DSME, Mexico’s additional fee on General Aviation Aircraft
In the last several weeks, we have received inquiries by our customers as to why the costs of flights to Mexico have increased significantly. While some of the increases are due to airports and government fees being increased as of January 01, 2026, there has been a larger, more significant, increase in cost driven by Mexican immigration. For many years there has been a fee outlined in Article 14A of Mexico’s tax code (Ley Federal de Derechos) called the “derecho por servicios migratorios extraordinarios”, or DSME, (fee for extraordinary immigration services) which was supposed to be applied ONLY to commercial flights.
Prior to January 01, 2026 this article of the law read: "For immigration services provided on non-working days or outside the ordinary processing hours established by the Ministry of the Interior, or in places other than immigration offices, transportation companies will pay the fee for extraordinary immigration services, according to the following rates: At international airports, for each review of passenger documentation on charter flights, upon entry and exit from the country. .................................. $2,589.49. In the case of private aircraft used for non-profit private passenger transportation, the extraordinary immigration services fee referred to in this section will not be paid.
After January 01, 2026 the law was changed and reads: "At international airports, for each review of passenger documentation on non-scheduled flights, upon entry and exit from the country ..................... $2,707.00". (Approximately $160 USD)
“Non-scheduled” has been translated to mean, all General Aviation flights. So, this fee is now being applied to all flights inbound and outbound regardless of private or commercial and if it is during, our outside of, “normal” hours for immigration at the airport.
To compound this change, there are two sets of penalties for public servants who do not meticulously apply this fee:
Article 3 of that same tax code also reads: "Any public servant in charge of providing services or granting the use, enjoyment, exploitation or exploitation of public domain assets of the Nation who fails to comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be subject to the corresponding sanctions in accordance with the Federal Law of Administrative Responsibilities of Public Servants."
In addition, that article also includes the following: "Public servants responsible for providing services and managing the nation's public domain assets regulated by this Law shall be responsible for overseeing the payment, and where applicable, the collection and remittance of the fees stipulated herein. Total or partial failure to collect and remit these fees shall affect the budget of the entity responsible for providing public services or managing the use, enjoyment, exploitation, or appropriation of the nation's public domain assets, by an amount equivalent to twice the value of the omission, without prejudice to any other sanctions established in other laws for said public servants"
Therefore, all general aviation flights are seeing an increase of approximately $ 320 USD for flights to Mexico versus what was being charged in the past on top of the normal fee increases by government, airport operators and FBOs.
Based on our recent operational experience following the implementation of this amendment, enforcement at the airport level has not been entirely uniform. Although the law now clearly extends DSME to non-scheduled flights, individual airports appear to be applying varying internal criteria, including factors such as passenger presence, weekend operations, and local immigration staffing practices. In at least one instance, the fee was assessed after the operation had already taken place, resulting in a post-operation charge.
Accordingly, operators should verify local DSME application with each airport prior to every operation and incorporate this charge as a standard cost variable in all Mexico-related flight planning and budgeting.