Tax, economy, and demographics

Dimension	Hong Kong	Mexico
Corporate income tax	16.5%Moderate	30%Very high
Corporate tax basis	Pure territorialPure territorial	WorldwideWorldwide
Personal income tax (marginal)	17%Low	35%Moderate
Personal tax basis	TerritorialTerritorial	WorldwideWorldwide
Population	7.5 M	133.0 M×18
Area	1,114 km²	1,964,375 km²×1763
Population density	6,741 /km²	68 /km²
Capital	Hong Kong	Mexico City
Currency	HKD (Hong Kong dollar)	MXN (Mexican peso)
Main airport	HKG (Hong Kong International Airport)	MEX (Mexico City International Airport)
Phone code	+852	+52
Internet TLD	.hk	.mx

Visa access controls

Your access

Pick your nationality above to see how long you can stay in each country and whether you need a visa.

Passport power

Mobility strength of each country's passport, useful if you are weighing it as a future citizenship.

Hong Kong passport

#13

Henley rank

174

Visa-free destinations

• Schengen visa-free
• UK visa-free
• Canada eTA
• Australia eTA

Mexico passport

#20

Henley rank

156

Visa-free destinations

• Schengen visa-free

Verdict

For professionals who prioritize safetyshield index, Hong Kong leads with 9.0 / 10 versus 4.5 / 10 for Mexico. On affordability index, Mexico is at 7.7 / 10 compared with 3.6 / 10 for Hong Kong.

Frequently asked questions

• Hong Kong

  Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Hong Kong without friction?

  Hong Kong has no foreign exchange controls. The Basic Law provides that the Hong Kong dollar is freely convertible and that the Government safeguards the free flow of capital within, into and out of Hong Kong. Friction in practice occurs not at the capital-control level but at the banking, AML, tax-reporting and product-access level. Hong Kong remains the leading offshore renminbi hub, processing consistently over 70% of global offshore RMB payments and holding around RMB 1 trillion in offshore RMB deposits and certificates of deposit according to HKMA and SWIFT data. Foreign residents open personal accounts with HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China Hong Kong and Hang Seng Bank, or with one of the eight HKMA-licensed digital banks formerly designated as virtual banks under the revised HKMA Guideline of 25 October 2024, namely ZA Bank, Mox Bank, livi Bank, WeLab Bank, Airstar Bank, Ant Bank, Fusion Bank and PAOBank. Requirements vary by institution and risk profile. Banks request identity documents that may include a Hong Kong identity card or a travel document depending on the institution, address information, tax-residency self-certification under CRS/AEOI and FATCA documentation where applicable, plus source-of-funds or source-of-wealth evidence depending on the profile. Customer due diligence and ongoing monitoring are mandatory under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615), and banks may apply additional group-level or foreign regulatory standards. Hong Kong is a FATF member and the 2019 FATF/APG mutual evaluation rated its AML/CFT system as sound and effective overall while identifying areas for improvement. Non-resident corporate account opening is selective and risk-based, with banks typically requesting beneficial ownership information, proof of business activity, expected transaction flows, source of funds and evidence of a commercial nexus with Hong Kong. Onboarding timelines vary materially with applicant status, nationality, tax profile and documentation quality, and are not standardised. Foreign nationals can purchase private residential property in Hong Kong. The Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD), Special Stamp Duty (SSD) and New Residential Stamp Duty (NRSD) were abolished for instruments executed on or after 28 February 2024 under the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2024. Buyers remain subject to ad valorem stamp duty under Scale 2, with the HKD 100 lowest band raised from HKD 3M to HKD 4M with effect from 26 February 2025 under the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, and a graduated scale up to 4.25% above HKD 21,739,120. The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2026 was gazetted on 6 March 2026 and introduced into the Legislative Council on 18 March 2026 for first reading, proposing to raise the AVD rate on residential property valued above HKD 100M from 4.25% to 6.5% with retroactive effect from 26 February 2026. Pending enactment, the Inland Revenue Department continues to charge stamp duty at the prevailing 4.25% rate, with the difference between the rates becoming payable within 30 days of gazettal of the amendment ordinance once the bill is passed by the Legislative Council. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) regulates securities and futures market activity, with retail access to listed equities, ETFs, REITs, debt securities, structured products, futures and options through regulated channels. OTC derivatives are subject to a dedicated HKMA/SFC reporting, clearing, trading and record-keeping regime, while access to complex, structured or non-listed products remains governed by licensing, conduct, suitability and, in many cases, professional-investor constraints. Crypto access is regulated under a dual licensing framework, with SFC Type 1 and Type 7 licences under the Securities and Futures Ordinance for security tokens and a VATP licence under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance for non-security tokens. Since 1 June 2023, retail access to virtual assets has been legally possible through SFC-licensed VATPs, subject to SFC investor-protection measures, large-cap token eligibility restrictions and platform-specific approvals, with the SFC maintaining an official list of licensed VATPs. The inward Company Re-domiciliation Regime was put in place by the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2025, gazetted on 23 May 2025, and allows eligible non-Hong Kong incorporated companies to transfer domicile to Hong Kong without creating a new legal entity and without disrupting legal identity or business continuity. Unilateral tax credits under Schedule 17L of the Inland Revenue Ordinance are available where a re-domiciled company has paid, in its place of incorporation, a tax of substantially the same nature as Hong Kong profits tax on unrealised income or profit because of the re-domiciliation and Hong Kong profits tax later applies to the corresponding realised income or profit, with the credit capped at the lower of the specified tax paid or the Hong Kong profits tax payable on the relevant income.

