Do I need a visa if I retire or work in Mexico?
Thomas Hellyer - Chapala Home Sales
Yes, you need visa if you retire or work in Mexico. Any American or Canadian can get a tourist visa upon arrival in Mexico, which is good for 6 months. You can come and go on that type of visa as often as you like but if you are going to be here for more than 6 months then you must get one of two other visas, which is temporary or permanent. The process to get either of these two visas has to be initiated back in your home country at the closest Mexican consulate. There...
Yes, you need visa if you retire or work in Mexico. Any American or Canadian can get a tourist visa upon arrival in Mexico, which is good for 6 months. You can come and go on that type of visa as often as you like but if you are going to be here for more than 6 months then you must get one of two other visas, which is temporary or permanent. The process to get either of these two visas has to be initiated back in your home country at the closest Mexican consulate. There are slightly different requirements for either the temporary or the permanent visa but the most important requirement is that you meet an economic threshold either by having a certain amount in savings or by having a certain amount of regular monthly income. If you can prove either of those two things, then you will be given a visa. Once you get pre-approved at the Mexican consulate in your home country then I believe you have 6 months to come to Mexico to finalize the process, which usually takes 3 to 4 weeks once you come down here. A temporary visa has to be renewed every year or every 4 years depending on the type of visa that you apply for. Commonly, I guess, you have to be in Mexico to do your renewal so it can affect travel plans or those kinds of things. A permanent visa, on the other hand doesn’t have to be renewed.
In order to work in Mexico legally, technically, you must have either a temporary or a permanent visa. If you have a permanent visa, you just have to notify the immigration department that you are working and why you are working. If you have a temporary visa, then you actually have to work with your company in order for them to tell immigration and check through everything and make sure everything is alright.
You can work here in Mexico if you have a proper visa and you can stay here year round as well if you have the proper visa. You can come and go as you please on a tourist visa. As of December 2015, if you have a 6-month visa, you can just step across the border and come back and get another 6 months. You could drive your car over to the US and then come back to Mexico. Loreto is only a 12-hour drive.
In real estate, it’s important for homeowners to get either a temporary or a permanent visa when they are thinking of selling because that is the only way you can get an exemption on paying capital gains. If you can prove residency, which you can prove by having either a temporary or a permanent visa, then you can sell your home in Mexico and get an exemption like you’re paying back home. The exemption is good once every two years.
(The staff of Chapala Homes Sales, Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted February 18, 2016
Juan Eufracio Marquez Flores - LM&A Immigration and Legal Services
If you’re retired and want to live in Mexico, you can come as a tourist or you can be a Residente Temporal. If you want to work, yes, you can if you’re Residente Temporal. Once you get your Residente Temporal then you can apply for your work permit. Once you get the work permit, when you renew your Residente Temporal, the following year automatically the work permit will be renewed. ...
If you’re retired and want to live in Mexico, you can come as a tourist or you can be a Residente Temporal. If you want to work, yes, you can if you’re Residente Temporal. Once you get your Residente Temporal then you can apply for your work permit. Once you get the work permit, when you renew your Residente Temporal, the following year automatically the work permit will be renewed. You cannot just go into Mexico without a visa and live without a visa, unless if you’re a refugee. If you’re not a refugee, for a foreigner to come to Mexico, minimum, they need to have a current passport. And as soon as they get here and show their passport, automatically the immigration authorities will give them a tourist visa, which can last up to 6 months. And that’s the only paper the foreigner needs to come.
There is some restrictions in some countries. For example, if the foreigner is from Colombia and Brazil, they cannot just come to airport and show their passport. They will have to go to the Mexican consulate to ask for a tourist visa. There are some nationalities that they can come only with a passport. If they are from Russia, China, and other countries such as India, China, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and all the Arab countries, they cannot.
(Banco Chinchorro, an atoll reef where fishermen live in stilt homes over the Caribbean, Quintana Roo Mexico, pictured.)
Posted November 1, 2016
SONIA DIAZ - Sonia Diaz
If after retiring from your country and you want to work in Mexico first you obtain your temporary resident visa. Once that is issued you apply, from within Mexico, for a permiso para trabajar visa. In doing so you must register with SAT for taxes. Obtaining your temporary visa and applying for a work permit are 2 different processes. A work visa is required when one wishes to earn Mexican sourced income including being a musician, artist, selling real estate, operate a business,...If after retiring from your country and you want to work in Mexico first you obtain your temporary resident visa. Once that is issued you apply, from within Mexico, for a permiso para trabajar visa. In doing so you must register with SAT for taxes. Obtaining your temporary visa and applying for a work permit are 2 different processes. A work visa is required when one wishes to earn Mexican sourced income including being a musician, artist, selling real estate, operate a business, being a hair dresser, self-employed, landlord, etc. If one is being hired by a large employer the employer will sponsor you and the process is different. If you have a permanent visa, you only need to register with SAT for taxation and notify immigration about your work.
Most of the time, it’s very inconvenient not to have a temporary resident card or a permanent resident card because you can apply for benefits in Mexico such as healthcare, open a bank account and apply for a senior’s discount card called INAPAM which offers numerous discounts for those over 59. You cannot have these if you have a tourist card.
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As well, should you own property in Mexico you must have a temporary or permanent resident visa; otherwise, when you sell the property you will pay approximately 30% on the selling price of a home.
What changes does one report to Immigration and when?
Change of status is to be reported to INM within 90 days including marriage, divorce, death of spouse, address, employer, earning income, SAT taxation accounts changed to inactive, etc. to avoid a fine. It requires an on-line form to be completed. Then one presents a letter, passport, and visa plus other documents related to the issue. Your passport and visa will be returned immediately. In 3 plus weeks you will receive an email from INM indicating the change is completed. INM no longer retains your visa allowing you to travel while your change is processed. In the event of the death of a spouse, you do not actually do the change for the person who passed away. You do the status change for the person who is now a widow / widower. It includes the death certificate plus copy, both passports and both visas plus copies. Required is a letter and on-line form. All is to be submitted within 90 days of the person's passing. There is no fee.
(Pictured: Hot air balloon over San Miguel de Allende, in the Mexican Highlands.)
Posted March 5, 2018