Mexico’s visitor fee rises from MXN 983 to MXN 1,158 on January 1, 2027. See who pays, who’s exempt and where the money goes.
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, November 13, 2026 – Mexico will raise its short-stay visitor fee from MXN 983 to MXN 1,158 per person on January 1, 2027. The federal government published the increase Friday in the Diario Oficial de la Federación. That’s 175 pesos more per traveler, or 700 pesos more for a family of four if everyone pays the fee.
It’s the second increase in two years. The fee was MXN 860.56 in 2025. The government initially wanted to raise it to MXN 1,334.80 for 2027. Hotel associations in Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas asked Congress to reconsider, and lawmakers scaled back the increase to 17.8% in October.
Who pays the visitor fee
The charge, known as the Derecho de No Residente or DNR, applies to foreigners who enter Mexico as visitors without permission to work for pay. This includes vacationers and snowbirds who enter as visitors. If you’re flying into Puerto Vallarta on a commercial flight, the airline includes the fee in your ticket. Temporary and permanent residents are exempt when they enter using their Mexican residency status.
For visitors crossing by land, Article 11 of the Ley Federal de Derechos gives them up to seven days in Mexico without paying the fee. If they stay longer, the law says they pay when they leave. Foreign cruise passengers have a federal tax credit that puts their charge at the peso equivalent of US$10 through June 30, 2027. It goes up to US$15 on July 1.
Where the money goes
Starting in January, the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional gets 57% of the money collected from visitors entering for tourism. It can use that money for expenses such as operations and infrastructure at the state-controlled companies it oversees. The Instituto Nacional de Migración gets 15% for technology projects tied to border security and immigration checks. The remaining 28% goes to the Tesorería de la Federación without a specific spending requirement under the law.
The Defense Ministry’s share falls from 67% to 57%, but the higher fee leaves it with slightly more on each full-price tourist entry. Its share goes from MXN 658.61 this year to MXN 660.06 in January, a difference of 1.45 pesos.
Some of this money is used to pay for tourism promotion. The Consejo de Promoción Turística de México once received 70% of the proceeds before the federal government ordered the council dissolved in 2019. This month, Vallarta-area hotel and business groups asked for MXN 5 billion for national tourism promotion. They wanted it to come out of the Treasury’s share. The decree published Friday leaves all 28% of that share unearmarked.