• Mexico

  Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Mexico without friction?

  Foreign residents can open accounts, convert currency, invest, and acquire most assets in Mexico, but onboarding involves real friction rather than none. Mexican banking is supervised by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), a deconcentrated body of the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP), while the Banco de México acts as the central bank and monetary authority. Major retail banks include Banamex (Banco Nacional de México, separated from Citi México in December 2024), BBVA México, Santander México, Banorte, HSBC México, Scotiabank, and Inbursa. Account opening for foreign residents typically requires a valid passport, a residence document, a Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP), proof of a Mexican address such as a recent utility bill, and in many cases a Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC) tax registration, with source-of-funds evidence for higher-value or investment accounts, although exact requirements vary by bank and product. Accounts are tiered from Nivel 1 to Nivel 4, where the lower tiers carry monthly deposit limits and Nivel 4 offers full-documentation functionality with no general statutory deposit cap beyond any limit agreed with the bank. Lead times range from same-day digital onboarding to several weeks where enhanced due diligence applies. Private banking and patrimonial segments operate at the major banks, including BBVA Patrimonial, Santander Select, Banorte Banca Patrimonial, and Banamex, alongside international wealth managers present through different vehicles, with UBS running CNBV-regulated entities, Morgan Stanley through a casa de bolsa, and Julius Baer through a representative office. Entry thresholds are set by each institution rather than by a single market-wide minimum, and local patrimonial tiers can start well below the levels associated with offshore private banking. Mexico applies the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) through its tax authority and was not listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a high-risk or increased-monitoring jurisdiction at its February 2026 plenary. Mexico has operated a free-floating exchange-rate regime since December 1994, with no general capital controls, so conversion between United States dollars (USD) and Mexican pesos (MXN) and outbound transfers are freely available in practice, subject to bank-level identity and anti-money-laundering checks, sanctions screening, tax documentation, and transaction reporting. Foreigners may own real estate directly outside the constitutional Restricted Zone, defined under Article 27 of the Constitution as the strip within 100 kilometres of an international border and 50 kilometres of any coastline. Inside that zone, residential acquisition is channelled through a fideicomiso, a 50-year renewable bank trust under which the bank holds legal title and the foreigner is the beneficiary. A Mexican company, including one held entirely by foreign capital, may instead hold property directly inside the Restricted Zone for non-residential purposes, while foreign-owned companies may not acquire residential-use property there. Investment access to the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) runs through licensed casas de bolsa such as GBM, Actinver, Vector, Monex, Punto Casa de Bolsa, and UBS, among other CNBV-supervised intermediaries, with onboarding speed depending on the brokerage, residence status, tax registration, and compliance review rather than being uniformly same-day. Crypto-assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not treated as foreign currency under the joint position of the Banco de México, the SHCP, and the CNBV, and Mexican financial institutions are not authorised to offer crypto-asset operations to the public, although non-bank exchanges such as Bitso operate in the retail market, so crypto should not be read as a regulated substitute for bank deposits or securities custody. Mexican tax residents may also carry annual reporting and tax obligations on income earned through foreign entities and transparent foreign vehicles under the controlled-foreign-entity and preferred-tax-regime rules of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR), principally Articles 176 to 178 of its Title VI, filed through the dedicated annual informative return, rather than under a blanket offshore-account disclosure.

