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Everything You Need to Know About Immigration

 

 

 

About Travel Visas

A travel visa simply gives you permission to enter the country. If you’re coming from the US or Canada, you will not need a travel visa (not to be confused with an immigration visa or tourist document) to enter Mexico, but you might need one if you’re coming from another country. Check this site for countries from which travel visas are required: tinyurl.com/blznp5a.

Tourist and Immigration Procedures and Documents

A new Mexican immigration law became effective in November of 2012, which affects expats significantly. Previously, immigration visas could be applied for within Mexico, and some visas could be renewed indefinitely. That is no longer the case.

To begin, there are really four aspects of immigration to consider:

–   what the law actually states

–   what the law’s associated regulations actually state

–    what neither of them state (what is open to interpretation)

–    how each immigration or consulate office (and sometimes each agent) chooses to implement the law and regulations.

The lengthy new immigration law itself is complete. There is nothing intentionally left out. However, the law often references associated regulations for implementation of the law, some of which have never been published. There are two theories as to why this is. First, a new national government with a new political party (Peña Nieto, PRI) was getting ready to step into office in the following month (December of 2012). The existing immigration officers may not have been motivated to complete the regulations, knowing that they might be in the last days of their own jobs, or that their supervisors might be replaced. Second, the immigration officers may have deliberately not moved forward with the regulations because they thought the regulations might be changed by the new administration coming into power. Whichever is the case, there is now enough experience and legal case history to understand how the system generally works in the Lake Chapala area.

Tourist Document (FMM)

Whether you drive across the border to Mexico or you fly in, you will be able to get a Tourist document (it’s not really considered a visa) at the border or aboard the plane. It’s called an FMM. No financial qualifications are needed, and it costs around $25 USD. You can be a tourist for up to 180 days, and then go back across the border and renew it immediately for another 180 days. There’s no waiting time between renewals. And, in theory, you can do that forever. But, that might become restricted in the future if immigration decides that too many people are just skirting the financial requirements of getting a visa. It’s true, you don’t have to worry about qualifying for a longer-term visa by remaining a tourist, but you also don’t get the benefits of having a longer-term visa, like being able to open a Mexican bank account (although a few banks now make exceptions), qualifying for Seguro Popular or IMSS government health insurance, getting a worker’s permit, and getting a senior discount card like DIF and INAPAM. You can, however, buy real estate on a Tourist document.

Most importantly, the law states that you can no longer upgrade from a Tourist document to a longer-term visa from within Mexico—with very few exceptions. Significant exceptions are if you have close family ties in Mexico such as a spouse or children who are Mexican citizens. In those cases, you can apply for a visa while in Mexico with a Tourist document.

Whenever you leave Mexico, you must turn in your Tourist document at the border.

Residente Temporal Visa

If you’re going to be in Mexico longer than 180 days, you may want to apply for a Residente Temporal or a Residente Permanente visa. But, you can only apply for a residence visa in your home country’s Mexican consulate.

If you’re retired, you have to prove one of the following financial qualifications (based on a conversion rate of 14.5 pesos to the US dollar).

– 6 months bank statements showing average monthly income of 21,030 pesos or $1,450 USD (300 days minimum wage) – can come from either employment or pension.

– or 12 months bank statements showing investment savings of an average of 350,500 pesos or $24,172 USD (5,000 days minimum wage)

Mexican consulates north of the border do not all apply the law and regulations the same way. For most of them, these financial qualifications apply to each adult, whether married or not. So, if you’re part of a couple, you may want to visit your Mexican consulate to find out what their requirements are in advance (or check their website) if you’re concerned about both of you qualifying. You may need to sign over some financial accounts to your partner six or twelve months before applying so you can both qualify. As a last resort, you may want to try applying at either the Las Vegas, Nevada or the Laredo, Texas Mexican consulates. They are known to be quite lenient in their requirements.

If you’re not retired, and you work for a company (Mexican or foreign), the company can assist you in getting a worker’s permit attached to your Residente Temporal visa. Be aware, though, that the visa will expire as soon as your employment with that company ends. If you’re not retired (with an independent income) and not working for a company that can help you get a worker’s permit, you will not be able to legally work in Mexico to earn a living (unless you qualify for a Residente Permanente visa or become a Mexican citizen). Your best bet will be to stick with a renewable Tourist document and take your chances on (illegally) earning a living. You won’t be the only one to have done this. If you already have a Residente Temporal visa, you can apply for a worker’s permit from within Mexico, though (you will need to see an attorney or facilitator for this). You will only be approved if it looks like you’ll be hiring Mexican workers, or at least not taking jobs away from Mexican workers or competing with them. Or, you could qualify as having unique skills, such as being an artist, photographer, or writer. But then, that’s how your income has to be earned, too.

