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Living in México |
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You have completed your move, now it's time to settle in to your new life in a new country. Here are some of the things I have learned that may be helpful to you. Care and Feeding of Your Residente visa 27 August 2014 Changing from Residente Temporal to Residente Permanente 21 December 2012 Lost or Stolen Visa Card 30 November 2012 Permiso de Salida y Regreso. 22 March 2013 Change of Address notice to INM 22 May 2012 Stuff and Things updated 26 December 2011 Please be aware that rules and regulations change from time to time and some Mexican authorities sometimes put their own interpretations on the rules. While I have tried to keep the information here accurate and up-to-date, you may find variations. The INM is still trying to come to grips with the new procedures, so don't be surprised if your INM office has a somewhat different take on the rules. |
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Care and Feeding of Your Residente Temporal Registering with INM if you applied at a consulate:
When you apply for a Residente
Temporal visa at a
consulate in your home country, the consulate will attach a special form
to your passport. With this attachment, you will have 180 days to make your move to México.
Once you arrive in México, you will have only 30 days to go
When you cross the border, you will need to get an FMM. This will not be a regular tourist visa, rather it is a special document for your situation. Be absolutely, positively sure that the agent writes or marks CANJE on the FMM. That means you will be exchanging your border paperwork for the final paperwork at INM. You will turn in this FMM at the INM office.
You will be allowed to pay for only one year. At renewal rime you will have the option to pay for multiple years
Annual
Renewals can only be made within México at your local INM office and must be made within 30 days before your visa expires. There is a myth that you have a 30-day grace period after the renewal date in which you can do a late renewal without a penalty. This is not true. There is no grace period. Letting your visa expire is a serous matter and can result in its being cancelled.
There is a
55-day grace period if you are out of
México when your visa expires. If you return during that 55-day
window, get yourself in gear to do your renewal promptly -- you have
only five business days to report to your INM office. You will need proof that you were gone -- airline receipts and
boarding passes should help. If you are more that 55 days late, your
INM has a webpage where you must create a
personal account that will begin the process. This is not
optional, you must apply online. If you are married or have
children, each person must make their own application.
You will need to take the following to the INM office.
They will
tell you if anything more is required. They will give you a
payment form to take to
the bank to pay the fee.
1
year
$3,243
Probably, you will not need to take bank statements or proof of address. Instead you
must write a letter in Spanish stating that nothing has changed in
your income or residence. Here is a sample letter for a
Instituto Nacional de Migración
Yo bajo protesta de decir verdad declaro que mantengo las mismas
condiciones y actividades realizadas bajo las cuales me fue
concedida mi característica migratoria
__________________________
____________
Checking on the progress of your renewal can done from this website. The Pieza is your application ID number. The INM office will give you the Contraseña (password) and the NUT numbers when they accept your papers. After you enter the Pieza and Contraseña, click on Buscar, and a new page will come up asking you to select the NUT -- probably only one choice. Then all the particulars of your application will appear. Not all offices support this online service. Leaving the country while an application is pending: The new renewal procedure is much faster than the old one, but there still could be a situation requiring you to leave the country while your renewal is in the hands of the INM. There is a procedure to take care of that. It's called Permiso de Salida y Regreso. You can apply at the INM office where they will sell you a permit that you can use to exit and reenter the country.
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Changing from Residente
Temporal to After 4 years with a Residente Temporal you can apply for a Residente Permanente. The only real disadvantage to Permanente is that you cannot have or drive a foreign-plated car. If you want to keep your foreign car, you will need to start over with a new Temporal. Read here to learn how to do it. If your spouse or child is a citizen, you will need only two years as a Residente Temporal. Consult your INM office for detailed requirements.
You will need to take the following to the INM office.
Here is a sample letter which I used when I changed to RP:
Instituto Nacional de Migración
__________________________
____________
You can apply for a Residente Permanente without 4 years on another visa form by meeting any one of these three financial requirements: Submit documents proving one of the following assumptions:
Original and copy of proof of investments
or bank accounts with average monthly equivalent to twenty-five thousand days
of general minimum wage during the last twelve
months.
or
Original and copy of written proof from a
Notario confirming that you own real property,. or have trustee
rights, with a value equal to forty thousand days of the minimum wage. or
Original and copies of documents showing that pension income has higher
monthly equivalent of five hundred (500)days' wages current minimum wage for the past six months.
