I write this because during the process of obtaining permanent residency in Mexico, I have relied on the internet to inform me of what I need to do.There is a lot of information out there, yet it failed me in the end. Blame it on my poor internet skills, if you will, or because I enter the country by car instead of by plane. What follows is the process I followed.
Caveat:I have only crossed at Laredo and El Paso. Each of them have a few bridges, some are more suitable for passenger cars than commercial trucks.
Driving across the border is effortless. At certain times of day the line is long, at other times it is only an hour. The Mexicans ask for no papers. As a tourist, one has permission to stay six months.
Problem is, no one stamps your passport when you drive across.
You have to park your car and go inside a building to get your passport stamped. At Juarez/El Paso the road at the entrance to the border is short, narrow and crooked. There is a yellow building on the left, with its own indoor parking lot.
At Laredo/Nuevo Laredo there is a very busy government building with a large parking lot, that deals with many services. Your car needs a permit to enter the country. This is where you obtain it, and get your passport entry stamp.
I suppose once you have your resident permit, this is where the paperwork is processed for 'importing' your car.
My car (2002 VW Passat in great shape) was too old; it was undesirable by the Mexican government. I could continue to renew its permit year by year, but I could never get rid of the American license plates, which act as a red flag to the local police seeking 'morditos', bribes.
Any cursory search reveals that you cannot apply for a residence visa from inside the Mexican borders. The application must be submitted at 'your local Mexican consulate'. [Since I moved from China to Mexico I had no locale; I went to the consulates in Texas.]
The requirements are simple. Bring along two passport photos. and your bank statements for six or twelve months Laredo asked for six, Austin asked for twelve. If you are receiving a social security pension, you receive an annual notice at the beginning of the year telling you how much you are receiving, net. Make sure you make one photocopy of this. You must demonstrate that you have enough money to support yourself. It is supposedly based on the average salary of a worker in Mexico City. You can find this information online fairly easily. I will try to include links here at the end. I think a savings or investment account showing $20,000 should be enough. Print out the summary page, all six or twelve months. Not necessary to make copies.
Now you need to make your appointment. I found this to be the hardest part of the entire process. If you live near the consulate, in Austin it is easy to walk in and make an appointment for the following week. In Laredo, not so easy. Laredo is a small office with overworked staff. Austin, by comparison, seems empty. In Austin there is a receptionist at the entrance, who will direct you to the window you want. I'm guessing it is easier to find someone on duty in their office in the afternoon, rather than at the 8 a.m. opening.
On the internet you will be given a phone number to call to make an appointment. This seems like a waste of time. The person answering the phone says that she can only make an appointment for someone seeking a Mexican passport. She says she cannot help you if you are seeking a visa. Yet at the Laredo office they gave me that number and said 'everyone here' got their appointment that way. (It is probably true that 90% of those present were seeking a Mexican passport, but he overlooked that detail).
That Mexican office, in Mexico City, is listed under MexiTel.
However it is that you obtain your interview, the visa should be issued and placed in your passport within hours. No need to sweat the interview; just have your papers ready. It is conducted in English, of course.
Now, with this passport visa you have six months to enter the country.
Once you have entered the country, you have thirty days to present it to your local Instituto Nacional de Migracion, commonly called the Migracion Office.
You should arrive with a filled out form (printed from the internet), the INM formato basico**.
The photos you need are tiny, called 'infantil, 2.5 x 3 cm , two front view and one profile. Once you have shown your passport, they will print out a form you must take to a bank to pay the fee. At the moment, temporary resident pays pesos $4,148 MXN. The permanent residence costs pesos $5,056 MXN. Depending on the exchange rate, it is somewhere around . US$200 ~$250.
Where I made my mistake was when I crossed the border, I forgot to get out of the car and enter a building to get my passport stamped. Technically I crossed the border and had 30 days to register near my Mexican home. But actually, because the passport was not stamped at the point of entry, I still have six months to drive back to the border and get it stamped.
For the Permanent Residency the process is the same at the local Migracion office. I fill out the INM formato basico, bring photos, run out to the bank to pay, and return with the receipt.
