Special Procedure to Apply for Residency in Mexico (RNE)

What is a ‘Regularization’ procedure?

Under the Mexican immigration rules, an ‘irregular’ immigration status is one where your current immigration permit has expired, or you violate one or more of the rules associated with immigration law.

A Regularization process enables holders of expired permits to apply to have their immigration status “made regular” and current.

Who can apply under this special procedure?

This special procedure was originally announced by Mexico’s immigration office (the INM) in late spring of 2021. The criteria have been amended several times since then, and in March 2025 the criteria were redefined so that only people who have arrived in Mexico on a visitor permit in the year 2022 or before and have remained in Mexico since then may ask for Temporary Residency without having to leave Mexico to apply. People living in Mexico with expired Temporary residency cards may also apply to have them renewed under this special procedure.

Criteria as of March 2015

Our immigration associates have advised us that as of around March 14, 2025 immigration offices redefined the RNE program. The criteria to qualify for the Regularization program are:

• You must have arrived in Mexico under the auspice of a visitor permit in or before the year 2022 and must not have left the country since then; or
• You must have been living in Mexico with a Temporary Residency card that has expired and must not have left the country since it expired; thus
• To qualify, you must be physically in Mexico today either holding an expired visitor permit that was issued in or before the year 2022, or hold an expired Temporary Residency card.

For details about the criteria prior to March 2025, see FAQs about the RNE Procedure.

Your entries to and exits from Mexico will be checked against electronic records.  If you have stamps in a current or previous (cancelled) passport, these can be accepted provided they match with the electronic record. If your stamped entries are present before electronic records became generally available (c.2011), then the immigration office might assess the situation on a per-case basis using your stamps if you have them—you must go to an immigration office and talk to an official there.

How do I apply?

This special redefined RNE regularization procedure can be undertaken inside Mexico without the need to leave the country and apply at a Mexican consulate abroad, as is normally required with most residency applications. Applicants using this procedure also do not need to demonstrate economic solvency—but you must pay the government fees associated with the application.

Application procedure:

• The procedure requires you to attend an immigration office in Mexico and in person to ask for guidance with either: A) an expired visitor permit that was issued in or before the year 2022 to ask for advice and guidance, or B) an expired Temporary Residency card.
• You must not have left Mexico since your visitor permit or residency card expired.
• If you qualify, an immigration office official will interview you that day.
• After an interview, the official will advise you whether or not the immigration office will accept an application from you.
• If you are invited to apply, the application begins with the completion of an online form and writing a covering letter requesting the procedure.
• The immigration office might ask for additional details about the applicant’s personal situation as part of the application.
• After completing the paperwork you must return to that same immigration office in person to file the paperwork and obtain your temporary residency card, that will be issued for between one and four years—depending on how many years you want to apply for. (See more about fees, below.)
• When you are granted temporary residency under this program, you may optionally apply to exchange your temporary residency for permanent residency after holding that temporary residency status for four consecutive years.

See also: FAQs about the RNE Procedure

Government processing fees

All applicants must pay the government processing fees for the special procedure that consist of:

• A regularization fee of around $1,780 Mexican pesos.
• A fine of around $11,000 Mexican pesos.
• The government fees for temporary residency cards—you can choose to apply for between 1 and 4 years and pay the corresponding fee that will range between $5,550 and $12,529 Mexican pesos.

Economic solvency requirement waived

Temporary residency qualification usually carries income or savings requirements and foreigners usually need to leave Mexico to begin the residency application procedure.

However, this special Regularization procedure waives ‘economic solvency’ requirements for qualifying persons and makes it possible to ‘regularize’ your legal residency status inside Mexico, without having to apply from a consulate abroad.

How long will this special procedure last?

The immigration institute has not stated an end date for this special Regularization procedure; it can be altered or withdrawn at any time, without prior notice.  If you are currently situated in Mexico and qualify under the criteria described above, and you wish to apply to stay in Mexico longer term through legal residency here, ask to apply at your earliest convenience.

See also: FAQs about the RNE Procedure

FAQs about Mexico’s RNE regularization program

These are the most frequently-asked questions we receive about the RNE regularization program and what has replaced it—with answers based on our associate’s current experience of helping people to complete the paperwork for the process.

Q: How was the RNE program changed in March 2025?

A: In March 2025 the Mexico’s immigration institute redefined the RNE program as a tightly defined Regularization program. PRIOR to the change of criteria in March 2025, applications were being accepted if you met the following criteria:

• You were situated physically in Mexico and had a Mexico Visitor Permit (FMM) that expired in or before 2023; OR
• You were situated physically in Mexico with an expired Visitor Permit (FMM) AND you had entered Mexico before the current visit as a visitor on at least one separate occasion (some offices ask to see two visits) in or before 2023.

As of around mid-March 2025 the criteria in the two bullet points above no longer apply, and only people who qualify under the new redefined criteria may apply for residency under this regularization procedure.

