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.
For more information and any inquiries, please visit the Legal Affairs Directorate’s website (available only in Spanish), by clicking here