Mexico

Local time in Mexico 9:38 AM (UTC-6)

Mexico is the most established expat destination in Latin America: close to the United States and Canada, cheap to fly to, and with residency rules that are demanding on paper but predictable in practice. It is also a country where the rules changed recently and much of the advice online is out of date.

The 180-day myth

The most repeated piece of outdated advice about Mexico is that tourists automatically get 180 days. They do not, and have not for some time. Immigration officers now set the permitted stay at their discretion, and stamps of 30, 60 or 90 days are common, particularly for people who visibly live in Mexico and leave briefly to reset the clock.

The practical consequence: if you intend to live in Mexico, the tourist route is no longer a reliable substitute for residency. Plan the residency application before you move, not after.

Buying property

Foreigners can own property in Mexico, with one constitutional restriction. Land within 50 kilometers of the coast or 100 kilometers of a land border sits in the zona restringida, where foreigners cannot hold direct title. The standard route is a fideicomiso, a bank trust in which a Mexican bank holds title while you retain full rights to use, sell, improve and bequeath the property. It is routine, and it carries an ongoing annual cost that budgets often miss.

This matters most in exactly the places expats want to live: Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Tulum and the whole Baja peninsula sit inside the restricted zone. Inland cities such as Mérida, Guadalajara, Queretaro and San Miguel de Allende do not, and foreigners can hold direct title there.

Where expats actually go

Mexico is large enough that moving to Mexico means very little on its own. The Yucatán draws people who want safety and colonial cities; the Pacific coast draws retirees and beach life; Mexico City draws professionals and the culturally hungry; the Bajio highlands draw those who want mild weather year round.

Start with a city hub rather than the country as a whole. Cost of living, healthcare quality, rental markets and safety vary far more between Mexican cities than between Mexico and its neighbors.

City hubs

Also in Mexico, not yet built

These have a page holding their spot and nothing on it yet — we publish a place only when we can cover it properly, with every figure sourced and dated. Open one anyway. Each carries a short form asking what you would want that guide to answer, and what readers ask for is what decides the order we build in.

• Playa del Carmen
• Puebla
• Tulum

National guides

These apply everywhere in Mexico, so they live at country level rather than being repeated for each city.

• Healthcare — IMSS, IMSS-Bienestar, private insurance and the age-64 deadline
• Cost of living — regional differences, a monthly budget, and the electricity tariff that catches people out
• Housing and property — renting without a guarantor, the coastal bank trust, and ejido land
• Getting around — buses, flights, the Tren Maya and driving
• Embassies and consulates — who has a post on the Caribbean coast, and what consular staff can and cannot do
• Residency — income and savings thresholds, the consulate stage and the 30-day card exchange
• Visas — who needs one, and why the 180-day visitor stay is no longer automatic
• Taxes — the 183-day and vital-interests tests, ISR rates, RESICO, and US obligations
• Banking — why residency comes first, and the CURP to RFC to account sequence
• Safety — the state-by-state advisory table and how to read it
• Schools — public, private and international, and the apostille trap
• Starting a business — ownership rules, CFDI invoicing and monthly filing
• Internet and mobile — carriers, coverage and checking fiber before you sign a lease

States

Some Mexican states have enough distinct identity, or distinct rules, to be worth understanding on their own. Safety advisories, property tax and daylight saving are all set at state level, and culture often is too.

• Quintana Roo — the Caribbean coast, the restricted zone, and permanent UTC-5
• Yucatán — one of only two Level 1 states, and the Maya heartland
• Jalisco — tequila, mariachi, Lake Chapala, and a Level 3 advisory
• Ciudad de Mexico — the capital as a federal entity, and the country’s diplomatic center
• Puebla — colonial architecture, Talavera and mole poblano