That local office will email you when the residence card has been issued. The first time, two emails arrived on the same day. One was to confirm that I had submitted my application, the second was to inform me that my card was ready. I did not read the second one closely, just assumed it was a duplicate confirmation, and waited a month before going back to ask where my card was. They greeted me with, "Oh, there you are! We were wondering when you come in to get this."
This time I will be more conscientious in reading my emails.
Once you have either temp or perm residence card, you can deal with TelCel to get the better phone and internet deals. You can open a bank account in your name, so that you can wire yourself money. You present it at the medical facility when you have medical needs.
Your CURP number is printed on that card. However, you still need to go to a local government office to geta peice of paper identifying your CURP. I don't understand that, someone did it for me.
With a temp residency, you cannot get the senior discount on bus travel. You need the permanent one for that.
To register with DIF it is difficult but not impossible as a temporary. You must go to the local mayor's office, to the Secretary of the town, and request an ID card. With that you might be able to register with DIF Desarollo de Integracion de la Familia. If you are living on the margin financially, there are certain benefits you can receive. No problem registering with the permanent visa, I think.
The very amiable official at my local Migracion office told me that with the permanent status I would have all rights and privileges same as a Mexican. He said I could vote, but other literature I've read said that is not included. I only mention that because when trying to maneuver in public spaces, like registering a car or subscribing to Satellite TV, I am asked for my IFE. That is the voting card. I have registered my new car and subscribed to TV without it.
++++
to try to obtain an appointment by phone, for a Mexican Consulate in the US, you will be sent to this site and given a phone number. The Laredo Consulate offers this site on a handout.: https://mexitel.sre.gob.mx I have found that using contact information given online by your local consulate is pretty useless. No one answers the phone, no one answers the emails.
This is the official instructions for obtaining a residence visa. https://www.gob.mx/tramites/ficha/expedicion-de-documento-migratorio-por-canje/INM811
This page has a link for you to apply online; it would not work for me.
This one is for Mexicans only: https://www.gob.mx/tramites
This page offers information to foreigners interested in living in Mexico
https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/montreal/index.php/en/foreigners/visa
Even though it is for Canadians, I think most information applies to US citizens as well.
Caveat:I have only crossed at Laredo and El Paso. Each of them have a few bridges, some are more suitable for passenger cars than commercial trucks.
Driving across the border is effortless. At certain times of day the line is long, at other times it is only an hour. The Mexicans ask for no papers. As a tourist, one has permission to stay six months.
Problem is, no one stamps your passport when you drive across.
You have to park your car and go inside a building to get your passport stamped. At Juarez/El Paso the road at the entrance to the border is short, narrow and crooked. There is a yellow building on the left, with its own indoor parking lot.
At Laredo/Nuevo Laredo there is a very busy government building with a large parking lot, that deals with many services. Your car needs a permit to enter the country. This is where you obtain it, and get your passport entry stamp.
I suppose once you have your resident permit, this is where the paperwork is processed for 'importing' your car.
My car (2002 VW Passat in great shape) was too old; it was undesirable by the Mexican government. I could continue to renew its permit year by year, but I could never get rid of the American license plates, which act as a red flag to the local police seeking 'morditos', bribes.
Any cursory search reveals that you cannot apply for a residence visa from inside the Mexican borders. The application must be submitted at 'your local Mexican consulate'. [Since I moved from China to Mexico I had no locale; I went to the consulates in Texas.]
The requirements are simple. Bring along two passport photos. and your bank statements for six or twelve months Laredo asked for six, Austin asked for twelve. If you are receiving a social security pension, you receive an annual notice at the beginning of the year telling you how much you are receiving, net. Make sure you make one photocopy of this. You must demonstrate that you have enough money to support yourself. It is supposedly based on the average salary of a worker in Mexico City. You can find this information online fairly easily. I will try to include links here at the end. I think a savings or investment account showing $20,000 should be enough. Print out the summary page, all six or twelve months. Not necessary to make copies.
