Starting in August, Mexico will launch an electronic visa platform for foreign tourists that will streamline the application process by eliminating the need for in-person visits to consular offices and allowing applicants to complete all requirements online.
Citizens of exempt countries or with a valid passport from the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the Schengen area, do not need a pre-authorized visa for a tourism visit and are therefore not impacted by the new e-visa.
🇲🇽 ¡Atención viajeros! México lanza su nueva visa electrónica 100% digital desde el 9 de agosto de 2025. Solo para ingreso aéreo y por 180 días. ✈️ Conoce requisitos y países elegibles 👇 https://t.co/6KF0k0PqKh
— Diario Financiero (@DFinancierodo) July 29, 2025
The e-visa process will enable the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to create digital files with biometric and electronic data, as well as digital certificates for each traveler.
The e-visa is not valid for travel by land or sea. It is intended for foreigners who require a visa to enter Mexico and only applies to foreigners entering via air for tourism, cultural or family purposes. It does not allow any work activities and is valid for a maximum of 180 days.
For visitors from most parts of Asia and Africa, the e-visa eliminates the need for an interview or a physical stamp in the traveler’s passport. Once approved, the visa can be downloaded online.
In a statement published in the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) the National Migration Institute (INM) also sought to “simplify, unify and make transparent” several procedures related to the issuance of immigration documents: including obtaining a regional visitor card, regularization for humanitarian reasons, and notifications of marital status, name, nationality, and place of work.
Moreover, it reduced the maximum processing time for notifications of name or nationality changes to three days, and for issuing immigration documents to no later than 10 days.
The new e-visa will cost 575 pesos (US $32), payable online. Infants under two years old are exempt from the payment.
In contrast, the US is hiking its visa prices
While Mexico is moving to make tourism visits more convenient, the price of most non-immigrant visas to enter the United States is set to more than double in 2026, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. These visas include tourist, student and work visas.
Planning to travel, study, or work in the U.S.?
You might soon have to pay a new $250 visa integrity fee — and no, it doesn’t replace your current visa costs. From tourists to tech workers, this fee applies to all nonimmigrant visa applicants under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill… pic.twitter.com/nuWYzjvHss— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) July 22, 2025
“No-petition visas,” which include tourist and student permits, will increase from US $160 to $410 next year. Meanwhile, petition-based categories like those of temporary workers or trainees, will increase from $190 to $440 in 2026.
In a statement criticizing the fee hikes, Geoff Freeman, president of the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), said: “Raising fees on lawful international visitors amounts to a self-imposed tariff on one of our nation’s largest exports: international travel spending.”
