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title: "Mexico Family Unity Visa: Residency Through a Relative"
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Last updated: September 10, 2026

# Mexico family unity visa: residency through a Mexican relative

Every other route on this site turns on a number. This one does not, and people who qualify for it routinely apply the hard way instead.

Quick answer

The spouse, partner, minor child or parent of a **Mexican citizen** qualifies for residency through the family tie with **no income or savings test at all**. It normally carries permission to work, converts to permanent residency after **two years**, and shortens naturalization to **two years** for a spouse. A financial test appears only when the sponsoring relative is a foreign resident rather than a Mexican.

Written by Hassan Yassine

Founder of GetMexicoVisa. Legal review by a licensed Mexican immigration lawyer is being added. Until then every regulatory figure on this page cites its primary source directly, listed at the foot of the page.

## Two different things share one name

Unidad familiar covers two situations that are constantly confused, and the difference between them is whether there is a money test at all.

|  | Your relative is a Mexican citizen | Your relative is a foreign resident |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Income test | None | Yes, on the sponsor: 220 UMA a month per dependent |
| Who qualifies | Spouse or partner, minor child, parent | Spouse or partner, children, in some cases parents |
| Where you apply | Consulate abroad, and often INM from inside Mexico | Normally at a consulate, alongside the principal |
| Work permission | Normally included | Follows the sponsor's status |
| To permanent residency | After 2 years | With the sponsor's own timetable |
| Naturalization | 2 years for a spouse | 5 years generally |

If your relative is Mexican, read the next section and stop worrying about thresholds. If you are the spouse or child of someone applying on [economic solvency](https://getmexicovisa.com/mexico-temporary-resident-visa), the section after it is yours.

## Family of a Mexican citizen: no financial test

This is the exception that matters. Where the qualifying relative holds Mexican nationality, residency is granted on the **relationship**, and neither you nor your relative has to show income or savings.

Who counts, under Articles 52 and 55 of the Ley de Migración:

-   The **spouse** of a Mexican citizen.
-   The **concubine or concubinario**, the recognised unmarried partner, and equivalent partnerships formed abroad.
-   **Minor children** of a Mexican citizen, and children under the citizen's legal representation.
-   The **parent** of a Mexican citizen.

The status is normally granted as temporary residency for one year, renewable, and converts to **permanent residency after two years** rather than the four a solvency applicant waits. For a spouse, Article 20 of the Ley de Nacionalidad then cuts naturalization to **two years** of residence.

Worth checking before you apply the hard way

Applicants regularly go through the solvency route, thresholds and all, while having a Mexican parent or a Mexican spouse who would have made the money question irrelevant. If anyone in your immediate family is a Mexican national, establish that first.

A Mexican citizen's foreign child who is *born* to them may not need any of this: Mexican nationality passes by descent, so the question to ask first is whether the child is already Mexican rather than which visa they need.

## Family of a foreign resident: the 220 UMA rule

When the sponsoring relative is a foreign national holding Mexican residency, there is a financial test, and it sits on the **sponsor** rather than on the family member.

Each dependent adds **220 UMA a month** to what the principal applicant must show, which is **MXN 25,808** at the 2026 UMA, about USD 1,520. The Leamington consulate publishes the same figure for the balance route as for the income route.

The trap is arithmetic. That amount is **added to** the principal's threshold, not shared out of it. A couple where one spouse earns everything needs that spouse alone to clear the combined figure, so a family of three on the temporary route is looking at roughly MXN 131,000 a month rather than MXN 79,771.

Where both adults have their own income above the line, two separate applications are usually simpler and cheaper in threshold terms than one application with a dependent. The [calculator](https://getmexicovisa.com/mexico-residency-income-calculator) will do the dependent arithmetic for you.

One consular rule that surprises people: at the consulate, the family member normally has to **attend with the principal applicant**, so book the appointments together rather than sequentially.

