Getting Our Temporary Residency in Mexico

It’s weird that almost a year ago, pre-Covid19 Pandemic in Mexico and the United States, we were in New Orleans working to get our temporary residency for Mexico. The trip was last minute, and many things that happened on the trip were surprises to us. The need to adapt, pivot, and make these surprises work for us regardless of how they were throwing us for a loop, was apparent.

Something I (Cassie) learned when I was training to become a yoga teacher all the way back in 2012, was if you want to be flexible you need to start by being flexible in your mindset. Flexibility doesn’t mean being wishy-washy or spineless. It just means that you can deal with unexpected things which will inevitably happen in life. Especially when starting new endeavors, adventures or travel! 

Going to New Orleans to get our temporary residency was no different.

Change of Location and Plans

We were supposed to go to Dallas initially but when we didn’t hear back from the consulate representatives after repeated attempts (the only way they would allow you to make an appointment was by email), we were told that New Orleans was our next and closest best bet. 

One of the requirements when applying for residency is initiating the process outside of the country you want to get residency in. Additionally, every Mexican consulate has different financial requirements. We are still not sure why this is the case! 

For example, the Mexican Consulates in New Orleans and Dallas were on the lower end of financial requirements, whereas somewhere like Austin was on the higher end for what they required you to make per month on a 6-month statement of your income. 

Finding Ourselves In Unusual Places

At the time of hearing this news we had been staying with some family who live in Houston, Texas for a couple of days. It was a nice stop before heading to our original destination of Dallas. But after getting off the phone with Vikki and Carlos, our Mexican Immigration Specialists, we were dashing off in a new direction: New Orleans. 

I remember telling Nate in the car, hmm it is almost the end of February. I think that Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras should be starting soon.

With just our luck, Mardi Gras pre-festivities (which go on for about a month prior to Fat Tuesday) were well on their way when we arrived. And it was all culminating to the last weekend before Fat Tuesday. We arrived smack dab in the throes of celebration of Mardi Gras.

Although we were only there for a few days, we got to see several parades around town, be around a lot of people in the French Quarter (touristy area) and hear a ton of amazing street music including jazz, Americana, hip hop and more. We were also able to meet up with one of Cassie’s old college friends who was in town from NYC for a few days for Mardi Gras. She is originally from New Orleans. 

Even though we were there for a reason very different than 99.9% of everyone else, this chance trip to New Orleans put us in the middle of all the activity! The timing felt lucky.

Temporary Residency Application

We had an enjoyable time in New Orleans, and were able to sneak in an appointment at the consulate where we turned in all of the necessary paperwork they needed to approve our initiation of the residency process. All within 24 hours. 

During the time of writing this, the financial requirements for temporary residency if applying without savings and solely on earned income was approximately USD $2,200 per month on average for the past 6 months. It is good to have almost too much paperwork at this stage – with letters from your employer or clients if you work freelance. For an updated list of the requirements check out this helpful page.

One question we were not prepared for was why we wanted to be in Mexico for an extended period of time. When asked I (Nate) blurted out “so I can volunteer.” It was a good thing that we had volunteered for the past 2 years in Merida because we were then asked to bring letters from the organization we planned to help. We heard later the better thing to do is to just say you like the country and that you want to explore it. Or that you want to cat sit.

We finished everything and got our approval literally the day BEFORE the Mexican Consulate office would be closing for Mardi Gras festivities. As my friend from New Orleans said, their office most likely would be closed for at least a week or likely two. Mardi Gras is a HUGE holiday there for local residents. So we got very, very lucky and like many things in our life made it by the skin of our teeth!

Why Should You Get Temporary Residency in Mexico?

If you are planning on staying in Mexico for more than 6 months and would like to be a permanent resident but don’t yet meet the financial requirements, temporary residency is a great idea.

It helps if you need to open up a bank account for example if you want to buy a house here in Mexico.

You can also avoid capital gains of a future sale of a Mexican home.

It can open up additional health coverage in private medical insurance.

You are able to buy a car with local plates. We recently had to drive our car down to Mexico and are only allowed to keep the car in Mexico for the extent of our Temporary residency. After that, if we want to buy have a car we will need to import the car or buy locally so a residency is wonderful for that. 

How Long Does It Take to Get Temporary Residency in Mexico?

Once you are approved for temporary residency they give you a special sticker for your passport for entry. You then have 30 days to enter back into Mexico and start the next phases of the application process. 

Important note:  Do Not let immigration stamp your passport as a tourist. Make sure they stamp it as a temporary resident which then only allows for the 30 day window to finish the process. 

We hired a professional to help us with the paperwork and appointment. Carlos and Vikki in Merida made it incredibly simple for us and they were knowledgeable about how to apply and jump through all of the hoops of temporary residency. There are many expat Facebook groups for different places in Mexico. We suggest looking for expat recommendations for these services if you do not like paperwork, or are unsure of how to get through the process. The money spent is well worth the headache and worry.

How Long Can We Stay in Mexico With a Temporary Residency Visa?

With the initial Temporary Residency Visa you are approved for one year of residency in Mexico. After the one year Temporary Visa expires you have the opportunity to renew it for 1 to 3 years. You save money if you renew it for 3 years.

After four years maximum with the Temporary Visa, you must then apply for a Permanent Residence Visa if you wish to stay in Mexico.

2021 Prices for IMN Immigration

• INM fees:
  • Temporal 1 year: $4413 pesos
  • Temporal 2 years: $6613 pesos
  • Temporal 3 years: $8376 pesos
  • Permanente: $5379 pesos

A Loophole: What is Family Unity Residency?

Due to the irregularity of work (and paychecks) from being a freelance filmmaker, Cassie did not meet the qualifications for the Temporary Residency while we were in New Orleans. Nate on the other hand, with his consistent paycheck from teaching English with VIPKID was able to easily qualify financially for the Temporary Visa.

There is a special visa you can get that attaches to the Temporary Visa called Family Unity, which is there to cover any children or spouses of residents in Mexico. It takes a little extra paperwork, of course. You will need your marriage certificate as well as an apostile notarized by the state you were married in specifically, for family unity temporary residency in Mexico. Everything also needs to be translated properly.

The family unity starts at one year similar to the temporary residency and is then extendable to the additional years before you need to apply for permanent residency. 

Again, Vikki and Carlos have been able to help us with this process and we would have never known about it if it hadn’t been for their help. It was quite a process getting the marriage apostile / certificate sent to us from the Oregon State which we now chuckle about. That is another story, but we do suggest having whoever is mailing you these very important documents to go through a service like DHL or FedEx as it will be easy to track and be much quicker. Trust us, the peace of mind is worth paying the extra money!

Learning to Continually Adapt to New Situations

Moral of the story? The key to these surprises that snuck up on us along the way was adaptability.

Things are going to come up. Obstacles are going to get thrown in your way. You will be forced to deviate from the path you are on a little in order to get back on it. 

The more you are able to go with the flow, enjoy the ride and adapt to the unexpected surprises the better off you will be. Plus you will have a lot more fun! Who would have thought we would have ended up in New Orleans for Mardi Gras in 2020, just one month before COVID19 hit?! We certainly didn’t.

Questions to Ponder

What are your favorite surprises that have happened to you on your travel adventures? How did you handle them when they came up? Did they end up working out, or not?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments! And as always if you have any questions be sure to let us know. We hope this post has been helpful to you on your journey toward gaining Residency in Mexico.