Mexico is raising several fees for 2027 that hit people moving there directly. The consular visa becomes considerably more expensive, the charge on tourists goes up, and anyone buying a coastal flat through a fideicomiso will pay noticeably more for the government permit. The Chamber of Deputies approved the reform on 13 October 2026. What exactly it contains, what stays the same and what you can do now can be read straight from the parliamentary documents.
All amounts in this article are in Mexican pesos (MXN), as in the law. To give you a sense of scale, we convert them at the European Central Bank reference rate of 21 October 2026: EUR 1 was worth MXN 20.7632. The actual amount in euros, or in your own currency, depends on the rate on the day you pay.
What has been approved and what is still missing
In Mexico, the fees for government services sit in a law of their own, the Ley Federal de Derechos. The government submitted its changes for 2027 on 8 September as part of the budget package. The executive's bill is published in the parliamentary gazette, the Gaceta Parlamentaria. The finance committee of the Chamber of Deputies adopted it with one important change, more on that shortly. Its report (dictamen) of 13 October is also in the Gaceta.
The full chamber voted the same evening. According to the chamber's official overview, the bill passed in general by 329 votes to 117, and the articles reserved for separate votes were adopted as set out in the dictamen. The bill then went to the Senate.
That means the reform is not yet law. The Senate has to approve it, and it is then published in the official gazette, the DOF. Under the first transitional provision, it takes effect on 1 January 2027. The Senate can still make changes.
The consular visa becomes more expensive
The biggest change for people relocating concerns the visas that Mexican consulates place in foreign passports. Under Article 22, Section III of the Ley Federal de Derechos, the current fees are:
From 2027, both are set to cost MXN 1,639.80, about EUR 79. That makes the ordinary visa a good 65% more expensive and the long-stay visitor visa 153% more expensive. The finance committee adopted this part of the bill unchanged. The government argues that both visas require the same checks and that the current fees do not cover the consulates' costs. By its figures, Mexico's missions issued 193,878 visas in 2025, 77% of them subject to a fee.
Why this matters to you: if you want to live in Mexico with a Residencia Temporal or a Residencia Permanente, you will almost always start with a visa at a consulate. Article 40 of the Migration Law expressly lists the visa de residencia temporal and the visa de residencia permanente as separate visa types with which you apply for entry. How this route works step by step, what proof of income or assets the consulate asks for and what happens afterwards in Mexico is explained in our overview of residence permits in Mexico. If you qualify through your assets, the details are in our article on permanent residency through financial solvency.
According to the bill, the fee for visas applied for electronically (letter g, currently MXN 197.65) stays the same.
The tourist fee rises by less than planned
Anyone entering as a visitor without permission to work pays the so-called Derecho de No Residente under Article 8, Section I. On flights, the airlines collect it, so it is built into the ticket price. Today it is MXN 983, about EUR 47.
The government wanted to raise the charge by 35% to MXN 1,334.80. The finance committee stopped that: under the dictamen it is to rise to MXN 1,158, about EUR 56 and an increase of 17.8%. At the same time, the split of the revenue changes. Instead of the current division between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury, 57% will in future go to the Ministry of Defence, 15% to the migration authority INM for border technology and 28% to the Treasury.
For you, this matters mainly on scouting trips before the move and when friends and family visit who do not hold Mexican residence themselves.
What stays the same: the residence cards
There is good news in the small print. The fees for the residence cards themselves, which you collect from the migration authority after entering, are not among the articles the bill amends. They sit in Article 8, Sections VI and VII, and were already raised sharply for 2026. Under the law in force, the costs are:
Since 2026, only applicants who prove one of a few specific grounds for being in Mexico, such as a job offer or unpaid work at the invitation of an organisation, pay half. That reduction stays.
Property: the fideicomiso and the waiver agreement become more expensive
If you want to acquire real estate in Mexico as a foreigner, you need permits from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), and their fees are rising too. A reminder of the legal position: in a strip of 100 kilometres along the land borders and 50 kilometres along the coasts, the so-called Zona Restringida under Article 27 of the Constitution, foreigners may not hold direct title to residential property. Instead, a bank holds the property as trustee and you are the beneficiary. For this fideicomiso, Article 11 of the Foreign Investment Law requires a permit from the SRE. Under Article 13 it runs for up to 50 years and can be renewed.
