Income and Savings Requirements for Mexican Residency (Economic Solvency Thresholds)

To qualify for Mexican residency through economic solvency, you generally need to prove either a steady monthly income or a large enough bank balance for the six or twelve months before you apply. As of 2026, the Mexican Consulate in Houston sets the temporary resident threshold at roughly $4,342 USD per month in income (680 days of the UMA) or a savings balance of about $73,189 USD (11,400 days of the UMA). For permanent residency through retirement or pension, the bar is much higher: around $7,281 USD per month in pension income or roughly $292,820 USD in savings. These USD figures are consular approximations calculated on the 2025 UMA; the operative 2026 requirement is the peso amount recalculated with the 2026 UMA. There is no single nationwide peso figure written into the law, and every consulate can apply its own numbers.

This is one of the most common questions we get at City Laws from US and Canadian expats, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. People assume there is a fixed federal amount they can look up once. In reality, the Mexican Migration Law (Migration Law) never states a dollar or peso figure at all. The numbers come from consular guidelines that are tied to an economic index called the UMA, which is updated every year. Below we explain where these requirements actually come from, what the current 2026 figures look like, and why you should always confirm them with the specific consulate where you will apply.

Why the law never gives you a number

The first thing to understand is that the Migration Law defines categories of residency, not amounts. Article 52, section VII creates the temporary resident status (valid for up to four years), and section IX creates the permanent resident status (indefinite). For foreign retirees and pensioners, Article 54, section III requires only that the applicant show “an income that allows them to live in the country” — again, with no figure attached.

So where do the dollar amounts come from? The law defers the actual thresholds to its Regulations and to the Lineamientos Generales para la Expedición de Visas (the General Guidelines for Issuing Visas), which are applied by Mexico’s immigration authority (INM) and its foreign ministry (SRE). That is why the specific numbers are published by each consulate rather than in the statute itself. For US and Canadian readers, this is the opposite of how a fixed federal income requirement usually works back home: here the framework is federal, but the operative figure lives in a consular PDF that can be revised at any time.

The UMA: the unit that sets the amounts

The thresholds are expressed in multiples of the UMA (Unidad de Medida y Actualización). The UMA exists because of Article 26, section B of the Mexican Constitution, which “de-indexed” many legal amounts from the minimum wage and tied them to this separate unit instead. INEGI publishes a new UMA value every year, and it takes effect on February 1.

For applications filed in 2026, the values in force since February 1, 2026 are:

• Daily UMA: 117.31 MXN
• Monthly UMA: 3,566.22 MXN
• Annual UMA: 42,794.64 MXN

That is a 3.68% increase over 2025, when the daily UMA was 113.14 MXN. This detail matters more than it looks: the US-dollar figures printed in the consular PDFs were calculated using the 2025 UMA, so the peso amount you must actually prove in 2026 is slightly higher than the dollar figure suggests. Because the multiplier is fixed but the UMA rises each February, the real requirement quietly goes up every year without any change to the law.

Temporary residency by economic solvency

Temporary residency under Article 52, section VII is the most common path for expats who want to live in Mexico without working locally. You can qualify through income or through savings.

Through income. You must show monthly income, free of taxes, equal to or greater than 680 days of the UMA in each of the last six months. This can be employment income or a pension. The Houston consulate approximates this at about $4,342.08 USD per month (using the 2025 UMA). In current 2026 pesos, 680 daily UMA equals 79,770.80 MXN per month.

Through savings or investments. You must show an end-of-month balance equal to or greater than 11,400 days of the UMA in each of the last twelve months, held in a bank or investment account. Houston approximates this at about $73,188.95 USD, which equals 1,337,334 MXN at the 2026 UMA.

Dependents. If you bring economic dependents (a spouse, parents, or children), you add the equivalent of 220 days of the UMA per month for each dependent — about $1,405.02 USD per month, or 25,808.20 MXN at the 2026 UMA — and you must prove the family relationship with a marriage or birth certificate. This add-on applies to the income route, not the savings route.

One point that surprises many applicants: temporary residency granted through economic solvency comes without authorization to work in Mexico. You are proving you can support yourself, not that you plan to earn income locally. The initial stay runs from 180 days up to four years.

Permanent residency through retirement or pension

Permanent residency (Article 52, section IX, read together with Article 54, section III for retirees and pensioners) is the goal for many expats who want to settle indefinitely. It generally requires either being over 64 and retired, or showing pension income — and the financial bar is significantly higher.

Through pension income. You must show monthly pension income, free of taxes, equal to or greater than 1,140 days of the UMA for the last six months. Houston approximates this at about $7,280.58 USD per month, which is 133,733.40 MXN at the 2026 UMA.

