Bringing Your Household Goods to Mexico
Mexico draws a line that most guidance misses: a permanent resident imports household goods duty free and permanently, while a temporary resident imports them only temporarily and is obliged to take them out again. The customs law exempts household goods belonging to permanent residents and to repatriated or deported nationals; temporary residents and student residents appear in a different article, under the temporary import regime, for as long as their status lasts. Vehicles are excluded from the exemption outright, and a permanent resident cannot temporarily import a car at all.
At a glance
- Permanent residents
- Duty-free import of household goods, permanently
- Temporary residents and student residents
- Temporary import only, for the duration of the status, with an undertaking to re-export
- Minimum residence abroad
- 6 months
- Consular certification
- Required - the list is certified by the Mexican consulate where you lived
- Timing window
- With you, or up to 3 months before and 6 months after your arrival
- Vehicles
- Excluded from the exemption
- Temporary import of a car
- Available to a visitor or temporary resident, one vehicle; not to a permanent resident
- Consular fee for the household goods list
- MXN 3,475.29
- Second and later shipments
- Need separate customs authorisation if made within a year of the first
Requirements
- Goods that were used during your residence abroad, and residence abroad of at least six months
- A list of the household goods certified by the Mexican consulate where you lived, naming the importer, the address abroad, the time spent abroad, the address in Mexico, and the goods
- Timing: the goods must travel with you, or arrive up to three months before or six months after you do
- For a permanent resident: a customs declaration through a pedimento, and the exemption is permanent
- For a temporary resident or student resident: proof of status, the address in Mexico, a description of the goods, and an undertaking to take them out again and to notify any change of address
- Nothing held abroad for commercial or industrial activities, and no vehicles
In detail
Permanent means permanent, temporary means temporary
The customs law exempts household goods belonging to permanent residents. Temporary residents and student residents are not in that exemption at all: they appear in the temporary import article, which lets goods in for the duration of the migration status and obliges the owner to take them out again. Most guidance treats Mexican household goods relief as one thing available to anyone with a residence card. It is two things, and the difference is whether you can sell the furniture.
The list is a consular document, and it has a price
The exemption runs on a list of goods certified by the Mexican consulate in the place you lived, stating your name, the address you lived at abroad, how long you lived there - at least six months - the address you will establish in Mexico, and the goods themselves. The consular fee for that list is 3,475.29 pesos for a foreigner. Everything after that is an ordinary customs declaration through a pedimento.
Cars are the awkward case
Vehicles are excluded from the household goods exemption in terms. They can be imported temporarily by a visitor or a temporary resident, one vehicle, for as long as the status lasts and its renewals. A permanent resident is not on that list, which means moving up from temporary to permanent residence is also a deadline for the car. There is no route by which a permanent resident brings a foreign-plated vehicle in temporarily.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«Los menajes de casa pertenecientes a residentes permanentes y a nacionales repatriados o deportados, que los mismos hayan usado durante su residencia en el extranjero»Our translation - not official
Household goods belonging to permanent residents and to repatriated or deported nationals, which they used during their residence abroad
Permanent residents, and nobody else. A temporary resident is not in this exemption, and the distinction is the single most consequential fact in this topic.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«No quedan comprendidos en la presente exención las mercancías que los interesados hayan tenido en el extranjero para actividades comerciales o industriales, ni los vehículos.»Our translation - not official
Goods which the persons concerned had abroad for commercial or industrial activities are not covered by this exemption, nor are vehicles.
A workshop's tools are a different question from a professional's instruments, which the same fraction does exempt. Cars are out either way.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Los menajes de casa de mercancía usada propiedad de residente temporal y residente temporal estudiante, siempre y cuando cumplan con los requisitos que establezca el Reglamento»Our translation - not official
Household goods of used merchandise belonging to a temporary resident and a temporary resident student, provided they meet the requirements laid down by the Regulation
This sits in the temporary import regime, for the duration of the migration status including renewals. The goods remain foreign merchandise and must leave with their owner.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Las de vehículos propiedad de extranjeros que se internen al país, con la condición de estancia de visitante y residente temporal, siempre que se trate de un solo vehículo.»Our translation - not official
Those of vehicles owned by foreigners entering the country with visitor or temporary resident status, provided it is a single vehicle.