• Hong Kong

  How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Hong Kong?

  Hong Kong applies a territorial source principle for both individuals and corporations. Salaries tax under the Inland Revenue Ordinance Cap. 112 covers only employment income arising in or derived from Hong Kong, irrespective of residency status. Tax residency itself does not trigger worldwide taxation. Salaries tax progresses from 2% to 17% on net chargeable income, capped at the two-tiered standard rate of 15% on the first HKD 5M of net income and 16% above without allowances, effective from year of assessment 2024/25 under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions and Two-tiered Standard Rates) Ordinance 2024. The taxpayer pays the lower of the two computations. There is no capital gains tax, no dividend tax, no inheritance tax (estate duty abolished 11 February 2006), no general value-added tax. Mandatory MPF contributions are 5% of relevant income capped at HKD 1,500 per month. Profits tax operates on a two-tiered basis since 1 April 2018 (sections 14AA-14AB IRO). Corporations pay 8.25% on the first HKD 2M of assessable profits and 16.5% above, unincorporated businesses pay 7.5% and 15%. Only one entity per group of connected entities can elect the two-tiered rates per year of assessment. Major sectoral concessionary regimes apply. 0% profits tax on eligible carried interest received by qualifying persons and a 100% salaries tax exclusion for qualifying employees providing investment management services to certified investment funds under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions for Carried Interest) Ordinance 2021, retroactive from 1 April 2020. 5% Patent Box rate on qualifying IP income with OECD nexus computation, effective YA 2023/24 and gazetted 5 July 2024, with a local registration requirement effective 5 July 2026 imposing that foreign patents and plant variety rights filed on or after that date require corresponding Hong Kong registration under the Patents Ordinance Cap. 514 to remain eligible. The Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicle (FIHV) regime grants 0% profits tax under Schedule 16E IRO (effective YA 2022/23) on qualifying transactions, requiring HKD 240M qualifying assets at family level, an eligible Single Family Office in Hong Kong with at least 2 full-time qualified employees and HKD 2M annual local operating expenditure. The 2026-27 Budget (25 February 2026) proposed expanding FIHV, Unified Funds Exemption (UFE) and Carried Interest qualifying investments to digital assets, precious metals, specified commodities, loan and private credit investments, and other assets, with the amendment bill expected in the first half of 2026 and targeted implementation from YA 2025/26 subject to LegCo passage. Other corporate concessions cover aircraft and ship leasing, treasury management and fund vehicles. An 8.25% concessionary rate applies to qualifying profits of aircraft lessors and aircraft leasing managers under Schedule 17F IRO, with a one-off 100% deduction of aircraft acquisition cost replacing the prior 20% tax base concession for aircraft acquired in YA 2023/24 or later under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Aircraft Leasing Tax Concessions) Ordinance 2024. 0% applies to qualifying ship lessors and 0% or 8.25% to ship leasing managers depending on whether the lessor is associated or non-associated (effective 19 June 2020). An 8.25% Corporate Treasury Centre rate applies under section 14D IRO since 1 April 2016. The full 0% Unified Funds Exemption regime covers hedge funds, OFCs and Limited Partnership Funds for qualifying transactions in Schedule 16C assets (effective 1 April 2019, sections 20AM to 20AY IRO). The Onshore Equity Disposal Tax Certainty Scheme treats onshore equity disposal gains as capital in nature where an eligible investor entity has held at least 15% of the investee entity for a continuous period of at least 24 months immediately before disposal, subject to exclusions for insurers and certain property-related investee entities (effective 1 January 2024). Since 1 January 2023 (further refined 1 January 2024), the FSIE regime restricts the territorial exemption for in-scope MNE entities on offshore interest, dividends, IP income and disposal gains, requiring economic substance, nexus or participation conditions. A 15% Hong Kong Minimum Top-up Tax (HKMTT), the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax under OECD Pillar Two, applies to MNE groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750M or above for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025 under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Minimum Tax for Multinational Enterprise Groups) Ordinance 2025 gazetted 6 June 2025. Hong Kong has obtained OECD transitional qualified status from 1 January 2025 and operates a Pillar Two Portal for top-up tax notifications. R&D super deduction at 300% on the first HKD 2M and 200% on the balance applies under section 16B IRO. Hong Kong has signed 57 comprehensive double taxation agreements as at March 2026, distinct from the People Republic of China DTA network.