Through savings or investments. You must show an end-of-month balance equal to or greater than 45,850 days of the UMA for the last twelve months. Houston approximates this at about $292,819.68 USD, or roughly 5,378,663.50 MXN at the 2026 UMA.

The 2026 figures at a glance

The table below summarizes the multipliers and the resulting amounts. The dollar figures are the Houston consulate’s own approximations (calculated on the 2025 UMA); the peso figures apply the same official multipliers to the 2026 UMA.

Why the thresholds jumped in 2025

If you researched Mexican residency a few years ago and saw much lower numbers, you are not misremembering. Around mid-2025, consulates shifted the calculation base from the minimum wage to the UMA and adopted noticeably higher multipliers. For temporary residency, for example, the income requirement moved to 680 days of the UMA, compared with the historical figure of roughly 300 days of minimum wage. The practical effect was a substantial increase in the amount applicants must prove.

Because of that shift, older guides and even some consulate pages still circulate outdated figures — you may still see numbers like 300 days of income or 5,000 days of savings, which are well below the current Houston standard. This is exactly why a snapshot from a blog is never enough.

Each consulate can set its own number

The single most important operational fact is this: there is no fixed national peso figure published in the law, and the amounts vary by consulate and can change without notice. The figures above reflect the Houston consulate’s published standard, and other consulates may use different multipliers or update their PDFs on a different schedule.

Before you rely on any number, confirm the current amount and the latest PDF version at the exact consulate where you will file. Two applicants with identical finances can face different thresholds depending on where they apply.

A qualified immigration lawyer in Mexico can check the current requirement at your consulate and help you assemble bank statements or pension letters in the format the consulate expects — a step where many applications stumble.

What the application itself involves

Beyond the money, the consular process (based on the Houston guidelines, v.2025.10.27) generally includes:

1. A visa application filed in person at the consulate, subject to an interview.
2. A visa fee of $54.00 USD, which is non-refundable if your application is denied.
3. Processing of up to 10 business days.
4. Entry to Mexico within 180 days of visa issuance, followed by exchanging the visa for your resident card at an INM office inside the country.

Note that the financial documents must generally cover a continuous look-back period — six months for income and pension, twelve months for savings — so a sudden large deposit right before you apply will not satisfy the requirement. Consulates are looking for stability, not a one-time balance.

Is the framework about to change?

The legal structure is stable. The amounts move each year through the UMA, not through legislative reform. The change you should actually plan around is the annual UMA update every February 1 — for 2026, the 117.31 MXN daily value that governs every solvency calculation on applications filed this year.

If you are planning a move and want certainty before you commit, you can Book a free consultation so we can review your income, savings, and target consulate against the current thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Mexican Migration Law state an exact income amount?

No. The Migration Law (Articles 52 and 54) defines the residency categories and requires that pensioners show “an income that allows them to live in the country,” but it never sets a dollar or peso figure. The specific amounts come from consular guidelines tied to the UMA, which is why they are published by each consulate and updated every year.

What is the difference between the dollar and peso figures?

The US-dollar amounts in the consular PDFs were calculated using the 2025 UMA. Since the UMA rose on February 1, 2026, the peso amount you must actually prove this year is slightly higher — for example, about 79,770.80 MXN per month for temporary residency by income. Exchange-rate movement also affects the dollar equivalent day to day.

Can savings substitute for income?

Yes. Both temporary and permanent residency offer a savings/investment route as an alternative to monthly income. The trade-off is that the savings thresholds are large — roughly $73,189 USD for temporary and $292,820 USD for permanent — and you must show the required end-of-month balance across the full look-back period, not just on the day you apply.

Will these numbers be the same at every consulate?

Not necessarily. The amounts vary by consulate and can change without notice, because there is no single national peso figure in the law. The figures here reflect the Houston consulate’s published standard. Always confirm the current amount and the latest PDF version at the exact consulate where you will file.

Does economic-solvency residency let me work in Mexico?

No. Temporary residency granted through economic solvency does not include authorization to work in Mexico. It shows that you can support yourself without local employment. If you intend to work, that requires a different basis, such as a job offer, and different documentation.

Legal notice

This content is informational and general in nature regarding the economic-solvency requirements for Mexican residency; it does not constitute legal advice for any specific case, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee any outcome. The Migration Law, its Regulations, the visa guidelines, the UMA value, and each consulate’s published thresholds can change and may be applied differently depending on your circumstances and the consulate where you apply. Before filing an application or paying any fee, confirm the current figures with the relevant consulate and consult a qualified professional about your particular situation.

⚠️ General informational content, current as of its publication date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship; laws change and every case is different. For your specific situation, Book a free consultation.