Visitors and temporary residents only. A permanent resident is not on this list, so someone who moves from temporary to permanent residence has to deal with a temporarily imported car before the status that supported it ends.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«comprende las siguientes Mercancías usadas: el ajuar y bienes muebles de una casa, que sirvan exclusiva y propiamente para el uso y trato ordinario de una familia; ropa; libros; libreros;»Our translation - not official
comprises the following used goods: the furnishings and movable property of a house, serving exclusively and properly for the ordinary use and treatment of a family; clothing; books; bookcases;
The definition continues with works of art or science that do not amount to a complete collection, professionals' scientific instruments, and the tools of workers and artisans where these are indispensable to the trade.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«El tiempo de residencia en el extranjero, el cual no podrá ser menor a seis meses;»Our translation - not official
The time of residence abroad, which may not be less than six months;
Stated on the consular list, which also carries the importer's name, the address abroad, the address to be established in Mexico, and the goods.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«se otorgará cuando el pasajero los traiga o lleve consigo al entrar o salir del territorio nacional o cuando lleguen o salgan dentro de los tres meses anteriores a la entrada o salida del pasajero, y seis meses después de la fecha en que éste haya arribado o salido del territorio nacional.»Our translation - not official
shall be granted when the passenger brings or takes them with him on entering or leaving national territory, or when they arrive or leave within the three months before the passenger's entry or departure, and six months after the date on which he arrived at or left national territory.
The practical deadline. A shipment that arrives seven months after you do has lost the exemption.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«se podrán importar los menajes de casa de residente temporal y residente temporal estudiante, siempre que se cumplan los siguientes requisitos:»Our translation - not official
the household goods of a temporary resident and a temporary resident student may be imported, provided the following requirements are met:
Three requirements follow: proving the migration status, stating the address in Mexico and describing the goods, and undertaking to re-export and to notify any change of address.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Lista de menaje de casa a extranjeros $3,475.29»Our translation - not official
Household goods list for foreigners $3,475.29
The consular fee. The same list costs a Mexican national $2,594.21, and the foreign ministry may waive or reduce it on reciprocity grounds.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The Tax Administration Service's foreign trade rules add detail to all of this, including the traveller's allowance and the handling of the pedimento. Its site would not serve a readable page to our fetcher, so nothing here rests on those rules and the record stops at the law and the regulation.
A second or later shipment of household goods by a permanent resident needs separate authorisation if it is made within a year of the first.
Mexican students and researchers returning after at least a year abroad have their own lighter version of the procedure, requiring only part of the list.
Professional instruments and the tools of a trade are inside the exemption; goods held abroad for commercial or industrial activity are outside it. The line between the two is not defined further in either instrument.
- consolidatesLey Aduanera (texto vigente)
Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión
About this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
- consolidatesReglamento de la Ley Aduanera (texto vigente)
Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión
About this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
- consolidatesLey Federal de Derechos (texto vigente)
Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión
About this source
The Chamber of Deputies' law library, which maintains the texto vigente of every federal statute together with a reform history for each. It is where the Ley de Migración, the Ley de Nacionalidad, the Código Fiscal and the Ley Aduanera can be read as amended rather than reconstructed from the decrees that amended them.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: Nothing below statute level is here. The Lineamientos, acuerdos and administrative instruments are where almost all Mexican immigration practice actually changes, and none of them is published by this body - the Reglamento de la Ley de Migración it does carry has not been reformed since 2014 and is in places overtaken by instruments it cannot show you. It is also not an authority on when a reform took effect: the transitional articles of the amending decree live in the Diario Oficial, not here. And its standard pdf/ edition is not safe to extract: a reading of the Ley de Migración from it silently dropped 21 of 162 articles, including article 52, the one listing every migration status. Use the pdf_mov/ edition and check article numbering for gaps after any fetch.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source