Health Care in Mexico
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Brazil on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Brazil to Mexico · Access to healthcare
Mexico's entitlement is written more broadly than any other in this reference: everyone in the country without social security has a right to free public health services, medicines and supplies at the moment they need them, with no mention of nationality or immigration status. The migration law says the same thing twice over, and adds that urgent care needed to preserve life must be free and unrestricted. On top of that sits the social security institute's voluntary family health insurance, open to families in Mexico for an annual premium by age band - but it refuses anyone with a listed pre-existing condition, and it needs a population registry number, which a foreigner only gets with a residence card.
At a glance
- Free public health services
- A right of everyone in the country who has no social security
- Urgent care
- Free and unrestricted, whatever the migration status
- Any nationality or status condition in the law
- None
- Voluntary family insurance premium, ages 0-19
- MXN 9,300 a yearas of 2026-03-01
- Ages 50-59
- MXN 14,850 a yearas of 2026-03-01
- Ages 60-69
- MXN 20,600 a yearas of 2026-03-01
- Ages 80 and over
- MXN 22,150 a yearas of 2026-03-01
- Premium basis
- Annual, paid in advance, per person, by age band
- Cover starts
- The first day of the month after joining
- Pre-existing conditions
- Excluded - the listed conditions make a person ineligible, not merely uncovered
- Refunds
- None, partial or total, in any case
- What a foreigner needs first
- A residence card, because the population registry number follows from it
Requirements
- For free public services: to be in Mexico and not to be covered by a social security scheme - the law states no further condition
- For urgent care: nothing at all; it must be free and unrestricted whatever your migration status
- For the family health insurance: a population registry number (CURP) and a social security number for every member of the group
- An annual premium paid in advance for each member, set by age band
- A medical questionnaire where it applies, answered honestly - the insurance excludes listed pre-existing conditions
- Official identification and proof of address for the head of the family group
In detail
The broadest entitlement in this reference
The General Health Law gives everyone in the country without social security a right to free public health services, medicines and supplies at the moment they need them. There is no nationality test, no residence test and no registration step in the sentence. That is unusually wide: Peru, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador all route public cover through enrolment schemes that a foreigner joins only with a particular status. In Mexico the entitlement is framed around presence. How far the framing survives contact with a clinic reception desk is a different question, and one we have no source for.
Urgent care is unconditional, ordinary care is not quite
The migration law says twice that migrants may receive medical care regardless of status, but the general sentence ends with 'in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory provisions', which hands the conditions back to other law. The sentence about urgent care needed to preserve life carries no such clause: it is free and without any restriction. Read together, the law guarantees emergency treatment absolutely and non-discrimination otherwise.
The voluntary insurance, and who it will not take
The social security institute sells a family health insurance to families in Mexico who have no social security, for an annual premium per person set by age band - from 9,300 pesos for a child to 22,150 for someone over eighty, in force from March 2026. Cover begins on the first of the month after joining and no refund is ever made. The limit is at the front door: a list of pre-existing conditions makes a person ineligible rather than merely excluding the condition, and the list reaches from cancer and chronic kidney failure to addictions, dementia and HIV. For a retiree weighing Mexico against a neighbour, that list is the thing to read first.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Brazil
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Todas las personas que se encuentren en el país que no cuenten con seguridad social tienen derecho a recibir de forma gratuita la prestación de servicios públicos de salud, medicamentos y demás insumos asociados, al momento de requerir la atención, sin discriminación alguna y sin importar su condición social»Our translation - not official
All persons who are in the country and who do not have social security have the right to receive free of charge the provision of public health services, medicines and other associated supplies, at the moment they require attention, without any discrimination and regardless of their social condition
'Todas las personas que se encuentren en el país' - everyone who is in the country. No nationality, no residence, no registration. Compare Peru, Colombia and Chile, where the public scheme turns on enrolment and enrolment turns on status.
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 migrantes tendrán derecho a recibir cualquier tipo de atención médica, provista por los sectores público y privado, independientemente de su situación migratoria, conforme a las disposiciones legales y reglamentarias aplicables.»Our translation - not official
Migrants shall have the right to receive any kind of medical care, provided by the public and private sectors, regardless of their migration status, in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory provisions.
The closing clause hands the conditions back to other law, so this is a non-discrimination rule rather than a free-treatment rule. The paragraph that follows is the one that is unconditional.
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 migrantes independientemente de su situación migratoria, tendrán derecho a recibir de manera gratuita y sin restricción alguna, cualquier tipo de atención médica urgente que resulte necesaria para preservar su vida.»Our translation - not official
Migrants, regardless of their migration status, shall have the right to receive free of charge and without any restriction any kind of urgent medical care necessary to preserve their life.
This paragraph carries no delegation and no conditions. It is the one that applies to someone with no papers at all.
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
«Todas las familias en México tienen derecho a un seguro de salud para sus miembros y para ese efecto, podrán celebrar con el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social convenio para el otorgamiento de las prestaciones en especie del seguro de enfermedades y maternidad, en los términos del reglamento respectivo.»Our translation - not official
All families in Mexico have the right to a health insurance for their members and, to that end, may enter into an agreement with the Mexican Social Security Institute for the provision of the benefits in kind of the sickness and maternity insurance, under the terms of the relevant regulation.
'Todas las familias en México' - families in Mexico, not Mexican families. The statute attaches the right to being here.
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
«Todos los sujetos que voluntariamente se incorporen al seguro de salud para la familia, incluido los familiares a que se refiere el artículo anterior y cualquier familiar adicional pagarán anualmente la cuota establecida correspondiente, clasificándose por el grupo de edad a que pertenezcan.»Our translation - not official
All persons who voluntarily join the family health insurance, including the family members referred to in the preceding article and any additional family member, shall pay the corresponding established fee annually, classified by the age group to which they belong.
