edited and revised, Aug 3
I keep reading about a million gringos living in Mexico, and keep scratching my head about where they are all hiding.
Presuming that all foreigners in Mexico have a Visa, I come up with a figure considerably less.
In 2010, Mexican immigration reported 64,399 residency visas (FM2&3) issued to what they call North Americans: US, Canada & Bermuda. About 18% were issued to Canadians.
Visas issued in 2010
FM3 FM3 FM2 FM2
Issue renew Issue renew Total %
US & Canada 12388 39876 4774 7361 64399 31.40%
Europe 8945 12963 3545 6977 32430 15.81%
Others 17480 41015 17861 31889 108245 52.78%
Total 38813 93854 26180 46227 205074 100.00%
Veracruz all 1299 1995 569 1041 4904 2.39%
probable US & Canada based on 31.4% 1520
Source: http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/Documentacion_y_Legal_2010
Two figures need to be added:
Imigrados, those that went beyond their visa requirements, were 639 "North Americans" last year.
Let's say there are 10 thousand of those. And then there are those that took the final step and obtained Mexican citizenship. I'll add another 5000 and am now up to 80 thousand, less 18% Canadians, for a total of 66 thousand plus the 65399 on residence visas.
Of course there are the 6 month border trekkers on tourist visas. How many? Anyone's guess! Maybe 50 thousand in Baja and another 100 thousand in the rest of Mexico. And then, of course, there are the snowbirds who show up for 3-4 months. Make them another 100 thousand.
Now I am at 316 thousand.
Now here comes the whammy:
The most important of the million gringo mentions comes from the US State Department
"a million American citizens live in Mexico" http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm
And that is more or less documented by INEGI, the Mexican statistical agency, which reported 738,103
inhabitants as being born in the US as of the 2010 census.
http://www3.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/TabuladosBasicos/Default.aspx?c=27302&s=est (click migraciòn)
To extrapolate how many of those would qualify as having been former US full time residents, is fraught with issues that border on racism and others.
Anyway of those 738,103 my presumed 316 thousand need to be deducted, because presumably they were also counted in the census.
Of the remaining 417 thousand, I'll stick my head out and assume that most of those US citizens living in Mexico think of themselves as Mexicans, and I'll throw in 50 thousand as a fop to add to the total of US gringos living in Mexico.
To sum up, aside from bona fide tourists, I think, that at any one time there are less than 400 thousand US gringos either full or part time retired or working in Mexico. And that is on the high side and does not substantiate that Mexico is a significant choice as a retirement haven for those living in the US.