Outside the zone you may buy directly, but under Article 10 A you must first sign a declaration under which you agree to be treated like a Mexican national for this property and give up the protection of your own government, the Convenio de Renuncia.
The new fees under Article 25:
| SRE service | today | from 2027 under the bill |
|---|---|---|
| Permit for a fideicomiso in the Zona Restringida (Section V a) | MXN 21,648.83 | MXN 27,000 |
| Review of the Convenio de Renuncia for a purchase outside the zone (Section XV) | MXN 5,252.02 | MXN 8,000 |
| Notice of an acquisition by a Mexican company with foreign shareholders, not for residential use (Section X) | MXN 1,473.64 | MXN 13,000 |
| Late notice of the same acquisition (Section XI) | MXN 11,329.03 | MXN 13,000 |
The fideicomiso permit therefore rises by just under 25% to about EUR 1,300, and the waiver agreement by a good 52% to about EUR 385. The on-time notice for companies buying commercially used property in the zone becomes almost nine times more expensive, because the law will in future treat it the same as the late notice. The other fideicomiso fees in the same Section V are left alone: amending an existing permit still costs MXN 9,740.31, and a late application to extend a trust agreement MXN 10,613.78. So if you already hold a property through a fideicomiso and only want to change the beneficiary or extend the term, the increase does not affect you directly, as long as you apply in time.
The government justifies the increases with the digitalisation of these procedures under a decree of 16 June 2026 and the staff time needed for the checks. The finance committee adopted this part as well.
How a purchase through a fideicomiso works in practice, what ongoing fees the bank charges as trustee and where the pitfalls are is covered in our article on the fideicomiso in the restricted zone. The other purchase costs, such as the notary, property transfer tax and the bank's trust fee, are not governed by this law; they are explained in our guide to buying property in Mexico.
A worked example
A couple is planning to move to the Caribbean coast in 2027, both on a Residencia Temporal, and wants to buy a flat there through a fideicomiso. The government fees under this law are:
In total that is a good EUR 320 more than today. Measured against the price of a flat, that is little; measured against the official fees alone, it is a noticeable jump.
What you can do now
Under Article 3 of the Ley Federal de Derechos, fees are paid before the service is provided. What usually counts, then, is when you pay and apply for the service, not when you enter the country or move in.
If you were going to apply for a visa in the next few weeks anyway: an application paid for in 2026 goes through at today's fee of MXN 990.79. Ask your consulate until when it accepts payments at the old rate, and allow enough time to get an appointment. Applying only because of the fee is not worth it, though, if your documents are not ready yet: the visa has limited validity, and a rejected application costs more than the difference.
If you want to buy on the coast: check with the notary and the bank when the application for the fideicomiso permit will be filed with the SRE and paid. Under Article 14 of the Foreign Investment Law, the SRE must decide within five working days if the application is filed at its headquarters, and otherwise within 30 working days. A purchase that is due to close by the end of the year anyway can therefore often still go through at the old fee.
If you are only planning a holiday or a scouting trip: on flights, the airlines collect the tourist fee. For trips from 2027, budget about EUR 9 more per person and entry.
The reform is purely about Mexican administrative fees and does not change your tax position. What a move to Mexico means for your tax residence at home is a separate question, and the answer depends on where you come from:
If you budget your costs in euros or another currency, keep an eye on the exchange rate: with a weaker peso the increase is smaller in your currency, with a stronger peso it is larger.
What happens next
The Senate deliberates next. If it approves the text unchanged, the reform is published in the official gazette and applies from 1 January 2027. If it changes the text, the bill goes back to the Chamber of Deputies. Whether Mexico suits your plans depends on other things than a few hundred euros in fees anyway: safety, the cost of living and the question of where your centre of life lies for tax purposes. For an honest overview, see our article on moving to Mexico.