Annual and per person, by age band. A couple in their sixties pays twice the sixty-to-sixty-nine rate.
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
«| 0-19 | $9,300 | 50-59 | $14,850 |
| 20-29 | $11,550 | 60-69 | $20,600 |
| 30-39 | $12,350 | 70-79 | $21,500 |
| 40-49 | $14,350 | 80 y más | $22,150 |»Our translation - not official
Ages 0-19, $9,300; ages 50-59, $14,850. Ages 20-29, $11,550; ages 60-69, $20,600. Ages 30-39, $12,350; ages 70-79, $21,500. Ages 40-49, $14,350; ages 80 and over, $22,150.
The published premium table in full, in force from 1 March 2026. Quoted as the Institute lays it out, two age bands to a row.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Mexico's social security institute. It runs the contributory schemes, including the voluntary family health insurance a foreign resident can buy without an employer, and publishes its premium table and its conditions.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It speaks for its own schemes and for nothing else. The general right of everyone in the country without social security to free public health care is in the Ley General de Salud and is administered by the states and by IMSS-Bienestar, a different body, so IMSS is not a source for entitlement to public health care generally. It also names the exclusion and waiting-period lists - RACERF articles 83 and 84 - without reproducing them, so a record built from IMSS alone can say that the lists exist and not what is on them.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«No serán sujetos de aseguramiento las personas que presenten:»Our translation - not official
The following persons shall not be eligible for insurance:
The list that follows is long and specific - malignant tumours, chronic degenerative disease including late complications of diabetes, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney failure, heart valve disease, heart failure, sequelae of ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with respiratory failure, connective tissue disease, addictions, psychosis and dementia, congenital disease, and HIV. These make a person ineligible, which is stronger than excluding the condition from cover.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Mexico's social security institute. It runs the contributory schemes, including the voluntary family health insurance a foreign resident can buy without an employer, and publishes its premium table and its conditions.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It speaks for its own schemes and for nothing else. The general right of everyone in the country without social security to free public health care is in the Ley General de Salud and is administered by the states and by IMSS-Bienestar, a different body, so IMSS is not a source for entitlement to public health care generally. It also names the exclusion and waiting-period lists - RACERF articles 83 and 84 - without reproducing them, so a record built from IMSS alone can say that the lists exist and not what is on them.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP), por cada integrante del grupo familiar.»Our translation - not official
Unique Population Registry Code (CURP), for each member of the family group.
This is the practical gate for a foreigner. The migration law gives residents the right to a CURP once they hold the residence card, so the insurance is effectively closed to someone on a visitor permission.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Mexico's social security institute. It runs the contributory schemes, including the voluntary family health insurance a foreign resident can buy without an employer, and publishes its premium table and its conditions.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It speaks for its own schemes and for nothing else. The general right of everyone in the country without social security to free public health care is in the Ley General de Salud and is administered by the states and by IMSS-Bienestar, a different body, so IMSS is not a source for entitlement to public health care generally. It also names the exclusion and waiting-period lists - RACERF articles 83 and 84 - without reproducing them, so a record built from IMSS alone can say that the lists exist and not what is on them.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Obtenida la tarjeta de residencia, los residentes temporales y permanentes tendrán derecho a obtener de la Secretaría la Clave Única de Registro de Población.»Our translation - not official
Once the residence card has been obtained, temporary and permanent residents shall have the right to obtain the Unique Population Registry Code from the Ministry.
The card comes first, the registry number second, and almost everything administrative in Mexico comes third.
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 family insurance needs a CURP for each member. A foreigner obtains one as a consequence of holding a residence card, so this is not available on a visitor permission.
Waiting periods apply to some conditions under article 83 of the social security affiliation regulation, and article 84 of the same regulation lists conditions with no cover at all. We did not read that regulation, so those two lists are named here and not reproduced.
Renewal can be made up to 30 days before the annual expiry, or up to 45 days after it where an illness arose during the year just paid for.
Nothing we read in the migration law, its regulation or either set of visa guidelines requires an applicant for any Mexican residence status to hold health insurance. That is an absence in those documents, not a survey of consular practice.
- consolidatesLey General de Salud (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 de Migración (texto vigente, última reforma DOF 15-01-2026)
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 del Seguro Social (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
- administersSeguro de Salud para la Familia
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social
About this source
Mexico's social security institute. It runs the contributory schemes, including the voluntary family health insurance a foreign resident can buy without an employer, and publishes its premium table and its conditions.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It speaks for its own schemes and for nothing else. The general right of everyone in the country without social security to free public health care is in the Ley General de Salud and is administered by the states and by IMSS-Bienestar, a different body, so IMSS is not a source for entitlement to public health care generally. It also names the exclusion and waiting-period lists - RACERF articles 83 and 84 - without reproducing them, so a record built from IMSS alone can say that the lists exist and not what is on them.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersIncorporación al seguro de salud para la familia en el IMSS (IMSS-02-014)
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social
About this source
Mexico's social security institute. It runs the contributory schemes, including the voluntary family health insurance a foreign resident can buy without an employer, and publishes its premium table and its conditions.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It speaks for its own schemes and for nothing else. The general right of everyone in the country without social security to free public health care is in the Ley General de Salud and is administered by the states and by IMSS-Bienestar, a different body, so IMSS is not a source for entitlement to public health care generally. It also names the exclusion and waiting-period lists - RACERF articles 83 and 84 - without reproducing them, so a record built from IMSS alone can say that the lists exist and not what is on them.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source