Foreign legal entities and natural persons are permitted to freely acquire property inside Mexican territory.

There are certain limitations in the event that such property is fully or partially located within so-called Restricted Zones or Ejido (common land) Zones.

In the first case, these are zones located on:

• The strip of national territory comprising 100 kilometers the length of the borders; and

• the strip of national territory comprising 50 kilometers the length of the beaches.

At these zones, foreign legal entities and natural persons can acquire the freehold interest in the property solely to carry out tourist, commercial and industrial activities, while the purchase for residential purposes is permitted only with a trust through which the ownership of the property is transferred to Mexican banks.

In the second case, these are land belonging to Mexican communities called ejidales or ejidos. These zones are subject to a special legal discipline, considered in the Agrarian Law.

The lands that form part of ejidos are registered at a special registry called the National Agrarian Registry (RAN) and acquiring them requires the amendment of their legal regime through the approval of the meeting of ejidatarios (shareholders of common land).

We can provide you with assistance at all the phases of the purchase or sale of property on Mexican territory.