Temporay Resident Cards (Residente Temporal)

If you are planning on living or staying in Mexico for extended periods of more than 6 months and less than 4 years the Permananet Resident Card is what you want to obtain.  You may purchase these permits (Residente Temporal) for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years at a time. If you obtain it for less than 4 years they are only renewable for a total of 4 years. These temporary permits can have work permissions and allow for multiple entry and exits from Mexico.

Financial Requirements

In order to obtain a Temporay Resident Card the Mexican Government requires that you demonstrate you have sufficient funds to live and or you are going to earn a proven income while in Mexico. These past years they have tightened up on this requirement and you will need to show bank statements from your home country and or have the company you will be working for in Mexico submit a letter stating the income you will be earning while in Mexico.

Unfortunately these financial requirements do vary from the various Mexican consulates around the world but in general they are looking for retirement income of roughly $1500 usd deposits a month or a $25,000 usd balance in your accounts.  Because of the variations between consulates it is our recommendation to contact your closest Mexican consulate and ask them what the financial requirements are they have. If you don’t like their answer you might try another consulate office that you can travel to and see what they say. We wish there was a standard answer as to what the financial requirement are but until there is you may have to ask a few of them to see which one you may satisfy the easiest. In order to prove this to the consulates they will require anywhere from 3 to 12 months of bank statements. Whatever they ask for be sure to bring copies as well as the originals.

Owning of property in Mexico will reduce the requirement as well so be sure to let them know if you already own or plan on purchasing property in Mexico. If you are applying for this with a spouse and or children you may want to obtain one Resident permit for one member of the household and the others enter with a “Touisrist Permit”. Once the head of household let say has their Temporary Resident Permit it will be easier for the rest of the family to apply in country to obtain theirs since a family member already has theirs.

Work Visas

The Temporary Resident Card with a work visa or not must be applied for in your home country by visiting the nearest Mexican consulate. This is a big change from in the past where you could apply in Mexico and there are very few exceptions to this rule. You will begin the process with all required documents presented to the Mexican consulate and while the process is begun there you will be required to visit the local Migración office where you will be in Mexico to obtain the final permit.

You will pre-approved by the Mexican Consulate and have 30 days to register at your local with your Migración office with your “Pieza” number that they will give you at the consulate. You will then have 30 days to go to your local Migración office in Mexico where you will be residing. There you will show your accepted application and submit whatever additional information they require. At this point your immigration is in process (Tramite) and you will be advised to wait for the final Temporary Resident card. 

If you would rather obtain a Permanent Resident card you may either do so after the 4 years of a Temporary Resident Card or you may apply directly for the Permanent Card. Why you may want to do this is if you are planning on Naturalizing as a Mexican citizen in the future this could assist you in doing so faster. For more information on obtaining a Residente Permanente (Permanent Resident) Card then go here…

Please be aware that whether you have a Temporary or Permanent resident card you must advise Migración locally with any address change you may have. You are also required to advise Migracion if you work status changes. Your additional work visas are granted for a specific job and employer. If these things change you must advise them of these changes.

Requirements for a Work Permit from the INM site: 

1. Temporary resident card or temporary resident student card valid  Proof of payment of rights that correspond in accordance to the Federal Rights Law (LFD, by its Spanish acronym). 

2.For the reception and study of the application and, where appropriate, the authorizations to perform paid activities to the Temporary Resident Student will be paid the right according to the $2,642.00 quota with basis on the Article 13º section III. 

3. Job offer from an individual or entity in which it is stated activity that will be performed, time required, place of work and the data of the employer registration statement; 

4. In case of independent activities, he/she should attach a letter under oath to tell the truth in which it is stated the occupation and place in which the activities related to your occupation will be performed, attaching, in appropriate, proof of the registration before the Federal Registry of Taxpayers; 

5. The temporary resident student besides the requirements considered in the numbers 1, 2 and 3 should present a letter of acceptance from the corresponding educative institution, and 

6. For people older than fourteen years old but younger than eighteen years old, additionally the permits and authorizations stipulated in the labor law should be submitted.

INM website English  www.inm.gob.mx