Temporary or permanent residency in MexicoThere are TWO stages, not one, and that's the cause of almost every stumble. First the residency visa, applied for at a Mexican consulate in YOUR country: except in cases like a family tie, it can't be started while you're already in Mexico as a tourist. Second, the exchange: once you enter Mexico you have 30 calendar days to swap that visa for your card at the INM, and that deadline is…Identify which route you qualify underEverything else depends on this. The most common routes are: financial solvency or retirement (you show sufficient income or balances), family ties (Mexican spouse, child, or parent), a job offer from a Mexican company, or investment. Each requires different documents, and some give direct access…Apply for the resident visa at a Mexican consulate in your countryThis is the first of two stages, and the one most people mistakenly skip. Except in some cases (such as family ties), residency CANNOT be started while in Mexico on a tourist visa: you must apply for the resident visa at a Mexican consulate outside the country. You book an appointment, present the…Enter Mexico and count 30 days from that momentWith your resident visa in your passport, you enter Mexico. On arrival you receive an FMM: keep it, you will need it. And here the most important clock of the whole process starts: you have 30 CALENDAR DAYS to begin exchanging that visa for your resident card at INM. Not business days — calendar…Generate your NUT on the INM portal (the step that confuses everyone)Here's the order almost nobody gets right the first time: FIRST you fill out the application on the INM microsite, and that generates a code called the NUT (Unique Procedure Number). Only WITH that NUT does the appointment calendar unlock. Many people go looking for an appointment directly, find…Get an appointment — this is the bottleneckWith the NUT in hand, you enter the calendar. In several states it always shows as full. Appointments run out within minutes when released and there's no published fixed schedule; what works in practice is persistently monitoring the portal during low-traffic hours, especially between midnight and…Prepare your documents: apostille and translation before the appointmentIf your case uses foreign documents (marriage or birth certificates, supporting records), they need an apostille from the issuing country and a translation by a translator authorized by the Superior Court of the state where you file. That takes time and can't be improvised on the day of the…Attend your INM appointment and collect your cardBring originals and copies of everything: passport, visa, FMM, evidence for your route, photos to specification, and the completed form. A detail that surprises many: at INM ALL payments are by bank card — cash is not accepted. Once approved, they tell you when to collect your resident card.