Visa with INM authorization: what the NUT is, how long it lasts and how to get the appointment

We are a private service. The appointment is free at citas.sre.gob.mx and you can do the procedure yourself. If you prefer our support, we charge for our service.

In short

• The NUT (Número Único de Trámite) is the number of the official letter with which the INM authorizes your visa interview at a consulate of Mexico. It is requested in Mexico by your relative or your employer.
• In 2026 the authorization costs MXN 248; for humanitarian reasons it is free (INM, 2026). The INM decides within a maximum of 20 business days (visa guidelines (Lineamientos), 2025).
• It has a time limit. The same rule gives it a validity of 30 business days. The Embassy in Haiti gives 6 months for the interview (August 7, 2026).
• The appointment is free at citas.sre.gob.mx, under the option “Visas con autorización del INM” (visas with INM authorization). The visa costs USD 56 in 2026 (Ley Federal de Derechos 2026).
• Since May 16, 2026, at the interview for a visa with NUT the consulate may not ask for additional requirements (DOF, May 15, 2026).

What the NUT is

The NUT is the Número Único de Trámite. It appears on the official letter with which the National Institute of Migration (INM) authorizes a foreign national to attend an interview at a consulate of Mexico (Embassy of Mexico in Haiti, August 7, 2026).

In MiConsulado, the appointment system of Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), this visa appears as “Visas con autorización del INM”. You will also see it as “Visa con permiso del INM”. If you do not have a NUT, the option is “Visas sin autorización del INM” (visas without INM authorization): we explain it in the Mexican visa guide.

Who requests it and how much it costs

The person who travels does not request the NUT. Another person, the petitioner (promovente), requests it in Mexico from the INM. According to the visa guidelines (Lineamientos) (DOF, July 25, 2025), there are three routes:

Amounts: INM table of immigration procedures 2026.

According to the same Lineamientos, the INM decides within a maximum of 20 business days. If it authorizes it, it issues the official letter with the NUT: that number is what you need to request the appointment.

How long the NUT lasts

The rule and what some offices publish do not match.

The rule. The Lineamientos give the authorization a validity of 30 business days, “al término de los cuales caducará y la persona extranjera no podrá continuar con el trámite de visa” (at the end of which it will lapse and the foreign national will not be able to continue with the visa procedure). The amendment of May 15, 2026 did not change that time limit.

Haiti. The Embassy publishes a longer time limit:

“…you have 30 days to make contact with the Embassy… the authorization is valid for 6 months for your consular interview.” — Translated from the Spanish. Embassy of Mexico in Haiti, August 7, 2026.

What to do. If your consulate does not publish its own time limit, take the 30 business days of the rule as your reference. Look for the appointment from the day you receive the NUT.

If your NUT is about to expire

Some offices give an extraordinary appointment, outside the regular openings:

• Haiti. It is requested by email at [email protected]. The NUT page (August 7, 2026) accepts it for an authorization “próxima a vencer, expedida hace más de 5 meses” (about to expire, issued more than 5 months ago). The notice of September 14, 2026 mentions it for the family unity NUT. More in the Haiti guide.
• Bogotá. The extraordinary appointments page of the Embassy in Colombia (August 8, 2025) includes the NUT with more than 30 business days. More in the Colombia guide (in Spanish).
• Other consulates. Check your office’s page. If it does not publish extraordinary appointments, do not count on them.

How to get the appointment at the consulate

You can do it yourself. These are the steps:

1. Gather the NUT number and your passport. Check that your name is written the same way on both.
2. Go to citas.sre.gob.mx. The appointment is free. Each person needs their own: the SRE says that appointments are “personales e intransferibles” (personal and non-transferable) (SRE, accessed September 21, 2026).
3. Choose “Visas con autorización del INM”. The system asks you for the NUT number. If you do not have a CURP, the Embassy in Bogotá says to choose “AGREGAR MANUALMENTE” (add manually) (August 8, 2025).
4. Request the appointment at the consulate where you will do the procedure, and do not change it afterward. The visa procedure is completed at the same consulate where it was started (Lineamientos).
5. Go in person. The visa is processed and obtained in person, with a mandatory consular interview (Lineamientos, item Octavo, the eighth).

Each office opens appointments in its own way. In Haiti and in Bogotá they open once a month (Haiti, September 14, 2026; Bogotá, August 8, 2025). Guides by office: Haiti, and in Spanish, Venezuela and Colombia.

