# Financial Requirements



## KimCretires (Nov 8, 2014)

This question is in most part for Isla Verde, but would welcome any other opinions. I am taking early retirement in a couple of years but I am reading many conflicting opinions regarding the financial requirements for moving to Mexico.

I am moving to the Yucatan and planning a simple life of reading/writing and painting.

I have read Isla Verde posts regarding her budget of less than $1000. usd per month, yet the requirements seem to be $2000. usd per month (couple or single?).

Perhaps it is better to live six months at a time on a tourist visa and leave by way of Belize. Any thoughts?


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

> yet the requirements seem to be $2000. usd per month (couple or single?).


Are you referring to requirements for Residente Temporal or Residente Permanente? 

The current requirement to qualify for RT by means of monthly income is 300 times 74.03 pesos (the minimum daily wage for DF for 2016) per month, a total of 21,912 pesos per month. At today's exchange rate, this equals $1,188. The RP monthly requirement is 500 times 74.03 pesos, a total of 36,520 pesos, or approximately $1,980. These figures are for one person, and you should verify them. They will change as the dollar/peso exchange rate moves up or down.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

KimCretires said:


> This question is in most part for Isla Verde, but would welcome any other opinions. I am taking early retirement in a couple of years but I am reading many conflicting opinions regarding the financial requirements for moving to Mexico.
> 
> I am moving to the Yucatan and planning a simple life of reading/writing and painting.
> 
> ...


Isla can correct me if I am wrong, but I think you are mixing up Isla's statements about what it costs her to live each month, with Mexico's requirements for various types of visas. They are two different things. Even if you plan to sleep in your car and live on $300 usd/mo, Mexico will still require you to show proof of $21,912 mxn/mo (Thanks TurtleToo). In addition, as TurtleToo points out, the minimum is stated in units of the minimum daily wage in Mexico City. The minimum daily wage goes up with inflation slightly every year so the exact requirement in pesos goes up slightly every year. More significantly, the dollar amount depends on the current dollar-peso rate. The peso is lower now than it has been for years, so the dollar requirement is lower than it has been. For that reason, you will see the dollar requirement in old posts here that were much higher than it is today. 

To summarize, the $1000 usd/mo that you mentioned probably was referring to one person's estimate of their needs. The $2000 usd/mo that you mention was about what the Mexican requirement for a Residencial Temporal was a few years ago. It is lower now because of the exchange rate.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

KimCretires said:


> This question is in most part for Isla Verde, but would welcome any other opinions. I am taking early retirement in a couple of years but I am reading many conflicting opinions regarding the financial requirements for moving to Mexico.
> 
> I am moving to the Yucatan and planning a simple life of reading/writing and painting.
> 
> ...


Hi Kim,

When I moved to Mexico in 2007, I had it easy as far as applying for what then was called an FM3 residence visa. At that time my pension income was below the required financial threshold, but since I was applying for a visa that gave me permission to work as a free-lance English teacher. I didn't have to meet the minimum income required by INM. I knew my situation then was a bit iffy, so I used the services of an excellent immigration lawyer to help me jump through all the bureaucratic hoops. Since then all the rules and regs have changed quite a bit, and I am sure that if I were just now applying for a residence visa, I would be rejected. Anyway, as Tundra Green has just pointed out, my monthly budget of $1000 US for rent and other basic expenses has nothing to do with INM requirements for visa eligibility.

Good luck with your plans for what sounds like a lovely way to spend your retirement Mexico-style!


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## KimCretires (Nov 8, 2014)

I thank you all for the clarification. I do not post very often but this forum continues to educate me for my future in Mexico.


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## byresch (Mar 4, 2016)

Which is better a temporary or permanent visa?


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

byresch said:


> Which is better a temporary or permanent visa?


Well, one is temporary,  and one is permanent! Temporary means one year--you have to renew yearly. After four years, you must either apply for permanent residence, or start a new four-year temporary residence process. In most cases, I would think RP makes the most sense. However, the financial requirements for RP are higher than for RT; and you may not keep a US-plated vehicle, as you can on an RT. So those are two factors to consider.

.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

TurtleToo said:


> Well, one is temporary, and one is permanent! Temporary means one year--you have to renew yearly. After four years, you must either apply for permanent residence, or start a new four-year temporary residence process. In most cases, I would think RP makes the most sense. However, the financial requirements for RP are higher than for RT; and you may not keep a US-plated vehicle, as you can on an RT. So those are two factors to consider.
> 
> .


Residente Temporal for first time applicants is 1 year for the first year and the option of 1, 2, or 3 years renewal 30 calender days or less before the 1 year expiration date. If the Residente Temporal applied under the "vinculo familiar" law they can apply for 1 to 4 years inside Mexico with a FMM tourist card.


