# Is an NP license recognized in Mexico?



## kep308

I am planning to retire to San Miguel one day but hope to continue working a bit as a nurse practitioner. I'd like to open up a medical aesthetics clinic (Botox, fillers, etc.) and am wondering if my NP license would be recognized. If not, maybe I could partner with a doctor? Does anyone know anything about this? I lived in Mexico many years ago for about 3 years so I am familiar with the area.


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## RVGRINGO

To work in Mexico, you will need a Mexican professional cedula. Your NP will not be recognised, but you may get credits in a Mexican University toward earning the cedula.
You would also need to be a legal resident of Mexico, with either a Residente Temporal Visa Lucrativa, or a Residente Permanente Visa with notice to INM of your employment.
Residence visas must be applied for outside of Mexico, at a Mexican consulate in your current country of legal residence. Unless you already have an offer of employment by an employer authorized by INM to hire foreigners, there will be financial/income qualifications that you must meet in order to be approved for a visa. If approved, the process is completed in Mexico. Contact a consulate, or look at their website for details. 
I do not think that NP exists in Mexico, as in the USA. Even there, the various states have different laws regarding independent practice.


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## WintheWin

+1 to the previous poster.

Even physicians from the US have extreme difficulty being able to practice in Mexico for profit. I read somewhere, that it is possible to get a cedula, but you'd need to do the 1-year social service, and whatever other licensure requirements.

I think there are many options to work for free though.

NP is not a "thing" in Mexico, and since your degrees are in nursing, maybe you'd be able to apply for some sort of nursing license. Working autonomously is limited though, I've seen some "semi independent" nurses, working as home health aides, or with public health programs through the government, but those positions are coveted.


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## ojosazules11

WintheWin said:


> +1 to the previous poster.
> 
> Even physicians from the US have extreme difficulty being able to practice in Mexico for profit. I read somewhere, that it is possible to get a cedula, but you'd need to do the 1-year social service, and whatever other licensure requirements.
> 
> I think there are many options to work for free though.
> 
> NP is not a "thing" in Mexico, and since your degrees are in nursing, maybe you'd be able to apply for some sort of nursing license. Working autonomously is limited though, I've seen some "semi independent" nurses, working as home health aides, or with public health programs through the government, but those positions are coveted.


It has gotten easier for doctors to get a professional licence to practice in Mexico than it was in the past, but it’s still a bit of a process. I looked into it many years ago, and it was really difficult and a very long process (e.g. 5 years or more). Now it’s about a year, but the process can only start after a person has residency. 

Here is a link to the Mexican Embassy in Spain about how to “revalidate” foreign studies. 
https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/espana/index.php/avisos-a-mexicanos/775-revalidacion-de-estudios-realizados-en-el-extranjero-en-mexico

Getting a professional licence recognized in another country is also called “homologación de título”. Here is a link to a Spanish language expat forum thread where a doctor from Venezuela outlines the process for foreign-trained doctors to get a Mexican “cédula profesional”. 
Homologación de Título de Médico en México, foro México


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## MelissaStellasMom

kep308 said:


> I am planning to retire to San Miguel one day but hope to continue working a bit as a nurse practitioner. I'd like to open up a medical aesthetics clinic (Botox, fillers, etc.) and am wondering if my NP license would be recognized. If not, maybe I could partner with a doctor? Does anyone know anything about this? I lived in Mexico many years ago for about 3 years so I am familiar with the area.


This thread is older but just wanted to put this out there- a friend of mine is an NP in Baja Sur and does remote work in the US in the form of telemedicine!


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