At the interview. The amendment to the Lineamientos published on May 15, 2026, in force since May 16, says that for visas with NUT “la autoridad consular no podrá solicitar… requisitos adicionales” (the consular authority may not request… additional requirements) (DOF). That does not exempt you from bringing what your consulate asks for this visa.

If the visa is for a job offer

• The employer needs the certificate of registration with the INM, which costs MXN 391 in 2026 (INM).
• Since the amendment of May 15, 2026, the job offer letter must detail the modality (modalidad), address, salary and frequency (periodicidad). The INM may also ask for degree certificates (títulos) (DOF).
• If the visa is a visitor visa with permission to work, the consulate charges USD 321 in 2026, in addition to the government fee for the visa (Ley Federal de Derechos 2026).

When you arrive in Mexico

The visa you get with a NUT is valid for 180 days (Lineamientos). If it is a resident visa, when you enter Mexico you have 30 calendar days to exchange it for the card at an INM office (DOF, May 15, 2026).

Amounts: INM table of immigration procedures 2026.

• The 50% only applies if you prove a job offer, family unity or an invitation letter.
• It is requested at the INM office before paying. If you pay the 100% at the bank, you lose the discount.

What usually goes wrong

Only what the authorities document:

• The wrong type of appointment. In Bogotá, an appointment of another type is “rechazada automáticamente” (automatically rejected) (Embassy in Colombia, August 8, 2025). In Haiti, with an appointment for another procedure you are not seen (Embassy in Haiti, September 14, 2026).
• A name different from the one on the passport. If the NUT details do not match the passport, the consulate cancels the procedure and the petitioner has to start again before the INM (Lineamientos). In Bogotá, if the name does not match the one on the passport, they do not let you in to the appointment (Embassy in Colombia).
• Letting the time limit run out. If the authorization lapses, the rule says that the visa procedure can no longer continue.

If you prefer our support

The authorization is requested in Mexico by your relative or your employer, from the INM. We support you with the consular part.

What it includes

• Guidance: how much time your NUT has left, what your consulate asks for and whether your office gives an extraordinary appointment.
• A review of your documents before the appointment: that the NUT details match your passport and that you have what your consulate asks for.
• Your appointment, of the correct type, “Visas con autorización del INM”, with the NUT number and your details exactly as they appear on your passport. One person per appointment; we do not resell or transfer appointments.
• Preparation for the interview: what it is like, what to bring and how the government fee is paid at your office.
• Follow-up: if the authority cancels your appointment, we look for a new one at no additional cost, and we stay with you until your procedure is completed.

We never hold a passport. We support you in Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia (these two guides in Spanish) and other countries: ask us about yours.

What we need

• The details of the person who goes to the interview, exactly as they appear on their passport.
• The NUT number.
• The consulate where the procedure is done.
• A phone number or an email address so we can write to you.

We do not need your physical passport.

What you pay and to whom

1. The appointment: free at citas.sre.gob.mx.
2. The government fees: they are paid directly to the authority. In 2026, the INM authorization costs MXN 248 and is paid in Mexico (INM). The visa costs USD 56, plus USD 321 if it is a visitor visa with permission to work (Ley Federal de Derechos 2026). In Haiti it is paid in cash, in dollars, on the day of the appointment (Embassy in Haiti). In Bogotá it is paid before the appointment, at Banco de Occidente, and it is not returned (Embassy in Colombia, 2025 page).
3. Our service: our fees vary by procedure and case. Write to us and we will give you the cost of yours before we start.

What no service can guarantee

• A date or a time frame. When appointments open does not depend on us.
• That the NUT will not expire. We cannot extend its validity.
• That you will be given the visa. The authority decides that. In Haiti, the final ruling belongs to the INM, “cuya decisión es inapelable” (whose decision cannot be appealed) (Embassy in Haiti, September 14, 2026).
• Entry into Mexico. Even with a visa, the immigration authority decides it at the point of entry (Lineamientos).
• That the authority will not cancel the appointment. If it cancels it, we look for a new one at no additional cost.

Documents for the day of the appointment

Each consulate publishes the exact list. Confirm it on its page before you go. What is already documented:

• Your passport, with the name written the same way as on the NUT.
• The NUT number you scheduled with and the confirmation of your “Visas con autorización del INM” appointment.
• If you do the procedure in a country where you are not a national, the original of the document that proves your legal stay there (Lineamientos).
• Photo and copies, if your consulate asks for them.
• Payment of the government fee for the visa, in the form your office indicates.
• All your documents with your name written the same way.