Fideicomiso: how Mexico's bank trust for foreigners works

The three roles

Article 381 of the General Law of Credit Instruments and Operations (Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito, LGTOC) defines the trust: the settlor (fideicomitente) transfers ownership or title of property to a trust institution (institución fiduciaria), which carries out lawful and specific purposes. The person who receives the benefit is the fideicomisario, the beneficiary.

In the version for foreign buyers, the Foreign Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Extranjera, LIE, art. 11) names the same three roles:

• the bank, as trustee, needs an SRE permit to acquire rights over real estate inside the restricted zone;
• the purpose must be to allow “utilización y aprovechamiento” (use and enjoyment) of the property “sin constituir derechos reales sobre ellos”;
• the beneficiaries may be a Mexican company without a foreigner-exclusion clause, or foreign individuals or companies.

Only institutions expressly authorised by law may be trustees (LGTOC art. 385). The trust must always be in writing (art. 387), and a trust over real estate must be recorded in the property section of the public registry where the land lies; it takes effect against third parties from the date of recording (art. 388).

Who holds title

The bank. The Regulation (art. 11, section II) requires that the trustee keep title to the property throughout the trust “sin conceder derechos reales a los fideicomisarios”. The foreign buyer holds rights as beneficiary: the right to use the home, to occupy it, to receive income from it (LIE art. 12 includes fruits, products and any return from lucrative operation through third parties or the bank). What the beneficiary does not hold is the legal title registered in the property registry. The deed that creates the trust must also record that the foreign beneficiary agrees to be treated as Mexican regarding those rights and not to invoke the protection of their government, on pain of losing the rights to the Nation (Regulation art. 11, section I).

Term and renewal

Article 13 of the LIE sets a maximum term of fifty years, “que podrá prorrogarse a solicitud del interesado”. The extension is requested through the bank, and the Regulation (art. 12) fixes the deadline: within the ninety business days before the trust ends. The extension is granted as long as the conditions of the permit remain and have been met.

Two details are easy to miss.

• The LGTOC has its own 50-year ceiling in article 394, but that one applies to trusts whose beneficiary is a legal entity that is not a public-law body or a charity. The ceiling for foreigners comes from the LIE, not from this article.
• Late filing carries a fee: a late request for extension of a trust permit is a separate line in the fee law (MX$10,615 in 2026; see permit cost and timing).

Conditions imposed on every trust

Article 11 of the Regulation lists the conditions the trust contract must respect. In plain terms:

• Annual report. The bank files with the SRE, by April of each year, a report on authorised trusts where the trustee was replaced, substitute beneficiaries were appointed, or beneficiary rights were assigned to foreign persons or to Mexican companies admitting foreigners (residential property).
• Information duty. Beneficiaries must report to the bank on whether the purposes are being met, and the bank must report to the SRE on request when there are reasons to think the permit conditions are not respected. The bank then has sixty business days to cure a breach after the SRE notifies it.
• Prior permit for any enlargement of the purposes or change of purpose.
• Notice of termination to the SRE within forty business days after the trust ends.
• Forced termination. If a breach is not cured, the parties agree to end the trust at the SRE’s request within 180 days of the notification.

The permit itself does not excuse compliance with urban development and ecological planning rules of the locality, nor with environmental sustainability criteria and other legal provisions.

Succession and substitutes

The permit application lists the beneficiary, any second-place beneficiaries and substitute beneficiaries, with their nationality (Regulation art. 9). The LGTOC (art. 394) prohibits secret trusts and trusts that pass the benefit to successive persons on each death, unless the substitution favours persons alive or conceived at the settlor’s death. How a trust passes at death is a matter of the trust deed and of the state’s succession law. Read the deed and ask the notary to explain it.

What ends a trust

The LGTOC (art. 392) lists the causes, among them achieving the purpose, impossibility, written agreement among settlor, trustee and beneficiary, and revocation by the settlor if that right was expressly reserved. After termination, unless otherwise agreed, the property goes to the settlor or the beneficiary as the case may be (art. 393), and for real estate it is enough that the bank so declares and the declaration is recorded in the registry.

Which professional to consult

The trust department of a bank is the only counterpart that can hold title. A notary (notary) formalises the deed and checks the permit. A real estate lawyer (real estate lawyer) can read the trust contract. This page states what the law provides; it does not suggest that a trust is the right route for you.