If I want to live in Mexico, do I have to become a permanent resident?
Sandi Vandiver
No you don’t have to become a permanent resident in order to live in Mexico. But if you don’t, then that means you have to live on a 180-day visa. You can live here, and I know a couple of people who did this, but they never stay very long. If you have a 180-day visa, you come in on your 180-day visa, you can drive on your foreign-plated car, but you’ve got to be out and across the border in 6 months. You can go out and spend the night and come right back in. But...No you don’t have to become a permanent resident in order to live in Mexico. But if you don’t, then that means you have to live on a 180-day visa. You can live here, and I know a couple of people who did this, but they never stay very long. If you have a 180-day visa, you come in on your 180-day visa, you can drive on your foreign-plated car, but you’ve got to be out and across the border in 6 months. You can go out and spend the night and come right back in. But you’ll have to do that every 6 months. Otherwise you’ve got to become a permanent resident.I believe my permanent resident card was 5,800 pesos (US $351.50 at current exchange rates), which at that time about $540. I can’t be positive of this, but I believe that If you want to come to Mexico now, you can come in on a 4 year temporary for around $250), and then every year for the first 4 years you can go and renew your card, pay a little more money, and you can continue to drive your foreign-plated car. At the end 4 years if you’re going to stay, you must have a permanent resident card.
(Permanent resident in Mexico, expat Sandi Vandiver, pictured.)
Posted October 13, 2015
Juan Eufracio Marquez Flores - LM&A Immigration and Legal Services
You don’t necessarily have to be a permanent resident to live in Mexico. You can be Residente Temporal but sometimes I’ll advise my clients to get the Permanente. Why? Because they will save money. They won’t have to go through the immigration rules or go to the process of renewing it every year because every year that Residente Temporal is renewed. They are going to charge you. Right now it’s 3,365 pesos (US $82) but every year it increases in the area...You don’t necessarily have to be a permanent resident to live in Mexico. You can be Residente Temporal but sometimes I’ll advise my clients to get the Permanente. Why? Because they will save money. They won’t have to go through the immigration rules or go to the process of renewing it every year because every year that Residente Temporal is renewed. They are going to charge you. Right now it’s 3,365 pesos (US $82) but every year it increases in the area of 3 to 10%. With the Permanente, you just get it once. You don’t have to worry about renewing it. The advantage of the Permanente is if the foreigner purchases a property and wants to sell it, if they have a Permanente, they can be free from capital gain taxes resulting from the sale of the property. If a foreigner sells the property under Residente Temporal, they have to pay capital gains taxes.
(American artist Mym Tuma at one time had an artist studio in Lake Chapala, Mexico, pictured.)
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Posted November 11, 2016