Now you need to make your appointment. I found this to be the hardest part of the entire process. If you live near the consulate, in Austin it is easy to walk in and make an appointment for the following week. In Laredo, not so easy. Laredo is a small office with overworked staff. Austin, by comparison, seems empty. In Austin there is a receptionist at the entrance, who will direct you to the window you want. I'm guessing it is easier to find someone on duty in their office in the afternoon, rather than at the 8 a.m. opening.
On the internet you will be given a phone number to call to make an appointment. This seems like a waste of time. The person answering the phone says that she can only make an appointment for someone seeking a Mexican passport. She says she cannot help you if you are seeking a visa. Yet at the Laredo office they gave me that number and said 'everyone here' got their appointment that way. (It is probably true that 90% of those present were seeking a Mexican passport, but he overlooked that detail).
That Mexican office, in Mexico City, is listed under MexiTel.
However it is that you obtain your interview, the visa should be issued and placed in your passport within hours. No need to sweat the interview; just have your papers ready. It is conducted in English, of course.
Now, with this passport visa you have six months to enter the country.
Once you have entered the country, you have thirty days to present it to your local Instituto Nacional de Migracion, commonly called the Migracion Office.
You should arrive with a filled out form (printed from the internet), the INM formato basico**.
The photos you need are tiny, called 'infantil, 2.5 x 3 cm , two front view and one profile. Once you have shown your passport, they will print out a form you must take to a bank to pay the fee. At the moment, temporary resident pays pesos $4,148 MXN. The permanent residence costs pesos $5,056 MXN. Depending on the exchange rate, it is somewhere around . US$200 ~$250.
Where I made my mistake was when I crossed the border, I forgot to get out of the car and enter a building to get my passport stamped. Technically I crossed the border and had 30 days to register near my Mexican home. But actually, because the passport was not stamped at the point of entry, I still have six months to drive back to the border and get it stamped.
For the Permanent Residency the process is the same at the local Migracion office. I fill out the INM formato basico, bring photos, run out to the bank to pay, and return with the receipt.
That local office will email you when the residence card has been issued. The first time, two emails arrived on the same day. One was to confirm that I had submitted my application, the second was to inform me that my card was ready. I did not read the second one closely, just assumed it was a duplicate confirmation, and waited a month before going back to ask where my card was. They greeted me with, "Oh, there you are! We were wondering when you come in to get this."
This time I will be more conscientious in reading my emails.
Once you have either temp or perm residence card, you can deal with TelCel to get the better phone and internet deals. You can open a bank account in your name, so that you can wire yourself money. You present it at the medical facility when you have medical needs.
Your CURP number is printed on that card. However, you still need to go to a local government office to geta peice of paper identifying your CURP. I don't understand that, someone did it for me.
With a temp residency, you cannot get the senior discount on bus travel. You need the permanent one for that.
To register with DIF it is difficult but not impossible as a temporary. You must go to the local mayor's office, to the Secretary of the town, and request an ID card. With that you might be able to register with DIF Desarollo de Integracion de la Familia. If you are living on the margin financially, there are certain benefits you can receive. No problem registering with the permanent visa, I think.
The very amiable official at my local Migracion office told me that with the permanent status I would have all rights and privileges same as a Mexican. He said I could vote, but other literature I've read said that is not included. I only mention that because when trying to maneuver in public spaces, like registering a car or subscribing to Satellite TV, I am asked for my IFE. That is the voting card. I have registered my new car and subscribed to TV without it.
++++
to try to obtain an appointment by phone, for a Mexican Consulate in the US, you will be sent to this site and given a phone number. The Laredo Consulate offers this site on a handout.: https://mexitel.sre.gob.mx I have found that using contact information given online by your local consulate is pretty useless. No one answers the phone, no one answers the emails.
This is the official instructions for obtaining a residence visa. https://www.gob.mx/tramites/ficha/expedicion-de-documento-migratorio-por-canje/INM811
This page has a link for you to apply online; it would not work for me.
This one is for Mexicans only: https://www.gob.mx/tramites
This page offers information to foreigners interested in living in Mexico
https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/montreal/index.php/en/foreigners/visa
Even though it is for Canadians, I think most information applies to US citizens as well.
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