• Mexico

  How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Mexico?

  Mexico taxes its fiscal residents on worldwide income, whatever the source of the wealth, an obligation that derives from Article 1 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR). Tax residency itself is defined in Article 9 of the Codigo Fiscal de la Federacion, which is triggered by a permanent home in Mexico or, for a person with a home in more than one country, by a centre of vital interests in Mexico, meaning that more than 50 percent of the calendar-year income is Mexican-sourced or that the principal centre of professional activities sits there. The federal corporate income tax, the Impuesto sobre la Renta (ISR), is a flat 30 percent under Article 9 LISR with no state-level corporate surcharge. Concessionary corporate regimes available in 2026 include the manufacturing, maquila and export services regime (IMMEX) under the Decreto of 1 November 2006 and Articles 181 to 183 LISR, where a Safe Harbor methodology has been mandatory since fiscal year 2025 after the last advance pricing agreements covered 2020 to 2024. Under Safe Harbor the taxable base is the higher of 6.9 percent of assets used or 6.5 percent of operating costs and expenses, and the resulting effective burden depends on each company's cost, asset and margin structure rather than on any fixed statutory rate. The Regimen Simplificado de Confianza (RESICO) for legal entities, under Articles 206 to 215 LISR, applies cash-basis 30 percent ISR to Mexican-resident corporations with up to MXN 35 million annual revenue and only individual resident shareholders, and allows accelerated investment deduction at the maximum percentages of Article 209 LISR only where total investments in the year do not exceed MXN 3 million, the general Title II percentages applying above that threshold. The Polos de Desarrollo Economico para el Bienestar regime, created by decree in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 22 May 2025, grants a 100 percent ISR credit during fiscal years 1 to 3, then 50 percent or up to 90 percent where minimum employment thresholds are exceeded during years 4 to 6, plus 100 percent immediate deduction of new fixed assets through 30 September 2030 and a 100 percent VAT credit on intra-Polo transactions, with 14 Polos approved by the inter-ministerial committee as of May 2025. The Plan Mexico decree, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 21 January 2025, layers accelerated depreciation of 41 to 91 percent on new fixed assets acquired in 2025 and 2026 and 35 to 89 percent on assets acquired between 2027 and 30 September 2030, plus a 25 percent additional deduction on the increase in training and innovation expenses for priority sectors anywhere in Mexico. Personal income tax is progressive from 1.92 to 35 percent across 11 brackets under the annual tariff of Article 152 LISR. For 2026 the 35 percent top marginal rate applies to annual taxable income above MXN 5,107,703.93, the bracket published in Annex 8 of the Resolucion Miscelanea Fiscal 2026 (Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 28 December 2025) after the tables were rebased by 13.21 percent for accumulated inflation. The RESICO regime for individuals, under Articles 113-E to 113-J LISR, offers a flat 1.00 to 2.50 percent ISR on gross business, professional or rental income up to MXN 3.5 million annual, with no deductions, and is unavailable to partners or shareholders of legal entities, to related-party transactors and to foreign residents. There is no separate federal wealth tax, no standalone inheritance or gift tax and no general exit tax at the individual level. Inheritances and legacies are exempt from ISR under Article 93 LISR, while gifts are exempt between spouses and in the direct ascending or descending line and other gifts are exempt only up to three times the annual Unidad de Medida y Actualizacion, the excess being taxable. Capital gains realised by resident individuals on listed Mexican shares are taxed at 10 percent under the dedicated regime of Article 129 LISR, computed on net annual gains with brokers reporting and provisionally withholding and the balance settled in the annual return, rather than as a simple final withholding. The standard VAT rate is 16 percent, with an effective 8 percent rate in the Northern Border Zone through a fiscal stimulus that credits half of the tax, and a 0 percent rate on exports. The Ley de Ingresos de la Federacion 2026, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion on 7 November 2025, introduces in its Twenty-Fourth Transitory Article a final 15 percent ISR on legally sourced funds held abroad until 8 September 2025, returned to Mexico no later than 31 December 2026 and kept invested in Mexican productive activities for at least three years, the levy applying to the gross amount without deductions and being definitive. Mexico operates a treaty network of more than 60 jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea and most OECD members, with a foreign tax credit available to residents under Article 5 LISR. Mexico participates in the OECD Inclusive Framework but has not enacted a domestic Pillar Two minimum-tax package, with no qualified domestic minimum top-up tax, income inclusion rule or undertaxed profits rule in force as of May 2026, which leaves Polo and IMMEX entities with potential top-up tax exposure at the level of the ultimate parent jurisdiction.