## Documents, and the apostille step that solvency cases skip

Family cases turn on civil documents rather than bank statements, which changes what you spend your time on.

| Document | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| Your passport | Original and a copy of the photo page |
| Proof of the relationship | Marriage certificate, birth certificate, or the partnership declaration |
| Your relative's proof of status | A Mexican's passport, INE or birth certificate; a resident's card |
| Apostille on each foreign civil document | Under the 1961 Hague Convention, or consular legalisation from a country outside it |
| Translation into Spanish | By a translator Mexico recognises, for documents not in Spanish |
| Photograph | 3.5 by 4.5 cm, to the same specification as any other application |
| The fee | The consular visa fee, MXN 913.15 |

Start the apostilles early. They come from the authority in the country that issued the certificate, and that is the step that runs on someone else's timetable. Roughly USD 20 to 50 per apostille and USD 25 to 60 per page translated, which is the main cost difference from a [solvency application](https://getmexicovisa.com/mexico-residency-cost).

## The process, and the part that is genuinely easier

The consular route runs like any other: book through MiConsulado, attend with your relative, collect the sticker, enter Mexico on the [canje stamp](https://getmexicovisa.com/canje-stamp-mexico), file with INM within 30 calendar days, collect the card.

The difference is that where the qualifying relative is a **Mexican citizen**, the application can in many cases be made to INM **from inside Mexico**, without the consulate step at all. That is unlike the solvency routes, which are consular only with no in-country path. It does not make the case simple, because the INM filing is in Spanish and the documents still have to be apostilled, but it removes an international trip and a two month appointment queue.

Which route is better depends on where everyone currently is and how quickly you need it. It is worth asking before booking anything.

## Work rights, which are usually better here

Family unity residency through a Mexican relative normally carries **permission to work**. That is a real advantage over temporary residency granted on solvency, which does not authorize paid work for a Mexican employer without a separate permit that the employer has to initiate.

One practical point: the permission has to be **recorded on your card**. Check the card when you collect it rather than assuming the category carried it, because correcting it later is an INM procedure you would rather not need.

## To permanent residency, and to citizenship

|  | Through a Mexican spouse | On economic solvency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To permanent residency | 2 years | 4 years, or immediately if the pension clears the permanent line |
| To naturalization | 2 years of residence | 5 years of residence |
| Income test | None | 680 UMA a month, or 1,140 for permanent |
| Work permission | Normally included | Separate permit, employer initiated |

Naturalization is a separate application in either case, testing Spanish and, for most applicants, Mexican history and culture. Plenty of people stop at permanent residency, which already allows living and working in Mexico indefinitely.

## If the relationship ends

Family unity residency rests on the tie, so a divorce is legally relevant and is one of the changes Article 63 of the Ley de Migración requires you to report to INM **within 90 days**. The fine for not reporting a change runs from 20 to 100 UMA.

Reporting it does not automatically mean losing status. Where there are Mexican children, or a long period of residence, or where the applicant has since become eligible another way, there is usually something to work with. What it does end is the shortened two year naturalization route, which requires the marriage to be intact.

This is a case to take to a lawyer rather than to handle by saying nothing, because an unreported change is a separate problem layered on top of the first one.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to prove income for a Mexican family unity visa?

Not if your qualifying relative is a Mexican citizen. The spouse, concubine or concubinario, minor child, or parent of a Mexican national qualifies for residency through the family tie itself, with no income or savings threshold. A financial test only appears when the sponsoring relative is a foreign resident rather than a Mexican.

### Can I get Mexican residency by marrying a Mexican citizen?

Yes. Marriage to a Mexican national gives the foreign spouse a route to temporary residency through family unity, normally granted for one year and renewable, and it shortens naturalization to two years of residence instead of five. Mexico grants residency on the marriage, not citizenship: the citizenship comes later and has to be applied for separately.

### Does a concubinato count, or do we have to be married?

A concubinato, the Mexican equivalent of a recognised unmarried partnership, is accepted, and so are equivalent partnerships formed abroad. The practical difference is evidential rather than legal: a marriage is proved by one certificate, while an unmarried partnership has to be documented, which usually means a formal declaration before a Mexican authority.

