Change your status from inside Mexico
Official name: Cambio de condición de estancia
Visitors must normally leave when their stay ends and cannot change status. The exceptions are humanitarian visitors and people with a family tie to a Mexican or a regular resident. Temporary residents can apply for permanent residence after 4 years, or through a family tie, or as retirees or pensioners with income from abroad.
Moving to Mexico
Practical facts for newcomers, from official sources Finance Living
Finance
3
Currency
Mexican Peso
MXN
Mexican Peso
Cost of living
59
Price level · US = 100
World Bank price levels, 2025
Tax
1.92–35%
Income tax (national)
VAT (IVA) 16%
Federal annual ISR tariff; 35% above about MXN 4.51 million (2025 bands). Some states add a payroll tax paid by employers.
Living
1
Happiness
#12 of 145 countries
World Happiness Report 2025
Eligibility
Who it’s for: Temporary residents, and visitors with a family tie or humanitarian status, who hold a valid document.
VisitorsVisitors
Sign in to check this route against your profileVisitors cannot change status and must leave when their permitted stay ends, with limited exceptions.
- Exception: humanitarian visitors
- Exception: visitors with a tie to a Mexican or a regular resident
- Legal basis: Ley de Migración art. 53
Official wording
Visitors cannot change status and must leave when their permitted stay ends, except humanitarian visitors and those with a tie to a Mexican or a regular resident (Ley de Migración art. 53).
Valid document
Sign in to check this route against your profileA valid and current FMM, visitor card or temporary resident card.
Temporary to permanent after 4 yearsTemporary resident
Sign in to check this route against your profileYou need four years since you got your temporary resident permit, and must state in your application that you are using this route.
- Time counts from when you got your temporary resident permit
- Say in your application that you are asking through this route
Official wording
Four years since you got your temporary resident permit. State in your application that you are asking through this route.
A sneak peek at what's inside
- Next requirement
- Document checklist
- Fees
The full requirements are for members
Create an account and subscribe to see every requirement, the full document checklist, fees, steps, processing times and conditions, and how your profile compares.
- 2 more requirements
- 5 documents
- 3 fees
- 4 steps
- Processing times and conditions
Want a licensed advisor to check your case?
Connect with a licensed legal advisor for Mexico. They set their own price and you pay them directly.
- Licence checked with the regulator
- You choose what they see
- They start from a prepared case
Your edge here Premium
What gives you an edge here: passports, visas and permits you hold, work, study, language and family ties
Places to visit in Mexico
Attractions picked for you, based on your profile and interests.
Finding places for you…
