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Mexico: visas, tax & cost of living

Move to Mexico with clear eyes. Honest estimates on the temporary residency route, the home test that decides Mexican tax residence, and the real cost of living.

Mexico: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomMexico

Your move to Mexico on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitEasyVisa-free entry
  • NomadMediumNo nomad visa, other route
  • RelocateMediumResidence with conditions

Visiting

Visa-free for up to 180 days. Travel on a passport valid for your whole stay, with a return or onward ticket and proof you can support yourself.

Passport validity: Passport must be valid for the whole stay (Mexican authorities suggest at least 180 days of validity) and have a blank page for the stamp.

Heads-up: The paper FMM tourist card has gone digital at most major airports (replaced by a passport stamp or the digital FMMD), and officers no longer reliably grant the full 180 days while INM tightens its stance on back-to-back tourist entries.

At the border: Officers may ask for a return or onward ticket, accommodation booking, and proof of sufficient funds, and land entrants must complete the immigration form online before crossing.

Working remotely

No dedicated nomad visa; the usual route is a standard residence permit.

Tax and residency

You become a Mexican tax resident once you establish a home (casa habitación) in Mexico. Only if you also keep a home in another country does it turn on your centre of vital interests, which article 9 of the Código Fiscal de la Federación places in Mexico when, among other cases, more than 50% of your calendar-year income has its source here or Mexico is the main centre of your professional activities. There is no day count in the rule. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. (estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Double-tax treaty: yes, in force since 1994

Practical

Currency: MXN. Cost of living: low.

Healthcare: Mexico has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with foreign countries, so travel or private health insurance is essential and care is paid out of pocket without cover.

Driving: Visitors can drive on a valid foreign licence, and carrying an International Driving Permit alongside it is recommended; residents should obtain a Mexican state licence.

Sources: Mexico, SRE (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), Visa de residencia temporal, the visa is issued at a consulate abroad · Mexico, Consulado General en Houston, Visa Residente Temporal por Solvencia Económica (680 and 11,400 days of UMA, sheet v.2025.10.27) · Mexico, INEGI, Comunicado de prensa 1/26: UMA of MXN 117.31 a day in force from 1 February 2026 · Mexico, SAT (Servicio de Administración Tributaria), the tax authority behind article 9 CFF residence · Mexico, INM (Instituto Nacional de Migración), for the resident card you exchange the visa for after arrival · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Why move to Mexico

Your money goes a long way in Mexico. Mexico City buzzes, Oaxaca feeds you better than almost anywhere, and the Caribbean coast just slows you right down. Across all of it, the cost of living sits well below the US, and the time zones line up cleanly with North American working hours. That last part is the quiet reason so many remote workers end up here.

Visas and the digital nomad route

Mexico has no dedicated digital nomad visa, so don’t go looking for one. Many nationalities get a long visitor permit stamped on arrival, which is fine for a while. To settle in properly, the route people actually use is temporary residency, applied for at a Mexican consulate before you move. You prove “economic solvency” one of two ways. Either monthly income worth 680 days of UMA, which is MXN 79,771 at the 2026 rate and which consulates publish as roughly US$4,300 to US$4,400, shown for each of the last six months. Or a bank or investment balance worth 11,400 days of UMA, MXN 1,337,334, held at every month end for the last twelve. The UMA is re-indexed every February, so both bars move each year, and the dollar figure moves again with whatever exchange rate your consulate applies. One thing to plan around: the visa gives you no permission to work in Mexico unless INM grants one separately, so it fits money earned outside the country. The visa runs a year, renews up to four, and then opens the door to permanent residency.

Tax residency turns on your home, not on 183 days

Living here can make you a tax resident, and it’s worth knowing how that works before it surprises you. There is no day count in the Mexican rule at all. Article 9 of the Código Fiscal de la Federación makes you resident from the moment you establish a home here, full stop. The “centre of vital interests” test only decides the question if you keep a home in another country as well, and then that centre lands in Mexico if more than half your calendar-year income has its source here, or if Mexico is the main centre of your professional activities. Once you’re resident, your worldwide income is in scope.

Figures are estimates, so always check the official source linked below.

At a glance

Currency
MXN
Cost of living
Low
Digital-nomad visa
No

Frequently asked questions

Mexico: is there a digital nomad visa?
No dedicated digital nomad visa; most people use a standard residence permit instead.
Mexico: when do you become a tax resident?
You become a Mexican tax resident once you establish a home (casa habitación) in Mexico. Only if you also keep a home in another country does it turn on your centre of vital interests, which article 9 of the Código Fiscal de la Federación places in Mexico when, among other cases, more than 50% of your calendar-year income has its source here or Mexico is the main centre of your professional activities. There is no day count in the rule. Residents are taxed on worldwide income.
Mexico: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is low and the local currency is the MXN. Treat any figures as estimates.
Mexico: do you need health insurance?
Mexico has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with foreign countries, so travel or private health insurance is essential and care is paid out of pocket without cover.
Mexico: can you drive on a foreign licence?
Visitors can drive on a valid foreign licence, and carrying an International Driving Permit alongside it is recommended; residents should obtain a Mexican state licence.

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