As many of you know, my business is in the Mexico Real Estate Industry But our services also include helping the new buyers “move and adjust” into this new country, introducing them to new friends and neighbors, and helping them become legal Mexico residentsWe are starting to receive a great amount of emails over the past couple of months with the questions
“I am a Mexican Foreigner and I want to live and work in Mexico full time, How do I get a Mexican Visa” I have written several articles before on this subject, but I thought with this recent surge in emails regarding this theme, I would revisit and update these articles.
MEXICO VISA CATEGORIES
Non-Mexicans are allowed to enter into Mexico with basically two visa options which is the path towards obtaining a permanent residency:
a) Non-residents are non-Mexicans with a temporary permit.
b) Temporary-residents are non-Mexicans with the plan of residing in this counrty and a plan to eventually obtain a permanent status
c) Permanent-residents are non-Mexicans who obtain the the right to reside permanently in this country.
MEXICO NON-RESIDENT PERMITS
These permits inlcude the FMT visa which is commonly used by tourists These are typically prepared with 30 days but can be requested with a period upto 180 days Other permits within this category include the student permit, Political Refugee, Correspondent permit amongst others
MEXICOTEMPORARY-RESIDENT PERMITS
This is what most non-Mexico Real Estate buyers obtain in order to help them with their documentation, to set up bank accounts and other day to day activities The most common permits are the Resident Pensioner, or a Mexican resident who lives off of revenues generated from another country other than Mexico The investor resident is one who invests money in Mexico and lives off of these earnings A Professional resident is one who practices his/her profession in Mexico, while an Executive resident works specifically for a position in a Mexican Entity Artists and sports professionals is exactly as the title describes, those who practice their talents within the Mexican territory There are basically two permits allowed for the TEMPORARY-RESIDENT, the FM3 and the FM2 The FM3 is valid for a maximum period of 12 months Once it expires it can be renewed for another 12 month period Once the Temporary Resident has obtained five of these permist consecutively, he can apply for a FM2 Again the FM2 is only valid for a maximum of 12 months and can be renewed indefinitely
MEXICO PERMANENT RESIDENT
After 2 years of receiving the FM2, the temporary resident is elgible to apply and obtain a permanent resident status in Mexico This process is called naturalization, and there are other options to obtain this residency For example throught birth, if you are a direct descendent of a Mexican, or through marriage
Thomas Lloyd graduated from Purdue University Krannert School of Management with a degree in Management/Financial Option Investments. He has been living, investing, and working professionally in Mexico for over 15 years. Active broker and current president of TOPmexicorealestate, you can contact him at (512) 879-6546 or through the company`s web site www.TOPmexicorealestate.com
I am married to a Mexican citizen. Which steps do I take? And, where do I start application???
Thank you
My experience has been a variation of your posting and want to pass this on for consideration as the changes in the laws are perpetual. I obtained my Immigrado status a few years ago and these are my comments for consideration.
MEXICO PERMANENT RESIDENT
After 5 years of receiving the FM3, the temporary resident is eligible to apply and obtain an FM2.
After 5 years of receiving the FM2, the temporary resident is eligible to apply and obtain a permanent resident status in Mexico, Immigrado status, or apply for another FM2 or FM3. That is 5 years with FM3 and 5 years with and FM2. The FM2 is valid for a maximum period of 12 months. Once it expires it can be renewed for another 12 month period. Once the Temporary Resident has obtained five FM2 permits consecutively, he/she can apply for an Immigrado status.
An Immigrado status FM2 is valid indefinitely.
A word of caution – your FM3 or FM2 booklet is the property of the Mexican Government, although you paid for it, so NEVER discard or trash your copy. If you decide you no longer need or want it then turn it in to an official Mexican government office or INM and get a receipt. keep the receipt in case their is ever a question as their is a significant fine for destroying the document and you are still in their computer records.
Naturalization is applied for through a different department than INM, though I forgot the name. As I understand a recent change has removed the Spanish language test requirement from the Naturalization process for persons over age 65.
Be aware that an FM2 has restrictions that are not part of an FM3. For example the FM3 has no restrictions on number of entry and exits from Mexico or time restrictions but an FM2 has restrictions on the amount of time outside Mexico that may be incontinent for snowbirds.
It is Highly recommended that property owners have an FM3 or FM2, although I am not aware that it is a requirement. Also owning property should reduce the income requirement by half for an FM3 or FM2 application, as I understand the current requirements.
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