Q: How do changes to the criteria announced in March 2025 affect applications?

A: Our immigration associates advised us that as of around March 14, 2025 immigration offices are applying new criteria for RNE with a tightly-defined Regularization procedure. As of this date, the redefined criteria to qualify are:

• You must have arrived in Mexico under the auspice of a visitor permit in or before the year 2022 and must not have left the country since then; or
• You must have been living in Mexico with a Temporary Residency permit that has expired and must not have left the country since it expired; thus
• To qualify, you must be physically in Mexico today either holding an expired visitor permit that was issued in or before the year 2022, or an expired Temporary Residency card.

Q: I know someone who traveled to Mexico recently, allowed their visitor permit to expire and then applied for and obtained a residency card.  Why can’t I do that?

A: The RNE program that enabled some people to do that was redefined in March 2025 and it’s no longer possible for applicants to apply for residency with a recently expired visitor permit.

Q: I was issued with a Temporary Residency card under the RNE program. Will I have any trouble renewing this (if it was issued for less than four years), or exchanging it for Permanent Residency after four consecutive years?

A: The consensus among our associates is that although the RNE program has now been redefined, they do not expect anyone who was issued with a residency card under RNE to be denied renewal and/or exchange of those cards to Permanent Residency.

The legal letter issued with the card cites the same rights/obligations as any other card holder applying through other routes, so it would be highly unusual if there any issue arises at the time you are due to apply to change your Temporary Residency card to Permanent Residency.

Note however that it’s very important that you do not let your residency card expire—otherwise you will lose the right to exchange your RT for RP.  You must file for renewal/exchange to RP in the 30-day window before the expiry date printed on the card.

Q: How else can I qualify for residency in Mexico?

A: If you do not qualify under the redefined RNE procedure, or if you allow your four year residency card already issued under the RNE program to expire, other routes to apply for residency in Mexico can be considered.  See this article for details.

Q: I think I might qualify for the RNE procedure, but I’m not sure.  Is there a way that I can find out without going to an Immigration Office in Mexico?

A: If you want to apply for residency using the RNE procedure, you must qualify as described in this article and attend an immigration office in Mexico, in person, and ask for guidance. Mexican Consulates abroad cannot give advice or guidance about this procedure.

Q: I’ve been staying in Mexico since 2022 or before, but I don’t have the visitor permit form and/or the visitor stamps in my passport, and/or the stamps are in a previous passport that I don’t have anymore.  How can I prove my I arrived in Mexico in the year 2022 or before?

A: When you attend the immigration office in Mexico to ask if they will accept your application, they will use electronic records of your entries to and exits from Mexico to determine whether you qualify. If you arrived in Mexico before electronic records were generally available (c.2011) then the office might accept stamps in your passport or some other evidence—you’ll need to attend the office in person and talk to an official for guidance.

Q: How long does it take to process an application for residency using this RNE procedure?  Can I leave Mexico while I am waiting for the procedure to complete?

A: If the immigration office invites you to apply, it can typically take up to four weeks to complete the processing and have your residency card issued—and it might take a little longer in some cases.  You cannot leave Mexico while you are waiting for the application to be processed—if you leave Mexico your procedure will become void.

Q: Do I have to remain in Mexico for a minimum amount of time each year to retain my residency if I am granted residency under this program?

A: Residency granted under this Regularization program is identical to residency granted under any other route to residency and there are no minimum time limits on how long you must be physically in Mexico each year.  However, residency card renewals, notification of changes, and exchange from temporary to permanent residency must be filed in person and in Mexico.

Q: I would like to apply for the RNE program but I don’t have the money to cover the application fees.  Is there a government grant available?

A: No, all applicants must cover the procedural fees, that include a ‘regularization’ fee, a fine, and the fees for the temporary residency card—see the article above for details.

Q: Will the Regularization program continue to be available throughout 2025?

A: This regularization program, like all special programs, is an exceptional procedure and can be amended or withdrawn by the immigration institute at any time with or without prior notice.  It was significantly redefined in March 2025 and might be redefined again.

Q: I think I qualify and want to begin the application process for residency in Mexico using this regularization program.  What do I do next?

A: Your first step is to attend an immigration office in Mexico (you must do this in person, it cannot be done by proxy or online) to ask if they will accept your application for residency under this Regularization program. If the immigration official invites you to apply, you may want to hire our associate and they will complete all of the online forms for you—and email the files so you can print them, sign them, and take them to the immigration office to file your residency application under the auspice of the program.

Q: Can your associates guarantee that I will get residency using this regularization procedure if I hire them?

A: No. If you are invited to apply for residency using the RNE Regularization procedure it would be unusual for the immigration office to subsequently deny the residency application after you file your paperwork—but our associates cannot fast-track applications, nor can they guarantee processing time scales or application outcomes. The immigration office retains absolute discretion about whether to accept an application, and subsequently whether to grant or deny any application that is filed.