Job Discussion Forums

[bdbarnett1]

Hello all,

I noticed a post from just after the new immigration procedures took effect, that it was possible to have a work visa through a school, and have an added Independiente aspect so that you could work for others, so long as your main employer signed off.

Does this mean that the other people you worked/consulted for under the independiente part would NOT have to ask approval to hire a foreigner, you would just give them an official receipt for tax purposes?

Cost/process?

Thanks in advance.

[notamiss]

I don’t know if things have changed in that respect since the immigration reform, or if the independiente status wasn’t explained well.

To the best of my knowledge, and certainly the way it used to be, independiente isn’t an addendum to authorization to work for a particular employer, but rather a different alternative. So if you change to independiente status, you can work for anyone, including your original employer. You don’t have to have specific approval to work for any other employer; the approval is already implied by your independiente status.

I am guessing that they don’t need approval to hire a foreigner because they are not hiring you; rather you are a service provider selling your services to them. But this is the part I’m most unsure about.

If I am wrong about this, please correct me, anyone who knows for sure.

[bdbarnett1]

This is the post I'm referencing

[Tretyakovskii]

I think notamiss summarized it correctly, as it was earlier, in our experience. The legal point was that to get the residence permit and permission to work issued or renewed each year you no longer needed an employer-sponsor, as you filled that role yourself, as a self-employed person. I think the fact that you already have permission to live and work in Mexico will greatly simplify the process.

In this situation I would proceed by using the process of tramite para notificar cambios. https://www.inm.gob.mx/tramites/publico/estancia.html

Get someone to help you with this because, at a minimum, you will need a cover letter explaining that you want to add this type of work to your existing permission. In the comments section of the application you will be listing your attachments and explaining that you wish to add "permiso para prestar mis servicios de manera independiente" to your existiing permission to work. (The form speaks of changing your place of work but your cover letter and the comments will make it clear that you are not changing, but adding a new element.)

I believe you will find there is no fee associated with this tramite, and the INM has five business days to act on it, so it should come quickly. The decision will be reflected in a letter from the INM, showing that you have their blessing.

Get a list of prospective students to sign a document expressing interest in studying with you, and submit it along with the notification. Do this now, while you have a current work status with immigration. You do not need the permission of your employer to add this extra work, so far as immigration will be concerned. (Whether your employer would object is another matter though in Mexico nothing is more common than people working extra jobs, and doing extra work when they have the opportunity.)

Consult with the tax office to find out how to open a tax status for a self-employed person. They'll be glad to help! If I were going through this process I'd get the tax regime for self-employment set up first (takes just one visit to the tax office) so that you can have something to present to INM.
_________________

The comments above are written from the point of view that you are going to teach independently, and you want the INM's blessing; however, the law actually contemplates a 90 calendar day period in which you have to notify INM of a change in your work situation that has already occurred, so the best way to approach this may be to take care of setting up the tax regime, get an accountant to help with the bookkeeping and monthly reports required, and starting teaching independently, notifying INM later, after the fact, as the law contemplates. If you try notifying them of your intentions ahead of time you may find, as I did once, that INM will tell you to come back with your notification only AFTER you have made the changes, and started doing the new work!

[Guy Courchesne]

Thank you, Tretyakovskii, well elaborated.

However, I have been hearing from people in Guadalajara, Merida, and DF that this process of switching to self-employed while still having an employee sponsored visa is being denied by immigration due to some policy changes in the last several months at INM.

I'm watching this carefully myself as it affects some of the work we've been doing in DF. Would love to hear from someone who has tried this - successfully or not - in the last two months.

[bdbarnett1]

Thanks for the comments.

Am I correct in assuming that this only applies to those with residencia temporal (with permission to work), not residencia permanente, who have permission to work anywhere by virtue of having permanente status?

Any or all of the above may be wrong, feel free to correct

[Tretyakovskii]

One of the reasons I proposed this approach was to make getting the status of self employed the easiest and cheapest possible. Taking on a few private clients, not a second employer, struck me as easier to achieve at this point- as did doing it by notification, now, rather than at renewal. Keeping things as simple as possible, and giving the INM the least issues to deal with helps improve the odds of not meeting objections.

At renewal the teacher would begin presenting his own application and paying the associated fees, which removes any apparent unfairness to any employer who might otherwise be paying for the process in case the teacher wants to take on other work, later.
_________________

In my own case, once I had temporary residence established, with self employed status, I was told that no permission was required to take on new work, that notification was all that was necessary in the case of having a new employer, or an additional employer. (In my case I did have, at the same time, self employment income and income as an employee, both of which were reflected in my tax declarations.) At the time I was told the permission to work independently eliminated the need for a sponsor, so far as INM was concerned, but did not limit the work I could take on.

As for the question about permanent residence, I agree you are free to accept any lawful employment but notifications of changes are still required, even in this status.

[Fitzgerald]

I was able to switch to independiente status about 8 months before I obtained my Residente Permanente this August, and now I am "home free" in all respects, bless the stars above.

I have talked to Guy about this, and apparently there have been considerable differences among INM offices as to how receptive they are to making this change. I did not find it especially challenging here in Queretaro.

[bdbarnett1]

[Fitzgerald]

[Rose Cohen]

[notamiss]

[Tretyakovskii]

I don't know if this will help clarify things or further muddy it up.

Guy, you spoke in terms of people making a "switch" in status, with INM locally objecting, at times. Although I, too, had in mind a "switch" at renewal, I didn't conceive of notification adding some private clients as a "switch" in status.

I'm sorry I didn't ask you to clarify what you meant, at the time, and now others have picked up this "switch" concept and terminology.

I feel it's quite a different thing, both procedurely, and in terms of how INM is likely to respond, if the notification process is employed to add contract work to an existing permission to work.

Perhaps considering whether, in those instances you're familiar with, the request made to INM to add some work was done at renewal, or by notification, will shed some light on this.

[Fitzgerald]

My change was a complete change in status from working for a sponsoring employer to working altogether independently. I also changed my address (new city) at the same time. I made the change between renewals and just a few months shy of applying for my Residente Permanente.

[BadBeagleBad]