MEXICO · ENTRY REQUIREMENTS · CHECKED SEPT 29, 2026
Mexico is a short flight or a long drive away, and it delivers beach towns, colonial plazas and taco counters that make the paperwork feel small. The paperwork exists all the same, and a few pieces of it are worth sorting out before you get to the airport.
Most of it can be settled from your kitchen table: a passport book ordered ahead, Visitax paid online at visitax.gob.mx, and only the digital FMM waiting for the airport. Still choosing where to go? Our destinations page has the options.
ENTRY RULES AT A GLANCE · MEXICO
Americans flying to Mexico need a passport book, the airline collects the FMM fee, and Quintana Roo adds a fee of about 293 pesos per person.
PASSPORT BOOK BY AIR · DIGITAL FMM BY AIR · VISITAX IN QUINTANA ROO · TIP FOR CARS BEYOND BORDER ZONES
Go for: a passport book, a Visitax payment made from home at visitax.gob.mx, and a saved QR code for the digital FMM.
Think twice before: quoting 717 pesos as this year’s FMM fee. It is the base set in 2024, and the amount charged in 2026 can differ.
Sources: State Department · CBP · Ley Federal de Derechos · Quintana Roo Ley de Derechos · Banjercito · full sources at the end
On this page
- Do I need a passport to fly to Mexico?Passport book by air, passport card by land and sea, card fees of 65 USD and 50 USD
- FMM tourist card fee for Mexico717 pesos as the 2024 base, collected by the airline when you fly
- Visitax cost for Cancún and Tulum2.50 UMA, about 293 pesos per person, and the 5 USD cruise route
- Bringing my own car into MexicoThe TIP permit at 51 USD plus VAT, deposits of 200 to 400 USD
- Documents to return to the US from MexicoAccepted IDs by land, sea and air, children’s rules, SENTRI at 120 USD
A flight to the Caribbean coast, a drive across the border and a cruise stop each call for a different set of papers. The flight needs a passport book, plus the Quintana Roo fee if you land on that coast. The drive adds a permit for the car once you leave the border zones. On a cruise, a 5 USD right collected by the cruise line takes the place of the state fee.
Do I need a passport to go to Mexico?
Flying to Mexico takes a passport book. The passport card is not valid for international air travel, so it stays in the drawer on a trip to Cancún, Mexico City or Puerto Vallarta.
The card is built for land and sea. It allows entry to the United States from Canada, Mexico, some Caribbean destinations and Bermuda by land or sea. A first-time card costs 65 USD for an adult and 50 USD for a child under 16, plus a separate execution fee paid to the acceptance facility. Renewal is 30 USD for an adult. Adult cards last 10 years and children’s cards last 5, the same validity as the book. Children under 16 cannot renew and must apply again in person.
At land crossings from Mexico and Canada, the card works at Ready Lanes, which move faster. It can also serve as a REAL ID alternative for domestic flights, so the same card does a second job at home.
One gap in what we could read: the sources cover the card as a way into the United States and say nothing about how Mexican officers treat it at their own land crossings. For a drive across, ask the nearest Mexican consulate or the INM before relying on the card alone. Carrying the passport book removes the question.
What is the FMM for Mexico?
Foreign tourists entering Mexico need a Forma Migratoria Múltiple (FMM), issued by the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM). Under article 8-I of the Ley Federal de Derechos, the fee for a visitor without permission to carry out paid activities was set at 717.00 pesos by the reform in effect since January 1, 2024.
That base amount is indexed and republished each year, so the amount charged in 2026 can differ from 717 pesos. Use it as a rough size, not a quote. For arrivals by air, the international airline collects the fee and remits it on the passenger’s behalf.
For air entry, the paper form has been replaced by a digital one (FMMd), delivered as a QR code after your passport is stamped. Screenshot it before you leave the terminal. The sources we read do not describe the land-border procedure, so the INM’s own page is the place to confirm it for a drive-in.
What is Visitax in Quintana Roo?