• Hong Kong

  What long-term residence options exist in Hong Kong for internationally mobile individuals?

  Hong Kong operates a structured set of admission schemes administered by the Immigration Department under the Immigration Ordinance Cap. 115. The Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), launched 28 December 2022, accepts three categories without prior job offer. Category A targets annual income of HKD 2.5M or above (defined by the Immigration Department as taxable employment or business income), with a 36-month initial stay in effect from 16 October 2024 (previously 24 months). Category B covers degree graduates of eligible universities on the aggregate list (200 institutions effective 1 January 2026, up from 199) with at least 3 years of work experience, 24 months initial stay. Category C targets recent graduates with under 3 years of experience and is subject to an annual quota allocated on a first-come first-served basis. TTPS does not apply to nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and Korea (DPRK). The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) had its General Points Test (GPT) enhanced with effect from 1 November 2024, replacing the prior item-by-item scoring (245 points maximum, 80 passing threshold) with a binary assessment questionnaire of 12 criteria across six aspects (age, academic qualifications, language proficiency, work experience, annual income, business ownership), with a passing threshold of 6 criteria. No annual quota under the enhanced GPT, 36 months initial stay. The General Employment Policy (GEP) is the standard employer-sponsored route, quota-free, with streamlined processing for the 60 professions of the Talent List updated 1 March 2025. The Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) broadly mirrors GEP for Chinese nationals residing in the Mainland. The Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS) operates through quotas allocated to sponsoring companies by the Innovation and Technology Commission, with each company normally allotted up to 100 quotas per year. Following the enhancement measures effective 24 December 2025, the requirement to engage in R&D in the previously designated 14 technology areas was lifted, and a parallel quota plus visa application procedure was introduced. Initial stay of 36 months on employment condition. The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES), effective 1 March 2024, requires HKD 30M minimum, of which HKD 27M in permissible financial assets or eligible real estate, plus HKD 3M placed in the CIES Investment Portfolio managed by Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited. Effective 17 September 2025, the aggregate real estate cap was raised from HKD 10M to HKD 15M, but the countable residential property amount remains capped at HKD 10M and the qualifying single residential unit transaction price was lowered from HKD 50M to HKD 30M. The 1 March 2025 reform allows investments held through a Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicle or Family-owned Special Purpose Entity managed by an eligible Single Family Office (assets of HKD 240M or above under Schedule 16E of the Inland Revenue Ordinance). The 1 March 2026 update removed the six-month minimum incorporation period for the eligible private holding company, allowing applicants to use recently incorporated vehicles for asset allocation. Cumulative metrics as at 28 February 2026: approximately 3,166 applications received with anticipated investment of about HKD 95Bn, of which 1,762 applicants have completed their investments and received formal approval. Initial stay of 24 months, extensions of up to three years renewable subject to portfolio maintenance. Investment as Entrepreneurs (under the GEP framework) requires a detailed business plan covering source of funds, expected turnover and local job creation in the coming years, with no statutory minimum capital. The Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents (ASSG) targets overseas-born applicants aged 18 to 40 with at least one parent holding a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card and who was a Chinese national settled overseas at the time of the applicant's birth. The Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) grant 24 months to graduates of full-time locally-accredited Hong Kong programmes or Greater Bay Area campus graduates, with extension on a 3-3 year pattern. The Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme (VPAS) is a pilot covering 34 VTC Higher Diploma programmes across 12 trades for 2025-26 (13 trades from 2026-27), with first applications opening upon graduation of the inaugural cohort in mid-2026, excluding nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, Korea (DPRK), Nepal and Vietnam. The Working Holiday Scheme covers 13 partner countries for nationals aged 18 to 30 (Australia 5,000, Japan 1,500, UK 1,000, Korea 1,000, France 750, Germany 300, Sweden 500, New Zealand 400, Canada 193, Hungary 200, Ireland 200, Austria 100, Netherlands 100), single-use, 12 months, not normally renewable. All pathways converge on a seven-year continuous ordinary residence requirement to apply for right of abode, which is not automatic. For New CIES entrants specifically, maintaining the financial requirements throughout seven years does not by itself confer permanent residence. Where the continuous ordinary residence test is not satisfied, applicants may seek unconditional stay after the seventh year. The Top-tier Employment Stream grants an extension on time limitation only after 2 years of stay and HKD 2M annual assessable income for salaries tax. Duration varies by scheme of origin, with 6 years under TTPS, IANG and ASSG, and 5 years under GEP, ASMTP, QMAS and TechTAS. From 1 March 2026, the extension filing window expanded from 4 weeks to 3 months before expiry of stay across GEP, ASMTP, TechTAS, IANG, QMAS and ASSG, with TTPS already aligned since 1 November 2024.

