Nomad Hub

Preparing your move

Moving to Mexico from the US as a remote worker

US citizens can visit Mexico for up to 180 days without a visa. To live there, the usual route is temporary residence: around US$4,000 a month in income, a consulate appointment and a card from the INM.

Nomad Hub editorial team · Editorial update:

Can Americans move to Mexico?

Yes. US citizens don't need a visa to visit Mexico: they enter as visitors without permission for paid activities, for up to 180 days. The immigration officer decides how many days to grant, so check the number you are given. The same visa exemption covers people of other nationalities who hold a valid US visa or a US green card, when they travel for tourism, business or transit.

A visitor stay is not a way to live in Mexico. The Migration Act does not allow activities paid in the country under that status, and it says nothing specific about remote work for a US employer. If you plan to stay for months at a time, or keep coming back, the route designed for it is temporary residence.

Temporary residence: the usual route for remote workers

Temporary residence lets you live in Mexico for up to four years, leave and come back as often as you like, and bring your spouse, children and parents. Mexico has no dedicated digital nomad visa: remote workers usually qualify through economic solvency, with income or savings rather than a job offer in Mexico.

You apply in person at a Mexican consulate before you move, usually the one for where you live in the US. The solvency route does not start as a tourist inside Mexico.

How much income you need

The federal guidelines set the thresholds in UMA, an indexed unit Mexico updates every year: after-tax monthly income above 680 days of UMA over the last six months, or an average balance of 11,460 days of UMA over the last twelve months. With the 2026 UMA, that is about MXN 79,771 a month or MXN 1,344,373.

Each consulate converts those amounts into dollars on its own schedule, so the figure depends on where and when you apply. The San Diego consulate's 2026 sheet, for example, asks for:

  • Income: at least US$4,049 a month from employment or a pension over the previous six months, or
  • Savings: a minimum monthly balance of US$68,241 over the previous twelve months.

If you prove income through a job, San Diego also asks for a letter signed by your supervisor, on company letterhead, with your position, seniority, salary and explicit agreement that you will live in Mexico and work remotely. Check your own consulate's current sheet before you book: amounts and document rules vary.

The appointment and your first 30 days

Consulates in the US book visa appointments only through MiConsulado, by phone or at citas.sre.gob.mx. Bring the application form, your passport, a photo, original bank statements with the bank's stamp and the US$56 fee. San Diego says processing can take up to ten business days and a visa is not guaranteed, so don't buy tickets before you have it. If you are not a US citizen, you also need proof of your legal entry to the US.

The visa is only for entering. Within 30 calendar days of arriving, request your temporary resident card at a National Migration Institute (INM) office. That card proves your legal stay, and you renew it until you complete four years.

Retiring to Mexico: permanent residence from the start

If you are retired, you can apply for permanent residence directly. The guidelines ask for a pension above 1,140 days of UMA a month over the last six months, about MXN 133,733 with the 2026 UMA, or an average balance of 45,850 days of UMA over the last twelve months, about MXN 5.38 million. Consulates publish their own dollar equivalents.

Taxes on both sides of the border

The US taxes its citizens on their worldwide income wherever they live, so you keep filing a US return. The foreign earned income exclusion can leave up to US$132,900 of earned income untaxed in 2026, but only if your tax home is abroad and you pass the bona fide residence test or spend at least 330 full days outside the US in any 12 consecutive months. If your home stays in the US, you don't qualify.

Mexico, in turn, treats as resident anyone who sets up their home there, and residents are taxed on all their income. The Mexico tax guide covers the residence rules, and Tax residence and double taxation helps you prepare questions for an adviser who knows both systems.

Where to start

The Mexico visa guide has every requirement with its source. For your first base, the Mexico City guide covers neighbourhoods, cost and internet, and places to work lists cafés and coworking spaces with measured Wi-Fi. If you are still working out how your clients or employer will pay you, read Getting paid from abroad.

Take this next step

  • A passport valid for your whole stay.
  • Six months of statements showing the consulate's income figure, or twelve months of savings at its balance figure.
  • If you are employed, a letter on company letterhead agreeing that you live in Mexico and work remotely.
  • A consulate appointment booked through MiConsulado and US$56 for the fee.
  • A visit to an INM office within 30 days of arriving to get your residence card.
  • A plan for your US return: the 330-day test or bona fide residence if you want the foreign earned income exclusion.

Everything about Mexico ↗

Keep planning your journey

Remote life

Getting paid from abroad as a nomad: accounts, platforms and proof of income

Choose how you get paid with your visa and taxes in mind as well: every payment should be traceable from invoice to account.

Read the guide
Taxes

Tax residence and double taxation: organise the questions

Dates, ties, work and treaties. A map for talking to your adviser before moving.

Read the guide
Preparing your move

Your first month in a new city: hotel, mid-term rental or coliving

A flexible week to land, a month or more to learn the neighbourhoods and only then a long lease. What to ask at each stage.

Read the guide