Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners in Mexico
Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution states that only Mexicans by birth or naturalization or Mexican corporations can acquire the title to lands and their exploitation in Mexican territory. Nevertheless, the Mexican State may grant this right to foreigners who wish to acquire real estate in Mexico through an agreement in which they renounce the possibility of invoking the protection of their Government in regard to the acquired property.
If the land is within the so-called “restricted zone,” the strip of land 100-km wide along land borders or 50-km wide along coastlines, such property may only be acquired through a bank trusteeship. In this trusteeship, the banking institution holds the deed to the property but it is the foreigner who holds the rights over the land for a maximum period of 50 years.
To obtain prior permission from the Mexican government, applicants must appear in person at the Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico, or send a legal representative authorized through a Power of Attorney.
1. To acquire real estate outside of the restricted zone:
a) Present the application (attach application) filled out on a typewriter or computer, indicating the applicant’s full name, nationality, migratory status, migratory document number, address for receiving legal service, individuals authorized to receive the certificate and the permit of acquisition, as well as the description and location of the property. The application must contain the applicant’s signature.
b) Specify the form of acquisition and the percentage regarding the acquisition.
c) Prove the migratory status of the interested party.
d) Enclose with the application a document stating the property’s surface area, measurements, boundaries and adjoining lands, with the signature of the applicant or his/her legal representative.
e) If the application is presented through a legal representative, the following form must be completed (attach form) and accompanied by a Special Power of Attorney, giving the bearer the power to sign the waiver agreement referred to in paragraph I of Constitutional Article 27, or a general Power of Attorney for acts of ownership that meets the requirements set forth in the third paragraph of Article 2554 of the Federal Civil Code or its correlative articles in the states of the Republic.
f) In the case of foreign legal entities, their legal status must be proven by the presentation of the appropriate documentation in accordance with the legislation of the country of origin, duly legalized or apostilled (depending on the country) and translated into Spanish by an Official Translator (perito traductor)
g) The application with its enclosures must be presented in the original and two copies.
To acquire property inside the restricted zone, the intermediary services of a credit institution are necessary; this institution will act as trustee and process the corresponding permit with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
http://sre.gob.mx/tramites-y-servicios/adquisiciones-por-extranjeros