Registration, banking and utilities in Mexico City

Immigration and the first thirty days

A residence visa issued by a Mexican consulate abroad has to be exchanged (the canje) at the Instituto Nacional de Migración within 30 calendar days of entering. Tell the officer at the airport you are entering on a residence visa, so the entry is recorded for canje rather than as a tourist. The output is a residency card, which is what everything downstream asks to see; the first temporary card runs for a year. Categories, thresholds and processing times change and vary by consulate — take them from INM or an immigration lawyer, not from an expat group.

• Fill in the INM online form, pay the card fee at a bank, and book the appointment in your first week; slots in Mexico City are scarce.
• Keep the entry record and every payment receipt; they are asked for at the appointment.
• Changes of address, employer or marital status must be notified to INM within 90 days.
• Since 2026 every mobile line must be registered to a CURP or a passport; a new SIM is registered when you buy it.

CURP and RFC

The CURP is the national population registry number and is issued as part of the residency process; it identifies you across every government system. The RFC is the tax number, issued by SAT, and it is needed to be paid, to invoice, and increasingly to open financial products. Getting an RFC requires an appointment at a SAT office with your CURP, your residency card and a proof of address, and appointments are the bottleneck rather than the process itself.

• CURP: population registry number, generated once you have residency.
• RFC: tax number from SAT, by appointment (cita), in person.
• e.firma: the digital signature issued at the same office, needed for most online tax procedures.
• Facturas — formal tax invoices — need your RFC, and are how business expenses work here.

Proof of address

Mexican institutions ask for a comprobante de domicilio dated within the last two or three months: a CFE electricity bill, a water bill, a landline or internet bill, or a bank statement. In a rented flat these are often still in the landlord's name. The workarounds are to have one utility transferred into your name at signing, or to obtain a constancia de domicilio from the alcaldía, which some institutions accept. Sort this early, because nothing else will move without it.

Banking and paying for things

Opening an account generally needs the residency card, CURP, RFC and a comprobante de domicilio, and the requirements are applied strictly. Once open, transfers run over SPEI using an eighteen-digit CLABE, which is instant and effectively free — this is how rent and most bills are paid. Cash still matters more than in Europe or North America, and OXXO shops act as a payment counter for a wide range of bills and services.

• Take residency card, CURP, RFC and comprobante de domicilio to the branch.
• Ask for your CLABE; it is what people need to pay you.
• CFE bills electricity every two months, which surprises people budgeting monthly.

In order

1. 1Complete the INM canje within 30 days of arriving.
2. 2Collect the residency card in person once it is issued.
3. 3Confirm your CURP is registered and printable.
4. 4Book a SAT appointment for the RFC and the e.firma.
5. 5Get a utility into your own name, or a constancia de domicilio from the alcaldía.
6. 6Open a Mexican bank account and note your CLABE.
7. 7Set up CFE, water and internet accounts, and check the bimonthly billing dates.