Buying a home in Los Cabos gives you a property. It doesn’t give you the right to live in it year-round. That comes from Mexican immigration law, which sorts foreigners into categories with different time limits, different rights and different places to apply.
For an owner, three categories matter: the visitor status most people think of as a tourist stay, temporary residency and permanent residency. One detail surprises many buyers: owning Mexican real estate above a set value is itself a route to temporary residency, though not to permanent residency. Below is how each status works, using the Migration Law, its regulation and the visa rules published in 2025. For your own application, the Mexican consulate that handles it has the final word.
Key Takeaways
- A visitor without permission to work can stay up to 180 days from entry and generally can’t switch to residency from inside Mexico.
- Temporary residency runs from more than 180 days up to four years. Owning Mexican real estate worth more than 91,710 days of UMA is one way to qualify.
- Permanent residency has no end date. Retirees who meet income or savings tests qualify, as does anyone who has held temporary residency for four years.
- You apply at a Mexican consulate abroad, then exchange your entry document for a residence card at an immigration office within 30 days of arriving.
- Immigration status and tax residency are decided under different laws.
What are the three ways a property owner can stay in Mexico?
Mexico’s Ley de Migracion sets out the categories in Article 52. For a property owner, the three that come up are visitor without permission to do paid work, temporary resident and permanent resident. They differ mainly in how long you can stay and what you can do. Temporary and permanent residents can also enter and leave Mexico as often as they wish.
| Visitor (no paid work) | Temporary resident | Permanent resident | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of stay | Up to 180 days from entry, uninterrupted | More than 180 days, up to four years | Indefinite |
| Paid work | Not permitted | Possible with a job offer and work permit | Permitted (Article 54 ties the permission to a job offer) |
| Where it starts | On entry to Mexico | At a Mexican consulate abroad | At a Mexican consulate abroad, or by changing status in Mexico |
The visitor’s 180 days is a ceiling, not a guarantee. For travelers who need a visa, Mexico’s 2025 visa rules say the immigration officer at the point of entry sets the permitted stay, up to that limit. A visitor also can’t change status from inside the country, except in cases tied to family relationships or humanitarian grounds (Article 53). Owning property isn’t one of those exceptions, so an owner who wants to live in Los Cabos longer has to plan the residency application before the trip, not during it.
Can owning property in Los Cabos get you residency?
Yes, temporary residency. Article 107 of the Reglamento de la Ley de Migracion lists owning real estate in Mexico above an amount set by the government as one ground for a temporary residence visa. The visa guidelines published in the Diario Oficial on 25 July 2025 set that amount: a public deed, granted before a notary, showing the applicant holds title to real estate worth more than 91,710 days of UMA.
The UMA (Unidad de Medida y Actualizacion) is the peso unit Mexican law uses to express amounts like this. INEGI set it at MXN 117.31 a day, in force from 1 February 2026. At that value, 91,710 days works out to MXN 10,758,500.10 by our calculation, and the Mexican consulate in Milan publishes the same peso figure. Each consulate publishes its own dollar figures. The consulate in Las Vegas, for example, lists more than USD 624,405.
Two cautions apply. First, the rule doesn’t say how the property’s value is measured. Second, it refers to a deed showing title. Near the coast, foreigners hold property differently: Article 27 of the Constitution bars them from direct ownership of land within 50 kilometers of the coast, and Article 11 of the Ley de Inversion Extranjera lets a bank hold that property as trustee for them through a fideicomiso. The visa rules don’t mention trusts. Ask the consulate how it treats your fideicomiso before you count on this route. Our fideicomiso guide explains how the trust itself works.
What income or savings qualify you for temporary residency?
If you don’t use the property route, the 2025 visa rules accept economic solvency in one of two forms. You can show investments or bank accounts with an average monthly balance equal to 11,460 days of UMA over the last twelve months. Or you can show employment or pension income, net of taxes, above 680 days of UMA a month over the last six months.
| Route | Rule (2025 visa guidelines) | At the 2026 UMA (our calculation) | Las Vegas consulate | New York consulate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savings | Average monthly balance of 11,460 UMA days, 12 months | About MXN 1,344,373 | USD 78,025 | USD 71,500 |
| Monthly income | Above 680 UMA days a month, 6 months | About MXN 79,771 | USD 4,630 | USD 4,200 |
The two consulates publish different dollar figures for the same rule. New York words its savings test as a minimum balance rather than an average, and its income figure appears in its requirements for remote workers. Use the figures from the consulate where you’ll apply, and check them close to your appointment. Meeting a threshold doesn’t guarantee a visa, either. The 2025 rules make issuance subject to the result of the consular interview.
How does permanent residency work for an owner?
Permanent residency is open to an owner on two main grounds under Article 54 of the Migration Law. One is being a retiree or pensioner with income from abroad that lets you live in Mexico. The other is time: once four years have passed since you obtained temporary residency, you qualify. Owning property isn’t a ground for permanent residency.