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## byresch (Mar 4, 2016)

TurtleToo said:


> Well, one is temporary, and one is permanent! Temporary means one year--you have to renew yearly. After four years, you must either apply for permanent residence, or start a new four-year temporary residence process. In most cases, I would think RP makes the most sense. However, the financial requirements for RP are higher than for RT; and you may not keep a US-plated vehicle, as you can on an RT. So those are two factors to consider.
> 
> .


If I apply for a RP how hard is it to get my car registered in Mexico, it is still financed. Additionally what is the cost of a RP?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

TurtleToo said:


> Well, one is temporary, and one is permanent! Temporary means one year--you have to renew yearly. After four years, you must either apply for permanent residence, or start a new four-year temporary residence process. In most cases, I would think RP makes the most sense. However, the financial requirements for RP are higher than for RT; and you may not keep a US-plated vehicle, as you can on an RT. So those are two factors to consider.
> 
> .


There is one other difference that I don't see mentioned very often. It may not be of interest to many, but after 5 years on an RP, you are eligible to apply for citizenship in Mexico. Time on an RT does not count. This is for an application for citizenship by residence. The rules are different if the application is citizenship by family.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> There is one other difference that I don't see mentioned very often. It may not be of interest to many, but after 5 years on an RP, you are eligible to apply for citizenship in Mexico. Time on an RT does not count. This is for an application for citizenship by residence. The rules are different if the application is citizenship by family.


Almost there


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

byresch said:


> If I apply for a RP how hard is it to get my car registered in Mexico, it is still financed. Additionally what is the cost of a RP?


Not hard at all; just virtually impossible.
1. The finance company is not likely to allow you to take the car out of the USA.
2. The car would have to be a NAFTA vehicle.
3. The car would have to be a specific, very limited age at the time of nationalization. Maybe 10 years old +/-/?.
4. The car would have to be exported from the USA first.
5. If you jump through all those hoops, then it might be able to be registered in a Mexican state, unless somebody did something illegal along the way.

Best to sell it, then buy a car in Mexico in the state of your residence there.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> Best to sell it, then buy a car in Mexico in the state of your residence there.


Not sure that matters much. We just bought a new Subaru (in DF) - it is in the middle of the Pacific. When the dealer has the car they will DHL the docs (in Morelos), we will visit transporte (as well as get insurance). When we have plates and insurance we will pick the car up.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It is the purchase through a new car dealer which makes that easy. It is not so easy for an individual to buy a used vehicle in another state, then get it registered in his state; it can get complicated. You will be registering in your home state, so no complications. And, yes, you can buy a non-NAFTA car in Mexico, but you cannot permanently import one yourself, as an expat, with the possible exception of some antique/classic cars.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chuck846 said:


> Almost there


I applied last year. Waiting for the application to be approved.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> It is the purchase through a new car dealer which makes that easy. It is not so easy for an individual to buy a used vehicle in another state, then get it registered in his state; it can get complicated. You will be registering in your home state, so no complications. And, yes, you can buy a non-NAFTA car in Mexico, but you cannot permanently import one yourself, as an expat, with the possible exception of some antique/classic cars.


I imagine buying a car in a different state than where it will be registered can get complicated, but not necessarily. Our Mexican residence is in Morelos. Last year we bought an older used car. My stepson found it in Puebla, as the used cars my husband was finding in the Tepoztlan/Cuernavaca area were overpriced compared to prices in Puebla. Here's the provenance of this car:

Original owner/registration: State of Mexico
Sold and registered in: State of Puebla
Sold and registered in Morelos with plates from the State of Guerrero (by my husband)

That last tidbit is interesting. When he went to register the car in Cuernavaca, he was told he could register it with plates from either Morelos or Guerrero, which did he prefer? Well, since the Guerrero registration was significantly cheaper, he chose that option. I have no idea why the State of Morelos gives the option of registering a car with Guerrero plates. This was in 2015, so not ancient history (the car itself is a bit ancient...) 

Everything was straightforward. There was no issue with the fact that the car had been registered in 2 other states previously. The car came with all the documents/ registrations from previous owners, so maybe that is why it wasn't complicated.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

ojosazules11 said:


> I imagine buying a car in a different state than where it will be registered can get complicated, but not necessarily. Our Mexican residence is in Morelos. Last year we bought an older used car. My stepson found it in Puebla, as the used cars my husband was finding in the Tepoztlan/Cuernavaca area were overpriced compared to prices in Puebla. Here's the provenance of this car:
> 
> Original owner/registration: State of Mexico
> Sold and registered in: State of Puebla
> ...


Perhaps that is why there are so many Guerrero plated cars in Cuernavaca ? I also think Guerrero plated cars do not undergo annual inspections - but I could be wrong.

