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Nomads & Communities
3OCT

Mexico proposes 36% rise in visitor fee

3 min read
13:31UTC

Mexico's 2027 budget would raise the fee every foreign tourist pays to 1,334.80 pesos and send a quarter of it to the immigration agency. Long-stay visitor visas would rise 153%.

SocietyAssessed
Key takeaway

Mexico's 2027 budget would make every foreign visitor pay more, partly to fund migration control.

On 8 September Mexico's federal government sent the Chamber of Deputies a reform of the Ley Federal de Derechos, the federal fees law, published in Gaceta Parlamentaria No. 7121⁠1. It is a proposal, part of the 2027 budget package; committees aim to clear the revenue bills through plenary by 15 October. The non-resident fee (Derecho de No Residente, DNR) that every tourist pays would rise from 983 pesos to 1,334.80 Mexican pesos, about 36%.

A new split would send 26% of that fee to Mexico's immigration agency, the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), for "border security and migration control" technology, cutting the Defence share from 67% to 50%. Long-stay visitor visas without work rights would rise 153%, and ordinary visas 66%, both to 1,639.80 pesos. For visa-exempt nomads from the United States, Canada and Europe, only the entry fee applies. The steepest increase falls on nationalities that need a visa to stay beyond six months. A companion revenue bill extends 2.5% platform income-tax withholding to companies.

Mexico City moved on lodging. On 30 September its Tourism Secretariat formalised the host and platform registers, with one-year host registrations renewable in the final 30 days⁠2; in August the city had chosen to push its registration deadline to the year's end rather than enforce it. In early September Frida Jimena Guillén Ortiz, a deputy for the opposition National Action Party (PAN), re-filed her 2023 bill⁠3 charging foreign guests a nightly fee from their 21st night⁠4. Under that bill, a foreign guest on a month-long let would pay for the last ten nights, while a Mexican guest staying the same nights would pay nothing.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Every foreign tourist who enters Mexico pays a fee. The government's 2027 budget would raise that fee by about a third. Most of the fee would not go to tourism. A quarter would pay for border and migration technology, and half would go to the Defence Ministry's state companies. Separately, Mexico City is building a list of everyone who rents out homes to tourists, and one deputy wants foreigners to pay extra after 20 nights.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

The earmark drives the split between Defence, the INM and the Treasury. The proposed article 18-A would send 50% of the entry fee to the Defence Ministry for its state companies through a trust, 26% to the INM for "infraestructura tecnológica, en materia de seguridad fronteriza y control migratorio", and 24% to the Treasury. Today Defence takes 67% and the Treasury 33%.

The visa fees move to one price. Ordinary consular visas in foreign passports rise from 990.79 pesos and long-stay visitor visas without work rights from 647.96 pesos, both to 1,639.80 pesos.

Mexico City's legal base rests on administrative procedure alone. The 183-night cap is frozen by amparos, so the city turned to administration: one-year host registrations, a commercial establishment code for hosts with four or more properties, and company papers from platforms.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    Foreign visitors, including visa-exempt nomads, would pay about 36% more per entry from 2027 if Deputies pass the bill unchanged.

    Medium term · Reported
  • Risk

    A nightly charge on foreign guests from the 21st night would price long stays above short ones, and a Mexican guest would pay nothing.

    Medium term · Suggested
  • Precedent

    Earmarking a tourist fee for migration control ties tourism revenue to enforcement budgets.

    Long term · Suggested
First Reported In

Update #14 · Spain's Congress sinks its rental decrees

Cámara de Diputados· 3 Oct 2026
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Causes and effects
This Event
Mexico proposes 36% rise in visitor fee
Visitors would pay more to enter Mexico and part of that money would fund the agency that polices their stay.
Different Perspectives
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy
Nandy told MPs around 3 September that England's register of short lets will be fully operational by March 2027. Wales opened compulsory registration for every paid stay on 1 October, with a deadline of 31 March 2027.
Venice budget assessor Michele Zuin
Venice budget assessor Michele Zuin
Zuin told Il Gazzettino on 21 September that a charge of about €30 on peak days from 2027 would be the most concrete solution. He added that the city must set new rules together with government and Parliament.
Saudi Premium Residency Center
Saudi Premium Residency Center
The Center added 31 services on 22 September, according to the newspaper Okaz. Primary holders now register employment contracts through the Qiwa platform, and no Saudi Press Agency release confirms the package.
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Mitsotakis announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair on 5 September that new short-let registrations in central Athens and Thessaloniki stay suspended to 31 December 2027. No ministerial decision has been found, and golden-visa applications fell 39% from January to July.
Cape Town housing group Ndifuna Ukwazi
Cape Town housing group Ndifuna Ukwazi
Ndifuna Ukwazi backs the city's draft by-law, which rates lets available over 183 nights a year as commercial from 1 July 2027. Finance mayco member Siseko Mbandezi said it ensures fairness in the commercial accommodation sector.
Klungkung Regency and KPK
Klungkung Regency and KPK
Klungkung took 2.7bn rupiah on Nusa Penida from 1 to 9 September against 1.1bn in the first ten days of August. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) sent files on eight suspects in a residence-permit extortion case to prosecutors on 30 September, alleging 145.5bn rupiah was taken.