If the Mexican consulate in your home country approves your application for a Residente Temporal visa, you will get a special visa sticker on your passport. Then you will have 6 months to enter Mexico. When entering Mexico, you will need to fill out an FMM document, but instead of indicating that you’re a tourist, you should indicate “Canje” (see item #8 below) and show the visa sticker the consulate placed in your passport. Here’s a sample document:

You will want to hand-write “CANJE” at the top of the form to make sure no one confuses the document with a Tourist document (which, unfortunately, uses the same FMM form). The reason this distinction is so important is that if it doesn’t say Canje on this form, Mexican records will show you as a Tourist, nullifying your Canje. It’s very difficult to correct that error after the fact.

Show the agents your FMM document so they can fill out their parts, and then you will have 30 days to have that document exchanged for an actual visa card at your local Mexican immigration office. It may take some weeks to actually get your new card. If you need to leave Mexico before you have your card, you’ll need a travel letter. It’s best to see an immigration facilitator or lawyer for one of these.

Your home consulate will probably only give you approval for a 1-year visa. A month before your visa expires, you can go to your local immigration office in Mexico to have it renewed for either 1, 2, or 3 more years. The current renewal cost is 3,519, 5,262, or 6,678 pesos, respectively, not counting facilitator fees. The maximum total amount of time you will have on your Residente Temporal visa is 4 years. There are no restrictions on how long you can be out of the country during those 4 years.

After the 4th year of having a Residente Temporal visa with no renewal lapses or expirations, you can apply locally for a Residente Permanente visa without having to prove any more financial qualifications. You can simply slide in. If you received your temporary visa before the new immigration law came into effect (November, 2012), the years you’ve had a temporary visa (some timely-renewed combination of the old FM2, FM3, or Residente Temporal visas) will probably be taken into account in order to qualify you.

But, if you do not qualify for becoming a Residente Permanente in this way (by sliding in), and you don’t qualify for a Residente Permanente visa based on your financial qualifications (see below), you will need to leave the country after the 4 years. You can go back to your home country and apply for a new Residente Temporal visa. Of course, you will have to show proof of the then-prevailing financial requirements. If that doesn’t work, you could still enter Mexico as a tourist.

Residente Permanente Visa

If you haven’t had 4 years on an uninterrupted (unexpired) temporary visa, enabling you to slide into a Residente Permanente visa, there are three other ways to get a Residente Permanente visa:

Having a Residente Permanente visa confers more Mexican benefits, like never having to renew the visa, and being able to earn an income without a permit. It’s not citizenship, but it’s close. If you qualify for a Residente Permanente visa at your home country’s consulate, the document you will get is a Canje FMM, just like the one shown above, and a visa sticker on your passport.

However, there is what many expats consider a drawback: Residente Permanentes may not own a foreign-plated vehicle. If you’re part of couple, it may make sense for one of you to remain a Residente Temporal for this reason (both of you can still drive it). Before the new law, it was a toss-up whether to sell your car north of the border before coming to Mexico or not. That’s because temporary visas were easy to renew in Mexico indefinitely. Now, it’s best to sell your car north of the border if you plan to become a Residente Permanente. You will have 4 years to think about it, of course.

If you’re retired, the financial requirements to become a Residente Permanente are:

– 6 months bank statements showing average monthly income of 35,050 pesos ($2,417 USD at exchange rate 14.5). That’s 500 times the daily minimum wage.

– or 12 months bank statements showing investment savings of an average of  1,402,000 pesos ($96,689 USD at exchange rate 14.5) That’s 20,000 times the daily minimum wage.

– or having an unexpired temporary visa for 4 years (some combination of the old FM2, FM3, and Residente Temporal visas).

According to the law, there is one other condition: having a minimum score on a points system. The point system is one of those regulations that never got published—and it may never get published. Just as for the Residente Temporal visa, there are no restrictions on how long you can be out of the country if you have a Residente Permanente visa.

If you want to go further, you can apply for Mexican citizenship after 5 years as a Residente Permanente (unless you qualify sooner for any other reason), in which case you’ll have voting rights, too, plus permission to get involved in Mexican politics (signing petitions, running for office, etc.).

Local Mexican immigration offices vary somewhat in the types of documents they require for one thing or another, and in how long they take to make something happen. So, it’s a good idea to check first. And, as mentioned, it’s quite possible that some or all of these laws, regulations, and procedures will change in the future. The website at LakeChapalaReporter.com was started in order to keep expats abreast of the changing laws and interpretations. You may want to consult it for updates.

Excerpted from: Moving to Mexico’s Lake Chapala, by Lisa L. Jorgensen

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