### Can I apply for family unity residency from inside Mexico?

In many family cases yes, which is the significant difference from the solvency routes. Where the qualifying relative is a Mexican citizen, the application can often be made to INM from inside Mexico rather than at a consulate abroad. A consular application is also available and is the normal route when the family member is outside the country.

### My spouse is applying for residency on income. Can I come too?

Yes, as a dependent on their application, and it raises rather than shares the threshold. Each dependent adds 220 UMA a month to what the principal applicant has to show, about MXN 25,808 or USD 1,520. At a consulate the dependent has to attend the appointment alongside the principal.

### Can I work in Mexico on a family unity visa?

Family unity residency granted through a Mexican relative normally carries permission to work, which is a real difference from temporary residency granted on economic solvency. Confirm it is recorded on your card, because the permission has to appear on the document rather than being assumed from the category.

### How long until I can get permanent residency through my Mexican spouse?

Two years of temporary residency held through the family tie, after which you can change condition to permanent from inside Mexico. That is half the four years a solvency applicant waits, and it is one of the concrete advantages of the family route.

### How long until I can become a Mexican citizen through marriage?

Article 20 of the Ley de Nacionalidad reduces the residence requirement to two years for the spouse of a Mexican national, against five years generally. You still apply for naturalization separately, and it tests Spanish and, for most applicants, Mexican history and culture.

### What happens to my residency if we divorce?

The residency rests on the family tie, so the end of the relationship is legally relevant and should be reported to INM within 90 days as a change of marital status. It does not automatically mean losing status, particularly where there are Mexican children or a long period of residence, but it does end the shortened naturalization route. This is a situation to take to a lawyer rather than to leave unreported.

### Do my documents need apostilles and translations?

Usually yes, and this is the main practical difference from the solvency routes. Foreign marriage and birth certificates need an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention, or consular legalisation from a country outside it, and then a translation by a translator Mexico recognises. Budget roughly USD 20 to 50 per apostille and USD 25 to 60 per page translated, and start early because the certificates come from another country's registry.

## Sources

Primary texts read on September 10, 2026. Where a figure could not be confirmed in a primary source, the page says so in the sentence that uses it.

-   [Ley de Migración, Articles 52 and 55](https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LMigra.pdf) family unity as a condition of stay, and who counts as family.
-   [Reglamento de la Ley de Migración](https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/regley/Reg_LMigra.pdf) the procedure and the evidence for a family tie.
-   [Lineamientos Generales para la expedición de visas, DOF 25 July 2025](https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5763837&fecha=25/07/2025) the consular family unity requirements and the 220 UMA dependent figure.
-   [Consulado de México en Leamington, requirements page](https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/leamington/index.php/non-mexicans/visas/115-temporary-resident-visa) a post's own family unity list, including the rule that the relative attends with the applicant.
-   [Ley de Nacionalidad, Article 20](https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LNal.pdf) two years of residence for the spouse of a Mexican national.
-   [INEGI, Unidad de Medida y Actualización](https://www.inegi.org.mx/temas/uma/) UMA 2026, behind the dependent figure.

## Which route is actually yours

If someone in your family is a Mexican national, that usually changes the answer completely and for the better. Full Service is **USD 599, paid once**, and starts by establishing which route you are on before anything is filed.

Get your Mexican residency handled end to end

Full Service: **$599**, paid once when you sign, through to the resident card.

Ask on WhatsAppSee what's included

Also useful: [the temporary resident visa](https://getmexicovisa.com/mexico-temporary-resident-visa), [permanent residency](https://getmexicovisa.com/mexico-permanent-resident-visa), or [who runs GetMexicoVisa](https://getmexicovisa.com/about).

**This page is general information, not legal advice.** It explains Mexican immigration rules as they stood on the date shown, for a general audience. Reading it creates no client relationship with GetMexicoVisa, and nobody here has reviewed your situation. Rules, fees and processing times change without notice and consular practice varies by post, so verify anything you are about to rely on against the official source (the DOF, SRE or INM) or ask us before you act. [Read the terms](https://getmexicovisa.com/terms). Last updated: September 10, 2026.

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