Mexico: passport and entry requirements
Mexico is visa-free for a holiday, and you're given up to 180 days on arrival. There's nothing to apply for before you fly, and your passport only has to last the length of your stay.
Your passport
Your passport has to be valid for the whole of your stay, and everyone travels on their own, at any age. Children's passports last five years against an adult's ten, so they seldom expire together. Check each when you book and renew anything close, as a new one takes weeks to come through.
Getting in
You don't need a visa to visit Mexico, and you're admitted for up to 180 days when you arrive. Flying in, you get a passport stamp, though adults can use the airport e-gates instead, which print a slip you have to keep safe, since you need it to leave the country. Arriving by land, you complete Mexico's online immigration form, run by the INM immigration authority, before you travel.
Every child needs their own passport from birth. Carry your child's birth certificate too, along with adoption or custody papers if they apply, because border officers can ask you to prove your relationship to a child you're travelling with and your reason for the trip.
A visitor tax in Cancun and the Riviera Maya
If you're staying in Quintana Roo, the state that covers Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, there's a separate visitor tax to pay online, on the official government site at visitax.gob.mx. It's about 283 pesos a person, around £11 (last checked August 2026), and children pay the full adult rate too.
Official sources
Last checked 11 August 2026. Passport and entry rules change, so always confirm on GOV.UK before you book or travel.