There are other options that apply to large-scale businesses or investments. These are beyond the scope of this discussion. Get dissection from your INM office as to the exact paperwork required. Leaving the country while an application is pending: The new renewal procedure is much slower than the old one, so there could be a situation requiring you to leave the country while your renewal is in the hands of the INM. There is a procedure to take care of that. It's called Permiso de Salida y Regreso. You can apply at the INM office where they will sell you a permit that you can use to exit and reenter the country. INM wants each traveler to provide the following - Go to the INM do everything online form. Under Que Desea hacer?, choose option Obtener permiso de salida y regreso (second option from bottom). Fill out the form and print as usual. - a letter in Spanish and one copy requesting the permit and listing some travel details. A sample letter is below.
- copy of the picture page of your passport INM will give you a payment form ($320 pesos) to pay at the bank. When the agent finishes processing your request, you will get a Permiso de Salida y Regreso from which you will use to exit and reenter México. It is very important that the INM agent at the airport stamp this form going and returning. The form must be turned in to the issuing office promptly after your return.. Sample Letter
Instituto
Nacional de Migración Mientras que mi tarjeta residencia está siendo procesada por la oficina, tengo que viajar a la [city] Puedo solicitar un Permiso de Salida y Regreso a fin de que yo pueda viajar a [city] atender asuntos personales. Planeo salir el [date] en [name] vuelo de una aerolínea [number] y regresar el [date] en [name] vuelo de una aerolínea [number]. Gracias por su ayuda.
Signature__________________________ Typed name
____________
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Change of Address If you move, you must notify INM within 30 days or face a fine. This applies to both Temporal and Permanente. You will need to fill out the INM 'everything' form online following the instruction here. Scroll down a bit. In addition you will need:
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Lost or Stolen Visa Card If you have a foto-copy of your lost ID, the process goes much more smoothly. If your ID was stolen, many/most INM offices require official copies of the police reports from the jurisdiction where it was stolen. The police documentation should clearly state your name, where, when, how, and any other pertinent details of the theft... INM officials have explained that they are troubled by ID fraud and ID selling by expats. For these reasons, INM can be surprisingly sticky about lost or stolen INM IDs, especially when lost outside of Mexico. As a result: Many INM offices also require the person who lost the ID to go to their Fiscalia Publica offices to get an approved confirmation form certifying you are who you are. This means added trips, waiting in lines, more copies of your IDs. For 2014, the fee for a replacement card is $1036. Here's one person's first hand report of her experience.
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Traveling with a dog: Most hotels in México will not let your friend in the door, so taking him on a trip can be a big pain. Here is a website that has searched out some hotels around the country that will welcome him: http://gringodog.com Politics: As a guest resident in México, you have no right to be involved in Mexican politics; in fact, it is strictly forbidden by the Mexican Constitution. If you are caught engaging in any political activity, you will be expelled from the country. This prohibition includes making political speeches, engaging in demonstrations, signing petitions, etc, and, of course, voting in any kind of Mexican election. Even a bumper sticker could get you in trouble. Participation in non-political actions is allowed. Here is a translation on the germane parts of 2 articles from the Constitution. Article 8 - Public officials and employees shall respect the exercising of the right of petitioning, as long as it is formulated, by writing, in a calm and respectful manner. However, in political matters only citizens of the Republic shall have use of this right. Article 9 - The right to associate or peacefully assemble for any lawfulpurpose shall not be abridged; but only citizens of the Republic may do so in order to take part in the political affairs of the country.,,, By singling out political matters, it seems reasonable to believe that actions regarded as non-political are OK. The rub comes from who gets to decide what is political and what is not. Well folks, it ain't us. This will be done by a politician/bureaucrat. Depending on how many stripes he has on his sleeve, his definition could result in a heap of woe for the expat that roiled him. Bottom line: Pick your causes with care lest you get a quick trip to the border. The Mexican Constitution: Look here for the 2009 version of the Constitution. Voting:
You may continue to vote
in your home country if they allow voting by people living outside the
country. Citizens of the USA are allowed absentee voting. To
learn how to register click here: Taxes: There are a number of important tax laws that you need to learn about. But the subject is too complex (and important) for me to discuss, so I suggest that you check out these web links: General Advice on Taxes: More useful information can be found on these websites: |
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