Visitax is the state fee for foreign visitors entering Quintana Roo, the state of Cancún, Tulum and Cozumel. Article 51-Octies of the Ley de Derechos del Estado de Quintana Roo sets it at 2.50 UMA (Unidad de Medida y Actualización) for every foreign visitor.
The UMA has a 2026 daily value of 117.31 pesos, in force since February 1, 2026 and published by INEGI. At 2.50 UMA, the fee works out to about 293 pesos per person. It is charged per head, so a family pays it once for each traveler.
The law names the payer as “las personas visitantes extranjeras,” foreign visitors entering the state, and article 51-Octies writes no age exemption into its text. The one written exemption covers visitors who enter Quintana Roo through the state’s southern border. How children are handled in practice is not in the text we read, so the portal is the place to confirm before paying for a family.
Cruise passengers do not pay Visitax separately. Article 51-Nonies charges them a distinct right of 5 US dollars, collected by the cruise line when the ticket is bought, and proof of that payment exempts the passenger from the article 51-Octies fee. Crew members are exempt from the cruise-passenger fee.
Payment can be made online at visitax.gob.mx before the trip, or in cash at the airport before departure. The portal is run by the Servicio de Administración Tributaria de Quintana Roo (SATQ).
Do I need a permit to drive into Mexico?
A foreign-plated vehicle driven beyond the border free zones needs a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (TIP). Banjercito, Mexico’s army bank, issues it exclusively for Mexican residents abroad and for foreign tourists entering with a foreign vehicle. The permit is not required within the Baja California peninsula (Baja California and Baja California Sur) or within Sonora’s northwestern free zone, which the State Department’s Mexico Travel Advisory calls “hassle-free zones.”
The permit costs 51 US dollars plus VAT at a border module or consulate, or 45 US dollars plus VAT if processed online. A refundable security deposit comes on top, scaled to the vehicle’s model year: 200 USD for 2000 or older, 300 USD for 2001 to 2006, 400 USD for 2007 or newer. The deposit is refunded once the vehicle’s exit is registered before the permit expires.
What do I need to return to the US from Mexico?
Returning to the United States by land or sea, a U.S. citizen may present a U.S. passport, a passport card, an Enhanced Driver’s License or a trusted traveler card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST). By air, the passport book is the document, since the card is not valid for international flights.
Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, U.S. citizen children under 16 need only a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship when returning by land or sea. The same applies up to age 19 when they travel with a school, religious or other youth group. An original, a photocopy or a certified copy all count. By air, children must present their own passport.
Frequent border crossers can look at SENTRI, a CBP trusted-traveler program that gives pre-approved, low-risk travelers expedited clearance through dedicated primary lanes at southern land border ports. The application fee is 120 USD per application, non-refundable, and every applicant goes through a background check and an in-person interview before enrollment.
Sources & data for this guide
- Passport card rules, fees and validity · U.S. Department of State, travel.state.gov, “Compare a Passport Card and Book”, page updated Sept 28, 2026 · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Return documents by land, sea and air, children’s rules · U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative · checked Sep 29, 2026
- FMM fee and digital FMMd · Ley Federal de Derechos, art. 8-I (APTA mirror) and Instituto Nacional de Migración · checked Sep 29, 2026 · the 2026 indexed amount was not read
- Visitax amount, exemptions, cruise right · Ley de Derechos del Estado de Quintana Roo, arts. 51-Octies and 51-Nonies (Congreso de Quintana Roo) · UMA value: INEGI, press release 1/26, Jan 8, 2026 · payment: visitax.gob.mx · checked Sep 29, 2026
- SENTRI program and 120 USD fee · U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fee page updated Sept 9, 2025 · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Vehicle permit, costs and deposits · Banjercito · free zones cross-checked against the State Department’s Mexico Travel Advisory · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Editorial gaps: Mexico’s own treatment of the passport card at land crossings and the land-border FMM procedure could not be read. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the agencies before you travel.