If you are planning on visiting Mexico, or moving down in the near future there are a few things you should do before coming. A passport is currently the recommended document to have to enter Mexico. That will probably allow you to get a tourist visa to stay for up to six months. At the end of the six months you must leave the country and re-enter for a new tourist visa. The U.S. requires a passport now to enter/return to/from Mexico by air.
What some have found out with the tourist visa (FM-T) is that the person at the airport may put an arbitrary number there, unless you tell them otherwise. So if you are staying for 120 days, be sure they put 120 days on the card. You have up to 180 days. If you go over and don’t get another FM-T, there are hefty fines that must be paid. It’s about $1 USD a day, plus the cost of a new FM-T card. It adds up quickly.
To stay for a year or more you need to make application for an FM-3. FM-3 visas are good because this allows you to live for a year in Mexico, they can be renewed without leaving the country, and they allow you to bring all of your household items over the border duty and tax free.
An FM-3 can be obtained before you ever reach the Mexican border (what we did) or you can make application while in Mexico (takes longer). The FM-3 can be renewed while in Mexico; you do not have to leave the country to renew. There are 10 different types of FM-3; retired, student, businessperson, etc. Each have different advantages and requirements. You should check with the Mexican consulate nearest you for what is required. Each Mexican consulate can have its own requirements for getting a visa, so depending on where you are living the requirements may vary.
In general, though, you will need notarized proof of income of $1300 a month if you are single, and $2000 for a married couple (updated 9/13/08) for the past three months. This is to prove that you are economically stable, and will not become a drain on the Mexican economy. In addition to proof of income, you may also need to write a letter to the immigration office giving your name, address, and purpose for wanting a visa. Sometimes these need to be translated into Spanish, other times not. If you are married or have children you will need an apostilled marriage certificate and also apostilled birth certificates for you children. You will then fill out a form, provide photos of yourself and your dependants, make many copies of all the documents and pay a fee of about $150 per FM3. In order to work in Mexico you either need to be an ‘independent’ something or be sponsored by a Mexican business (harder to get, but not impossible.)
It is important to have your paperwork in order and apostilled before going to the consulate. An apostile is an official seal that is internationally recognized as proof of authenticity. Obtaining it can at times be a bit of a chore. This must be done in your home country and can take quite a bit of paperwork to get, so start early. At the time of this writing, you cannot get the seal in Mexico. You must request a new copy of the document (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.) with the seal affixed. This will cost additional money, but will facilitate ease in renewal of the FM-3 later. As you will find, official stamps, seals, and copies are what makes the bureaucratic world go around.
It can take a lot of additional effort to get these papers while already living in Mexico. The best course of action is to obtain them before coming to Mexico.
Be prepared to have to return at least once or twice to the Mexican consulate, some have had to return as many as 5 or 6 times until they get everything right. Because of the obvious difficulty, some have chosen to have a service obtain the FM3 for them. This usually costs more, but it can be worth it in the amount of time and effort it saves.
Hopefully this addresses any concerns one might have for obtaining visas to live in Mexico. I’ve tried to make this as accurate and detailed as possible. If there is something that needs to be changed or added please let us know!
