Know the Law in Mexico
In August, we covered the basic things you need to watch for and or take care of for first time visitors into Mexico – simple Immigration issues and car importation permits. This was intended for the first time or unseasoned visitor.
This month we will cover some issues for the experienced visitor who may be staying indefinitely, or is possibly moving here to Mexico. We will start with some of the Immigration issues that you may come across. This will be more of a concern for those individuals who come into Mexico on a Tourist Visa (FMT) and want to apply for the FM3 or FM2 here.
One of the more confusing issues can revolve around the bank statements required to demonstrate to Immigration that you are able to support yourselves while living here. Many individuals moving here do their banking on-line – it’s simple and convenient. Unfortunately Mexico is not quite the paperless society you may enjoy north of the border. Immigration does require original statements from your bank or investment house. Internet copies generally are not accepted, as they are too easy to modify to adjust the amount of income you may have. So make the arrangements with your bank to continue sending these statements to you.
Do you have to have a Mexican bank account? No, statements are accepted from whichever country you may be from, Canada or the U.S.A. for example.
Another area of confusion deals with the income amounts required by Immigration. For an FM3 application, the statements need to show either $1,000 USD of deposits per month per person for three months, OR a balance of $12,000 USD per person for the three consecutive months. Please remember to make sure all the applicants’ names are on said statements. The FM2 amounts are $1400 or $16,800 per month. These amounts are reduced by half if you own a home in Mexico. Amounts and rules are different for dependants.
If you plan on applying for IMSS (Mexican Health System), you will need your birth certificate and marriage license if you’re married. These are required for the application, which also need to be translated into Spanish. So have these packed and ready for your trip down.
Every year we see younger people moving here. These younger individuals may have other issues to deal with that our retired community may not consider. One of the major issues is children – not the children you may bring down with you, but the ones born here. The issue that arises is the paperwork needed for the parents to register the child in Mexico. If the parent is a foreigner, he or she will need a birth certificate from the country of birth. This birth certificate will also need to be certified. If you are from a country that is part of the Hague Convention (the U.S. for example) you will need to have an apostille attached to it. If your birth country is not part of the Hague (Canada for example) you will need to have it certified at a Mexican Consulate in Canada. Here is the catch however. The apostille or certification cannot be more than one year old. So you may need to plan to have your birth certificates sent to the U.S. or Canada for this to be accomplished while you or your spouse is pregnant. Please note, these original certified certificates will be kept by the Mexican officials and not returned.
