Moving to Mexico in 2026: The Paperwork Nobody Warns You About
MEXICO · EXPAT GUIDE
Key Facts
- —Household goods A consulate must approve your inventory before you ship. There are no extensions on the deadlines.
- —Your car Permanent residents cannot hold a temporary import permit. Upgrading status forces you to export or nationalise.
- —The new identity rule The national identity number became biometric in February 2026 and needs an in-person appointment.
- —The tax number Temporary residents without work permission get a limited version, good for banking and property only.
- —Banking Residents are accepted everywhere. Tourists are effectively limited to one bank.
- —The catch The identity number your immigration office assigns automatically does not meet the biometric requirement.
The visa is the easy part. What follows is a chain of deadlines, and missing one of them is expensive and hard to undo.
Most guides to moving to Mexico stop at the visa. The visa is the part with the clearest instructions.
What comes after is a sequence of separate procedures, each with its own office, its own documents and often its own deadline.
Get the order wrong and you will pay for it. Several of these steps cannot be repeated.
Your Household Goods
The shipment is called a menaje de casa and it needs consular approval before it moves. A Mexican consulate in your country of origin certifies the inventory.
That certificate is issued before you ship, not after. A container that arrives without it is a customs problem, not a paperwork delay.
Permanent residents import duty-free and definitively. Temporary residents and students import temporarily.
Three timing options exist and none can be extended. The goods travel with you, arrive within three months either side of your entry, or arrive within six months of it.
Allowed items are used household furnishings for ordinary family use. Clothing, appliances, books, artwork and the tools of your profession all qualify.
Vehicles are excluded, and so is anything for commercial or industrial use. The inventory must be itemised and valued, and a customs agent clears it at the port.
The Car Rule That Changes Everything
A foreign-plated car enters on a temporary import permit. A tourist gets 180 days and a temporary resident gets a permit tied to the residency card.
A permanent resident cannot hold one at all. This is the rule that catches people who spend four years as temporary residents and then upgrade.
At that moment the car must leave the country or be nationalised. Neither is quick and neither is cheap.
The deposit depends on the model year. The Tucson consulate publishes US$400 for 2007 and newer, US$300 for 2001 to 2006, and US$200 for 2000 and older.
The permit itself costs around 1,232 pesos, about US$73, plus tax. The deposit comes back when you export the vehicle before the permit expires.
Two areas need no permit at all. Those are the 20 to 30 kilometre border strip and the whole of Baja California.
Quintana Roo is not exempt, whatever you may read. A car in Playa del Carmen needs a permit like anywhere else.
The Identity Number, and the 2026 Change
Every resident needs a CURP, the national population identity number. In 2026 it became biometric and that changed the process.
A reform published in July 2025 added a photograph, fingerprints and an iris scan to the registry. The biometric version has been required for official procedures since February.
Here is the trap. Immigration assigns you a CURP automatically when it issues your residency card.
That automatic assignment does not satisfy the biometric requirement. You must still attend a registry module in person.
The appointment takes twenty to thirty minutes and it is free. You need your passport, your residency card, proof of address less than three months old and an email.
The Tax Number
The RFC is the tax identification number and it is separate again. Tourists cannot obtain one.
A temporary resident without work permission gets a limited version. It works for banking and property but cannot issue invoices.
Temporary residents with work permission and all permanent residents get the full version. That one can invoice.
You need the passport, the residency card, the biometric identity number, proof of address and a form generated online beforehand. The appointment is free and issues an electronic signature at the same time.
Opening a Bank Account
Residents are accepted at every major bank. That covers BBVA, HSBC, Banamex, Scotiabank and Banco Azteca.
Tourists have almost no options. Only Scotiabank explicitly lists the 180-day visitor permit in its eligibility terms.
The documents are a passport, the migration document and proof of address under three months old. A current lease counts and does not have to be notarised.
Minimums are low. HSBC’s basic product has no minimum balance and a 60-peso annual fee, under US$4.
BBVA and Scotiabank both ask for a 1,000-peso balance, about US$58. Banco Azteca is the outlier below.
Banco Azteca opens an account for one peso. That is not a misprint.
Remote opening by a foreigner is capped at a lower account tier. Monthly deposits are limited to about 26,385 pesos, some US$1,540, until you visit a branch.
Bringing the Dog
Animal health sits with the agriculture inspectorate at the port of entry. The paperwork is specific and it is checked.
You need a health certificate on official letterhead from a licensed vet, with the vet’s credentials and the animal identified. It must state the animal was clinically healthy before export.
Rabies vaccination must be shown with its date and validity. Animals under three months old are exempt.
Internal and external parasite treatment within the previous six months must be documented with dates and active ingredients.
Arrive without the right papers and the animal is held for veterinary review at your expense. The commonly quoted allowance of two pets per person could not be confirmed against an official source.
The Order to Do It In
Get the visa at the consulate and certify the household inventory at the same post. Both happen before you fly.
Enter Mexico, then start the residence card exchange within thirty calendar days. Nothing else can begin until that card exists.
With the card, book the biometric identity appointment. With that number, book the tax office and then open the bank account.
Only then arrange the utility contract that gives you the proof of address everyone else will ask for. It is circular, and the lease is the way out of the circle.
Anyone moving to Mexico should allow two to three months for this chain. It moves faster in a small city than in Mexico City.
More: Expat guides, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring my car when moving to Mexico?
On a temporary import permit, yes, as a tourist or temporary resident. Permanent residents cannot hold one, so upgrading status forces you to export or nationalise the vehicle.
How long do I have to ship my household goods?
They travel with you, arrive within three months either side of your entry, or arrive within six months of arrival. There are no extensions.
What changed about the CURP in 2026?
It became biometric. Since February 2026 you must enrol in person with fingerprints, a photograph and an iris scan. The number immigration assigns automatically is not enough.
Can a tourist open a Mexican bank account?
In practice only at Scotiabank, which lists the 180-day visitor permit. The other major banks restrict accounts to residents.
Do I need a tax number?
You need one for banking and property. Temporary residents without work permission get a limited version; permanent residents get the full one that can issue invoices.
Sources: Mexican consular requirement sheets for the menaje de casa and temporary vehicle import, the Consulate General of Mexico in Tucson, the reform of the Ley General de Poblacion published in the DOF on 16 July 2025, SENASICA, SAT and published bank product terms.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times