Instituto Nacional de Migración
Mexico's federal immigration authority; administers residency visas and publishes annual fee schedules.
Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Migración would receive 26 per cent of a tourist entry fee that the government proposes to raise 36 per cent to 1,334.80 pesos in 2027. A vote is targeted for 15 October.
Last refreshed: 3 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why has Mexico's immigration office not explained how to claim its own 50% fee discount?
Timeline for Instituto Nacional de Migración
Mexico deputies give defence 57% of fee
Nomads & CommunitiesMexico proposes 36% rise in visitor fee
Nomads & CommunitiesMentioned in: A reported Cuba track out of Tapachula
Cuba DispatchDoubled residency-visa fees effective 1 January 2026 and issued no operational guidance on the 50% reduction mechanism
Nomads & Communities: Mexico doubles residency visa fees, 109% riseBackground
The Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) is Mexico's federal immigration authority. It controls entry at the country's borders, decides applications for temporary and permanent residency and enforces immigration law. It sits under the Secretaría de Gobernación, the Interior Ministry, and works through 32 state offices plus posts on the southern and northern frontiers. Its Grupos Beta units give water, medical aid and legal information to migrants in danger on Mexican territory.
Each year it publishes its fee schedule, the Tarifas de Derechos Migratorios, in the Diario Oficial de la Federación. The 2026 schedule more than doubled the one-year temporary residency fee and created a 50 per cent reduction it had not explained how to claim.
Because Mexico has no dedicated digital nomad visa, those fees fall on remote workers who settle there through temporary residency. A 2027 revenue proposal would also tie its budget to tourism, handing it 26 per cent of a higher visitor entry fee.
A higher visitor fee would fund it
Mexico's 2027 revenue proposal, tabled in September, lifts the non-resident visitor fee from 983 to 1,334.80 pesos, a 36 per cent rise. It assigns 26 per cent of the money to the INM, the agency that checks visitors in at airports and land borders.
The Chamber of Deputies is working to a 15 October vote. For the institute, the share would tie part of its budget directly to tourist numbers rather than to the fees it charges residents. The proposal came alongside other moves to charge foreign visitors: Mexico City opened formal host and platform registers on 30 September, and an opposition deputy re-filed a nightly charge on long-staying foreign guests.
The institute doubled its residency fee
The INM's 2026 fee schedule, published in the federal gazette on 7 November 2025 and in force from 1 January 2026, raised the one-year temporary residency fee 109 per cent, from 5,328 to 11,140.74 pesos.
The same schedule created a statutory 50 per cent reduction for qualifying applicants, chiefly family-unity cases and holders of a formal Mexican job offer. The institute issued no guidance on how to claim it, so the full doubled fee became the practical cost for most applicants, including remote workers who use temporary residency because Mexico has no dedicated nomad visa.
The institute doubled its residency fee
Why did Mexico double residency visa fees for foreigners?
Who qualifies for the 50% discount on Mexico residency fees?
Does Mexico have a digital nomad visa in 2026?
How much does Mexico temporary residency cost in 2026?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 3 October 2026. Editorial standards.