We have yet to sell our car in Mexico - but we did sell the trailer we brought from the States - to a Mexican friend. As I recall there was a simple form you can get at a stationary store. Basically he stated that from that day forward he was responsible for the trailer. We stated the amount and both signed it. We handed over the pedimento - unmodified, and the registration - and interestingly - our plates stayed on it.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> I applied last year. Waiting for the application to be approved.


I believe you can apply at 4.5 years, no ?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chuck846 said:


> I believe you can apply at 4.5 years, no ?


The instructions state "… five years before the date of your application…" (translated, the instructions are in Spanish obviously). It took me more than 6 months to complete the application, so in theory you could start applying after 4-1/2 years. But, before they would even talk to me, they checked the date quite carefully to see if my first Residencial Permanente started five years ago (It was called an FM-2 at that time).


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

chuck846 said:


> I also think Guerrero plated cars do not undergo annual inspections - but I could be wrong.


I was in a store with a guy this morning who had Guerrero plates on his truck. He confirmed he did not have to visit VeriCentro - but he said driving around with Guerrero plates in Morelos he thought he get stopped more often.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

chuck846 said:


> Perhaps that is why there are so many Guerrero plated cars in Cuernavaca ? I also think Guerrero plated cars do not undergo annual inspections - but I could be wrong.
> 
> ...


Yes, I suspect that is why there are so many Guerrero-plated cars. My husband did not even know this was an option. He went to register the car and they asked if he wanted Morelos plates or Guerrero plates.

I think you're right about the annual inspections, and it looks like the inspection industry is not happy about this. Here is an article indicating that about 50% of the vehicles circulating in Morelos have Guerrero plates (and therefore do not need to be inspected), which has affected the inspection sector's bottom line. 

La Jornada Morelos en Internet

Here is another article indicating that the inspection centres in Morelos are going to be able to start inspecting Guerrero-plated vehicles. This article also indicates that Guerrero-plated vehicles can't circulate in Edo. Mexico and DF (oops, I mean Ciudad de Mexico), I guess because they aren't required to pass the emissions test. 
Diario de Morelos | Listos para verificar autos de Guerrero | @diariodemorelos
Uh oh... We recently visited some friends in Edo. Mexico. We made sure it was not our "Hoy no circulan" day (based on licence plate number), but we did not know that Guerrero plates aren't supposed to be allowed in Edo. Mexico. I need to look into this further...


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

Yes I guess we all need to say CDMX rather than DF.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

chuck846 said:


> Yes I guess we all need to say CDMX rather than DF.


Indeed we do!


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## mattoleriver (Oct 21, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> ...It took me more than 6 months to complete the application,...


Was it choice, circumstances, or "just the way things are" that made it a six month process?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

mattoleriver said:


> Was it choice, circumstances, or "just the way things are" that made it a six month process?


Maybe a month of the time was my fault for taking time to get back to them with something they needed. Much of it was waiting on immigration to give me some things that SRE (Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores) needed, the rest was just the time it took to assemble everything and get it properly into the form that SRE wanted. They were very picky. As just one example, it took three tries to get a copy of my RP credencial in the right form. The first time I just copied it. They said they wanted each side blown up to page size. Then they said they wanted each side blown up to half page size with both sides of the card on one page. I had to get a statement of no-criminal-record twice because it is only good for a short period of time. etc etc. You can read the full story here:

Cronología

It is the 2015-12-18 entry.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

I just hope we can get all this/that accomplished before the US<->Mexican relationship deteriorates.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

chuck846 said:


> I just hope we can get all this/that accomplished before the US<->Mexican relationship deteriorates.


It sounds to me like you are assuming it will.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

Isla Verde said:


> It sounds to me like you are assuming it will.


You are about to doom this thread to the chat area  If certain things happen in the US - I can see a lot of things changing. Thank good-ness the founding fathers put in a sort of checks-and-balances structure. We will have to see how this plays out - but I'm glad I am here. I just hope I can stay here permanently.


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## Andreas_Montoya (Jan 12, 2013)

You just have to understand that the Mexican government needs to know that you will not be a burden on society by demanding free food, rent, day care, cell phones and education once you get here.


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## chuck846 (Jan 15, 2016)

Andreas_Montoya said:


> You just have to understand that the Mexican government needs to know that you will not be a burden on society by demanding free food, rent, day care, cell phones and education once you get here.


I've got no problem with that. In fact - I think it is very astute of Mexico to let us move to Mexico and spend our career retirement savings HERE.


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## Andreas_Montoya (Jan 12, 2013)

chuck846 said:


> I've got no problem with that. In fact - I think it is very astute of Mexico to let us move to Mexico and spend our career retirement savings HERE.


I couldn't agree more.


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