Mexico Residency by Buying Property: 2026 Rules and Amounts

Yes, you can get Mexico residency by buying property. Since August 2025, owning real estate worth more than 91,710 UMA days qualifies you for temporary residency. In 2026 that's MXN 10,758,500, or about USD 584,000 at October's exchange rate. Property leads to temporary residency, not permanent: permanent comes after four years as a temporary resident, or directly for retirees who meet the pension or savings test.

The figure many websites still quote, "40,000 days of minimum wage", comes from rules that were repealed in 2025. Below are the current amounts, why each consulate publishes a different dollar figure, and how the application works from the US.

Mexico residency by buying property: the 2026 threshold

The visa guidelines published in Mexico's Diario Oficial on July 25, 2025 set every solvency amount in UMA days. The UMA is an indexed unit updated each February; from February 2026 to January 2027 it's MXN 117.31 a day.

For the real-estate route, you show a public deed (escritura pública) for property worth more than 91,710 UMA days:

• 2026 amount: MXN 10,758,500, about USD 584,000 at 18.43 pesos to the dollar.
• What a consulate publishes: Las Vegas lists USD 624,405 on its May 2026 sheet.
• It changes every year: the UMA rises each February, so if you apply in a later year, check that year's figure rather than the one in force when you bought.

The exchange rate matters too, because the threshold is set in pesos. Over the five years to October 2026, the peso traded between 16.34 and 21.82 per dollar, which would have put MXN 10,758,500 anywhere from about USD 493,000 to USD 659,000. A home priced in dollars close to the line can land on either side of it, depending on the rate the day you apply.

Three points to settle with the consulate before you apply:

1. The deed. The rule asks for a public deed. A promise-to-purchase contract on a pre-construction unit is a different document, so for a pre-sale the route opens once the deed is signed.
2. The trust. If your home is on the coast and held in a fideicomiso, ask which document the consulate accepts as proof of ownership.
3. The value. Ask which value it reads, and keep a margin above the line.

Other routes to temporary residency

Real estate is one of several ways to show economic solvency. For many buyers, income or savings is the lighter test.

The spouse of a Mexican citizen doesn't need to prove solvency at all. Someone with USD 73,000 in the bank, or USD 4,330 a month of income, qualifies without a deed. The property route tends to fit buyers whose wealth sits in assets more than in monthly income, such as people a few years from retirement.

Permanent residency for retirees

There's no real-estate route straight to permanent residency. Retirees and pensioners can apply for it directly with either:

• Savings: an average balance of 45,850 UMA days over 12 months, MXN 5,378,664 (about USD 292,000).
• Pension: net pension income above 1,140 UMA days a month for 6 months, MXN 133,733 a month (about USD 7,260).

Las Vegas publishes USD 312,169 or USD 7,762 a month per person, and San Diego USD 303,880 or USD 7,560 a month. Social Security, Medicare and health insurance for retirees are covered in retiring in Mexico.

Why consulates publish different numbers

Each consulate converts the UMA amounts into dollars at its own rate and on its own schedule, and some sheets are out of date. These are the temporary-residency figures published as of October 2026:

Use the sheet of the consulate where you'll apply, check its date and bring statements comfortably above the figure.

How to apply from the US

Many Americans already use these routes. In 2025, Mexico issued 12,324 new temporary and 9,227 new permanent residency cards to US nationals, 697 and 656 of them in San Miguel de Allende. The count includes US-born children of Mexican families.

1. Choose a Mexican consulate in the US and download its current requirements sheet.
2. Apply for the resident visa with your proof: the deed, or bank and income statements. The consulate decides within up to 10 business days; the visa fee at the consulates we checked was USD 56.
3. Enter Mexico while the visa is valid. It lasts 180 days and allows a single entry.
4. Exchange the visa (canje) at INM, Mexico's immigration institute, within 30 calendar days of entering, to get your residence card.
5. Renew on time. Cards are issued for 1 to 4 years, and you apply for renewal within the 30 days before the card expires.
6. Switch to permanent after four consecutive years as a temporary resident.

Family ties change the timeline. The spouse of a Mexican citizen or of a permanent resident starts as a temporary resident and can switch to permanent after two years of marriage. Parents of a Mexican-born child can apply for permanent residency directly.

What residency changes for an owner

Buying and residency are separate processes: foreigners buy through the convenio de renuncia inland or a fideicomiso on the coast, as explained in how to buy property in Mexico as an American. Once you have a card, a few things open up:

• Mexican bank mortgages. Banks lend to foreigners who live in Mexico, most of them only to permanent residents; Santander also accepts temporary residents with two or more renewals. Details in can Americans get a mortgage in Mexico.
• Selling your home. The exemption on the sale of a primary home, up to 700,000 UDIS (about MXN 6.2 million in October 2026), depends on Mexican tax residency, not on the card alone. See taxes on Mexican property for Americans.
• Your car. Temporary residents can keep a US-plated car on a temporary import permit; permanent residents can't.
• Health coverage. IMSS's voluntary health insurance asks for a CURP, which in practice goes with legal residency. In 2026 it costs MXN 20,600 a year per person aged 60 to 69, with exclusions for many pre-existing conditions.

If you're still choosing a town, where do Americans live in Mexico compares the places with the most residency cards issued to Americans.

Two homes on our list in San Miguel de Allende are above the 2026 real-estate threshold: Casa Campanas, at USD 3,000,000, and Casa Mirador, at MXN 90,000,000. Whichever home you buy, we can walk you through the closing and the documents your consulate will ask to see.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your case with a Mexican notary and a tax advisor.