Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution grants the Mexican
Nation ownership of the land and water within the territory
and provides that the Nation shall oversee the transfer
of ownership rights to individuals, by creating private
property. Although Section I of the aforementioned article
grants the right to acquire the dominion of land and water
only by Mexican individuals and companies, it also gives
the State the power to grant the same right to foreigners,
subject to the condition that these foreigners agree before
the Ministry of Foreign Relations to consider themselves
as Mexican nationals regarding the acquired property and
not to invoke the protection of their country of origin
with respect to the same. If the covenant is breached, all
rights to such property shall be reverted to the Nation.
A foreign individual or company may directly own land
in Mexico except in what is described by Article 27 of the
Mexican Constitution as the "restricted zone."
A zone within sixty-one miles of the international border
and thirty-one miles of the seacoast.
Foreign individuals or companies, and Mexican companies
that are 100% owned by foreigners, may purchase real estate
for residential purposes within this "restricted zone",
if a trust fund has been established for fifty years. In
this kind of trust fund the bank will retain the property
title but the foreigner is the beneficiary and may use and
enjoy such premises and may sell or even inherit the rights
to it. However, all operations regarding the property must
be notified and approved by the bank.
