My parents scheduled an appointment on a Tuesday. A week later, they walked into the consulate. Two weeks after that, they had everything they needed. Total cost: the price of gas to the consulate.
For most families, the hardest part of international planning isn’t the paperwork—it’s believing it can actually be this simple.
Why Mexico?
Before we talk about how easy the process is, let’s talk about why Mexico makes sense in the first place.
Mexico isn’t just convenient—it’s genuinely world-class. The food alone has built an international reputation that draws people from every continent. The Yucatán Peninsula has a homicide rate around 2 per 100,000 residents—safer than most U.S. states. Major cities sit at high elevations where the climate stays comfortable year-round, perfect if you want urban life without oppressive heat.
And then there’s proximity. Mexico shares time zones with the U.S., sits right across the border, and requires almost zero adjustment to your daily routine. You can live there and nothing about your life has to change—except that you now have options.
Once you have Mexican residency, you can live there, work there, bank there, invest there, do business there, and stay as long as you like. You can even begin working toward Mexican citizenship—which, as a bonus, allows you to buy oceanfront property.
The Process Is Absurdly Simple
Schedule an appointment online with the Mexican consulate nearest you. That’s the entire first step. No attorney. No agent. No fixer. Just you and the consulate’s website.
Show up to your appointment. The whole thing takes about an hour. The staff speaks English. They guide applicants through this process every single day.
You’ll need a few straightforward items, but you probably already have everything: your passport, bank statements or income documentation, a passport photo, and proof of residence in your home country. The visa application form is downloadable from the consulate’s website.
If everything looks good, they place a temporary resident visa sticker in your passport right there. That’s your entry visa to Mexico.
And if it doesn’t look good? You’ve lost nothing. You’ve gained experience and know-how for next time. There’s no penalty for trying.
What Happens After
Once you arrive in Mexico—you have six months to do this, no rush—you visit the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) to exchange that visa for your temporary resident card.
From there, you can renew annually for up to four years. Or you can transition to permanent residency. The flexibility is the point—you’re not committing to anything except having the option.
The Real Barrier
The truth is, international flexibility doesn’t require uprooting your life or navigating endless bureaucracy. Sometimes the difference between thinking about it and actually doing it is just clicking ‘Schedule Appointment.’
My parents did it in two weeks. You can too.