to ask the National Migration Institute (INM) for your resident card.
• Washington books one appointment per person through citas.sre.gob.mx and says the visa is normally ready the same day at 1:30 p.m., though that is not guaranteed. If you are asked for more documents, you get a new appointment date.

Sources: Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Consular Section. Checked 16 October 2026.

• The law sets the consular fee for an ordinary visa in a foreign passport at MXN 990.79. Washington prints US$56, payable by credit or debit card and not refunded if the visa is not approved.
• The permanent resident card costs MXN 13,578.96 and a replacement MXN 1,779.93. The law halves the card fee only for family unity, a job offer or an invitation to unpaid activities, so not for retirees.

Sources: Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Consular Section. Checked 16 October 2026.

• Permanent residence lasts indefinitely, with the right to enter and leave Mexico as often as you like. The card itself is renewed, and renewal pays the same fee as the first card.
• Temporary residence on economic solvency, the alternative above, lasts for no more than four years.

Sources: Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores). Checked 16 October 2026.

• This route already grants permanent residence, so there is no waiting period and no later application.
• If you start with temporary residence, permanent residence can be granted after four years. INM's change-of-status procedure also names a route for retirees and pensioners with income from abroad; the amounts it asks are not in the pages we read.

Sources: Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM). Checked 16 October 2026.

• If you make your home in Mexico you are a Mexican tax resident, and residents pay Mexican income tax on worldwide income whatever their nationality. How the tax law treats pension income was not reviewed here.
• Under article 93 of the income tax law, what you receive by inheritance or legacy is exempt, and so are gifts between spouses and gifts from ascendants to descendants in direct line, whatever the amount. Other gifts are exempt only up to three times the annual general minimum wage of your area in a calendar year, and the excess is taxed.

Sources: Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. Checked 17 October 2026.

• Digital nomad visa in Mexico
• Work permit in Mexico
• Family visa in Mexico
• Investor visa in Mexico

• Visas in Mexico
• Mexico

1. Permanent resident visa (officially retired or 62+ years old), Consular Section, Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C.. Checked 16 October 2026. Applicants served by the Washington consular section. Balance MXN 5,576,000 for twelve months or pension MXN 139,400 a month for six; fee US$56.
2. US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 4 October 2026.
3. Foreign tax credit, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 4 October 2026.
4. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 4 October 2026.
5. US international Social Security agreements, US Social Security Administration. Checked 4 October 2026. List of agreements in force; Mexico is not listed.
6. Canada–Mexico social security agreement, Government of Canada. Checked 4 October 2026. In force since 1 May 1996; CPP and OAS only.
7. Status table: Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Checked 16 October 2026. In force for Mexico from 14 August 1995, the United States from 15 October 1981, Canada from 11 January 2024, Australia from 16 March 1995 and New Zealand from 22 November 2001.
8. Tax treaties in force, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 4 October 2026. Canada–Mexico convention signed 12 September 2006.
9. Leaving Canada (emigrants), Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 4 October 2026.
10. General guidelines for issuing visas (Lineamientos generales para la expedición de visas), Diario Oficial de la Federación (Secretaría de Gobernación and Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores). Checked 16 October 2026. Dated 14 July 2025. Procedure 5 (temporary residence visa), 7 (permanent residence visa), 8 (family visa asked for at the National Migration Institute), 10 and 11 (job-offer visa).
11. The UMA values from 1 February 2026 (press release 1/26), Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Checked 15 October 2026. MXN 117.31 a day from 1 February 2026.
12. Euro reference exchange rates, 2 October 2026, European Central Bank. Checked 4 October 2026. Used to turn the peso figures into Australian and New Zealand dollars.
13. International social security agreements (archived copy of 9 September 2026), Australian Government, Department of Social Services (Internet Archive copy). Checked 4 October 2026. Mexico is not listed.
14. Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 4 October 2026. Mexico not listed.
15. Migration Law (Ley de Migración), articles 52 to 56, 59 and 60 (archived copy of 2 October 2026), Chamber of Deputies of Mexico (Internet Archive copy). Checked 16 October 2026. Text in force, last reform DOF 15 January 2026.
16. Federal Law of Duties (Ley Federal de Derechos), articles 8, 9, 14 Bis and 22, Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. Checked 16 October 2026. Text in force, last reform DOF 7 November 2025; amounts in pesos as printed in the law.
17. Change from temporary resident to permanent resident (procedure INM-03-010-B), Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), via gob.mx. Checked 15 October 2026.
18. Federal Tax Code (Código Fiscal de la Federación), article 9 (archived copy of 21 September 2026), Chamber of Deputies of Mexico (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026.
19. Income Tax Law (Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta), articles 1 and 96 (archived copy of 17 September 2026), Chamber of Deputies of Mexico (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026. Copy last reformed 1 April 2024 on the monthly payment rule; later reforms not reviewed.
20. Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, article 93 (exempt income): inheritances, legacies and gifts, Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión, Mexico (copy published on gob.mx). Checked 17 October 2026. Text read is the version with last reform DOF 30-11-2016; fractions XXII and XXIII of article 93.