For retirees applying through a consulate, the 2025 visa rules set the tests at an average monthly balance of 45,850 days of UMA over twelve months, about MXN 5,378,664 at the 2026 value by our calculation, or tax-free pension income above 1,140 days of UMA a month over six months, about MXN 133,733. The National Migration Institute (INM) runs its own procedure for temporary residents who change to permanent from inside Mexico, and its requirement sheet says that if you’re applying on the four-year basis, you must say so expressly in the application.
The difference between the two cards is practical. A temporary resident card can be issued for one to four years, and you can apply for renewals within the 30 days before it expires, up to four years in total. INM’s procedure guidelines say the first card issued through the exchange is valid for one year. A permanent resident card has no expiry date, except for minors.
How do you apply for Mexican residency?
The application starts outside Mexico. Under Articles 41 and 127 of the Migration Law, you file in person at a Mexican consulate, which decides on and issues the visa. The sequence after that, set by the Reglamento and the 2025 visa rules:
- The consulate issues a residence visa valid for 180 calendar days and a single entry.
- You enter Mexico on it within that window.
- Within 30 calendar days of entry, you go to the INM office for your home address and exchange the entry document for a residence card. This step is called the canje.
- Once you hold the card, you must notify the immigration authority within 90 days of any change of marital status, nationality, home address or workplace.
Thirty days passes quickly in the middle of a move, so plan the INM visit early. If you are also shipping furniture, the Migration Law notes that temporary residents may bring household goods into Mexico on the terms set by the applicable legislation.
Does residency make you a Mexican tax resident?
Not by itself. Tax residency comes from Article 9 of the Codigo Fiscal de la Federacion, which doesn’t refer to immigration status at all. It makes you a Mexican tax resident if you’ve established your home in Mexico. If you also have a home in another country, it looks at where your center of vital interests is: among other cases, whether more than half your income in the year comes from Mexican sources, or whether your main professional activity is in Mexico.
That home test is why owners should take advice. Whether a house in Los Cabos counts as the home the law has in mind is a question for a cross-border tax adviser, applied to your own facts. Get that advice before you change your status or your living pattern.
Frequently asked questions
Can I live in Los Cabos on a tourist stay?
Each visitor stay is capped. Mexico’s Migration Law lets a visitor without permission to work stay up to 180 uninterrupted days from the date of entry, and paid work isn’t allowed. A visitor generally can’t switch to residency from inside Mexico, so anyone planning longer stays should apply for residency at a consulate first.
Does buying a house in Los Cabos give me residency?
Not automatically. Owning Mexican real estate worth more than 91,710 days of UMA, about MXN 10.76 million at the 2026 value by our calculation, is one route to a temporary residence visa. You still apply at a consulate, and because an individual foreign buyer holds coastal property through a fideicomiso, confirm how the consulate treats your trust.
How long does it take to get permanent residency in Mexico?
Under the Migration Law you qualify for permanent residency four years after obtaining temporary residency, and you apply to make the change. Retirees and pensioners with enough income from abroad can apply for permanent residency directly, and the 2025 visa rules set their tests in days of UMA. Owning property isn’t a ground for permanent residency.
Can I apply for Mexican residency from inside Mexico?
Usually not if you entered as a visitor. Article 53 of the Migration Law says visitors can’t change status inside Mexico, apart from family-tie and humanitarian cases. Residency based on savings, income or property is applied for in person at a Mexican consulate abroad, followed by the card exchange in Mexico within 30 days of entry.
Before you plan a longer stay
Decide which status fits how you’ll actually use the house, then work backwards: the consulate, its published figures, the interview and the 30-day card exchange. If your plan rests on the property route, settle the fideicomiso question with the consulate first. For the purchase itself, our guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner covers due diligence, and if you’re looking at homes in Los Cabos, contact our team.
Sources
- Camara de Diputados, Ley de Migracion, consolidated text, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LMigra.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Reglamento de la Ley de Migracion, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/regley/Reg_LMigra.pdf
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, Lineamientos Generales para la expedicion de visas, 25 July 2025, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5763837&fecha=25/07/2025
- INEGI, UMA 2026 press release, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2026/uma/uma2026.pdf
- Instituto Nacional de Migracion, Lineamientos para tramites y procedimientos migratorios, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.inm.gob.mx/micrositio/1/docs/mj/Lin_tramites_y_procedimentos.pdf
- Instituto Nacional de Migracion, Cambio de residente temporal a residente permanente, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.inm.gob.mx/static/Tramites/cambio_residente_temporal-residente_permanente.pdf
- Consulado de Mexico en Las Vegas, Visa de Residente Temporal 2026, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/lasvegas/images/2026/VISAS2026/VisadeResidenteTemporal2026
- Consulado General de Mexico en Nueva York, Visa de Residente Temporal, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/nuevayork/images/2026_4_VisaResidenteTemporal.pdf
- Consulado de Mexico en Milan, documentation for foreigners, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/milan/index.php/es/servicios-consulares/documentacion-a-extranjeros/8-documentacion/76-requisitos-para-visa-de-residente-temporal-por-contar-con-bienes-inmuebles-en-territorio-mexicano
- Camara de Diputados, Constitucion Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CPEUM.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Ley de Inversion Extranjera, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LIE.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Codigo Fiscal de la Federacion, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CFF.pdf
