Do I Need a Visa to Enter Mexico?

Topics: Travel Essentials

Published: Thursday, March 5, 2015

Whether you need to apply for a visa before traveling to Mexico depends on which country issued your passport, or where you have legal residency, or whether you have APEC business travel privileges.  This article explains who, and who does not, need to apply for a visa before traveling to Mexico.

You do NOT need to apply for a visa before traveling to Mexico if:

1) Your passport is issued by one of the countries on the  ‘exempt’ list and you intend to travel to Mexico for leisure and business trips of 180 days or less; OR

2) If you don’t hold a passport from one of the countries on the ‘exempt’ list, but you do hold a current legal residency permit for the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, or any country that is signatory to the European Schengen Area; OR

3) If you don’t qualify under 1 or 2 above, but you do hold a current APEC/ABTCbusiness traveler’s card with pre-clearance approved by Mexico.

You will need to carry your current residency permit or APEC cards with you in addition to your passport in order to be granted entry into Mexico without a formal visa. Note that you must hold legal residency, not a visa or tourist visa to qualify for the exemptions described above.

You DO need to apply for a visa before traveling to Mexico if:

You don’t hold a passport from one of the countries on the ‘exempt’ list, and youdo not hold a legal residency permit in one of the countries listed in 2) above, ordo not have an APEC business travel card as described in 3) above.

If you need to apply for an entry visa before you travel to Mexico you should contact your nearest Mexican Consulate for further information and application details.

You can find detailed information about passport requirements and required permits for visits on our Mexico Entry Requirements guide.