Visa Requirements for Mexico

One of the more bizarre examples of what I alluded to in the previous chapter about Mexico being, how shall I say this, a land of inconsistencies, is trying to obtain your FM3 visa.

The FM3 visa is merely a kind of visa that, if you meet the income requirement, allows you to stay in the country without having to return to the border each 6 months for renewal as in the case of the tourist visa.

If you've ever visited Mexico you know that you have to pay a small fee for a tourist visa. This permits you to stay in the country for up to 6 months before it expires. You can return to the border to renew that visa and many expats do just that. I know of an author who wrote a rather famous book about San Miguel de Allende some twenty years ago who he still functions on a tourist visa.

Basically the FM3 allows you to stay in the country without having to return to the border to renew it. It must be renewed yearly and can be done in country. The tourist visa, however, must be renewed at the border.

If you apply for the FM3 there are certain requirements you have to meet mostly with regard to a yearly income. And, of course, there are hoops through which you will have to jump like a little circus dog. But, that is Mexico.

To apply for the FM3 you can do one of two things. You can go to a local Mexican embassy or come into Mexico on a tourist visa and then apply in Mexico. That is the option we chose. However, if you apply while in America you will have hoops to jump through that, in my view, are positively nightmarish.

Since I have never applied while in the United States I am relaying information to you via other expats who obtain their FM3 while still in America. What they relayed to me was a horror. Later you will see why it is simple and easier to wait until you arrive in Mexico to obtain your FM3.

My friend Howard told me that when he applied in Austin, Texas this is what he had to go through:

1. Fill out the application.
2. Provide bank records proving you are financially solvent.
3. Provide a marriage certificate if coming in as a couple.
4. Provide a birth certificate.
5. Three copies of your passport.
6. A letter from your local police department stating that you are not a hardened criminal.
7. Get passport-type pictures made.
8. Present all of this with the fee and wait, wait, wait!

When my wife and I applied in San Miguel de Allende we had to provide:

1. Our passports
2. Our tourist visa
3. Our marriage license
4. A copy of our rental agreement

We paid a service in San Miguel de Allende who does this fulltime and in two weeks we had our FM3's with absolutely no hassle. They do all the work, make all the copies, and take all the pictures.

Every one, without exception, who have told us they applied for their FM3's by themselves have had to endure the nightmare of Mexican bureaucracy and have had to go back, and back, and back. Even while here in Mexico there are those expats that try to save some money and do the paperwork themselves and without exception end up going back and forth to the Immigration Office endlessly.

There are lawyers, individuals, and services who will get your FM3 for you. Everyone we know, without exception, who have used this service have gotten their FM3's without so much as a hang nail. This begs the question, "Why?". The only possible answer that I have been able to come up with is that when the Immigration Officers see a gringo face coming without the escort of a Mexican who provides this service that they suddenly forget everything and suddenly can tell you nothing accurate.

Case in point: Last year we foolishly tried to do our FM3 ourselves. We waltzed in there with the forms and money and are told that the income requirement has changed. You see, what you have to do is show a certain amount of money per month during the three months previous bank statements. The Immigration boys told us we had to make $1000.00 EACH a month. We rushed over to the Consulate's office who told us we needed to make $1,200.00 EACH a month. We called one of the services who told us an even different amount.

We found out much later, after our FM3's had expired, that the Mexican government had indeed changed the income level required but apparently no one knew about it or what that new amount was….

This happens all too often in this country!

But the moral of this story is go to San Miguel de Allende-NEVER GO TO LEON-and hire one of the services to do this yearly deed for you. Even if you do not have the exact income amount required the services know how to circumvent this for you!

1. Never apply for the FM3 in America.
2. Never try to do it yourself.
3. Never go to Leon.
4. Always go to San Miguel and hire one of the services to do it for you!

In San Miguel de Allende you can find these services right next door to the Immigration office and across the street from the immigration office. We have dealt with the folks across the street.

Visa Web Sites

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/visa.html

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/immigration.html

http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/downloadable_files/mexican_visa_app.PDF ( DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN COPY OF THE FM4 APPLICATION FORM…See graphic below)

Working Papers

http://virtual-showcase.com/wwwboard/messages/3187.html

Foreigners Living in Mexico

http://www.tomzap.com/living.html

Visa Issues

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/immigration.html

http://www.solutionsabroad.com/a_immigrationmexico.asp

http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/visas_fm3.htm

http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/visas_fmt_us_canada.htm

http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/visas_fm2.htm