• Mexico

  What long-term residence options exist in Mexico for internationally mobile individuals?

  Mexico operates a consular Temporary Residency route (Residente Temporal, Article 52(VII) of the Ley de Migración) for stays of more than 180 days and up to 4 years, alongside a direct Permanent Residency route for retired or pensioned applicants (Residente Permanente, Article 54(III)). The Acuerdo published by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 25 July 2025 rebased the economic solvency thresholds onto multiples of the Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA), the daily reference unit set at MXN 117.31 from 1 February 2026. Temporary Residency by economic solvency offers four main routes. The income route requires monthly employment or pension income above 680 UMA (about MXN 79,771) over the previous 6 months. The savings route requires an average monthly bank or investment balance of 11,460 UMA (about MXN 1,344,373) over the previous 12 months. The real estate route requires ownership of Mexican property worth more than 91,710 UMA (about MXN 10,758,500). The investment route requires qualifying investment above 45,850 UMA (about MXN 5,378,664), which may be evidenced through capital participation in a Mexican legal entity, transfer of assets or rights to the company, qualifying fixed assets used for business activity, or documentation proving economic or business activity in Mexico. The visa is issued for a single entry, the residence card must be requested before the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) within 30 calendar days of entry, and it is granted for 1 year initially, renewable up to a cumulative 4 years. Family members may qualify through family unity, with an additional economic solvency requirement of 220 UMA (about MXN 25,808) per dependent, which is a means test rather than a fee. Direct Permanent Residency is available to retired or pensioned applicants who show either an average monthly bank or investment balance of 45,850 UMA (about MXN 5,378,664) over the previous 12 months, or pension income above 1,140 UMA (about MXN 133,733) per month over the previous 6 months, granting indefinite stay from issuance of the card. Spouses or common-law partners of Mexican nationals fall under Article 56 and are not documented directly as permanent residents. They are first granted Temporary Residency for 2 years, after which they may change to Permanent Residency if the marital or common-law link subsists. The same 2-year sequence applies to spouses of foreign permanent residents under Article 55. Employer-sponsored Temporary Residency runs under Article 52(VII), through a visa authorisation promoted before the INM by a Mexican employer holding a valid employer registration (Constancia de Inscripción del Empleador). A points-based Permanent Residency is codified under Article 57, but its implementing dispositions are not operational in a clearly defined way under current published rules. The Ley Federal de Derechos amendment published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 7 November 2025 raised INM card fees sharply from 1 January 2026, with the 1-year temporary residence card rising to MXN 11,140.74, approximately double the main 2025 reference amount. A 50 percent fee reduction applies where residency rests on family unity, a national employment offer by a registered employer, or an invitation by a public or private organisation for unpaid activity. A temporary-to-permanent pathway therefore carries an indicative cumulative INM cost in the region of MXN 47,500 to 60,000 depending on the renewal sequence, before consular fees, translations and ancillary costs, rather than a single fixed amount. Naturalisation is generally available after 5 years of legal residence under the Ley de Nacionalidad, reduced to 2 years for nationals of Latin American countries or of the Iberian Peninsula, and for spouses of Mexican nationals who meet the residence and cohabitation conditions. Dual nationality should be treated with care. Mexican nationality by birth is strongly protected, but naturalised Mexicans are subject to specific renunciation and protestation requirements and to constitutional grounds for loss of Mexican nationality by naturalisation, so foreign nationals keeping another citizenship should confirm their position before naturalising.

Also compare

• Hong KongvsPortugal
• Hong KongvsUnited Arab Emirates
• MexicovsVietnam
• IndonesiavsMexico

Related rankings

• Tax Freedom Index
• SafetyShield Index