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monkeylady
Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Posts: 16
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 Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:45 am Post subject: Best way to get important documents to Mexico from UK? |
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Hi
Was hoping you might be able to help. The evil legalisation dept. has mucked up apostillating my documents, and now they won't be ready before I go to begin my new job in Mexico.
My mum will have to send them over to me as soon as they arrive there. Could anyone reccomend the best way to do this fast - courrier or post office? (I am in a small town in Oaxaca)
Also, do you think the university is likely to let me work illegally for a week or so until they arrive, or do things tend to be very strict regarding documents?
Thanks for your help, I am v stressed about this! |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:32 am Post subject: |
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| Courier...most definitely. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with Guy. Go with a courier service. Don't have anything important sent to you via the post office.
As for starting to work at the university before you have your work visa, I think much depends on the particular immigration office (how strictly immigration laws regarding work visas are enforced there.) It varies a lot from immigration office to immigration office. The university may let you start working unofficially, meaning you'd be working, but your name wouldn't appear anywhere in their system -- sort of like a "ghost teacher" -- until you had your work visa. If the immigration office is really strict in that part of the country, the university probably wouldn't let you start working before you had your work visa, maybe schedule your classes to start later than other classes or have another teacher cover those classes until you were legal.
Also, keep in mind that receiving your work visa isn't an immediate thing. Depending on the particular immigration office, the process can take anywhere from a week to three weeks to complete after all the paperwork has been turned in. Technically, if you start working before the process has been completed, you are working illegally. |
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sickbag
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 155
Location: Blighty
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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Monkeylady
Are you still in England? Anywhere near London? I literally had to go to the office on The Mall two days before I was due to fly as my University messed me around. Got it done in an afternoon.
As for working illegally, I currently am whilst the school sort out the FM3 - this is something that was predetermined though so I guess it depends. I�ve been paid cash for the last 6 weeks or so. I guess it depends on the employer. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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| As for working illegally, I currently am whilst the school sort out the FM3 - this is something that was predetermined though so I guess it depends. I�ve been paid cash for the last 6 weeks or so. I guess it depends on the employer. |
This isn't all that uncommon. sometimes it takes up to 30 days (or more) to get the papers. I've been told that you are legally covered as long as the paperwork is in immigration's hands. They will provide a letter stating such. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| I've been told that you are legally covered as long as the paperwork is in immigration's hands. They will provide a letter stating such. |
I've heard that, too. However, if you read the letter that they provide, it states that the person is legally covered to be in the county while the paperwork is en tramite but it says nothing about the applicant being legally entitled to work prior to receiving his official work visa. That's the way the university lawyer where I work interprets it; thus, whenever my paperwork is en tramite for renewal, my name doesn't appear on the university's list of employees. If immigration had inspected the university's employment records in Recursos Humanos in the central administration building last week, they'd have found that the last day I was officially employed by the university was August 31st (final date of my previous contract.) Even though my work visa's expiration date was September 24th of this year, and the renewal process was completed late last week for another year, out of fear of immigration inspections, the university won't officially employ me until they see a current work visa that covers the entire period of time of my contract. In some parts of the country, immigration officials are rather flexible. Such is not usually the case in this city, however, especially when dealing with the state university. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| In some parts of the country, immigration officials are rather flexible. Such is not usually the case in this city, however, especially when dealing with the state university. |
Really? I woud expect that your papers would all be back-dated anyway by the time you receive them. That, and your history working at the same place...you would have to get an extremely nasty migra official to experience any kind of trouble. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| I woud expect that your papers would all be back-dated anyway by the time you receive them. |
Nope, they aren't back-dated. As I look through the pages of the booklet, the dates are different each year. Actually, here the renewal date is the date that the immigration office approves the renewal. The renewal date on the first page of my FM-2 was August 28th. Last time it was September 24th. The current one has a renewal date of September 12, 2006. |
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monkeylady
Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice guys,this is a bit stress inducing!
The legalisation office has said if I pay an extra 5 pounds tehy will send the docs directly to mexico by registered mail. do you think this will be safe enough (I know you mentioned courrier...)? I thinki t would be quicker and easier that way!
Cheers |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I've never had problems receiving registered mail. |
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ls650
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:13 pm Post subject: Re: Best way to get important documents to Mexico from UK? |
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| monkeylady wrote: |
Could anyone reccomend the best way to do this fast - courrier or post office? (I am in a small town in Oaxaca)
Also, do you think the university is likely to let me work illegally for a week or so until they arrive, or do things tend to be very strict regarding documents? |
1) Courier of course - both for speed and security. I'm told DHL is the best courier to use in Latin America. I have used them several times with no complaints.
2) The enforcement of policies seems to vary _greatly_ from one immigration office to another. In some offices, the officials are very lax, but in other locations they are very strict and will fine one heavily if caught working illegally.
Ask your co-workers (not your jefa) what they think is best, as they will likely be familiar with the workings of the local immigration office.
BTW the local office in my area interprets en tramite the same as Ben's: it merely means you are legal to be in Mexico - but you do not have permission to work until you receive your completed FM3. |
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EverReady
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 48
Location: Nobody Cares
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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I just started working at a university in Oaxaca, and as far as immigration is concerned, you can't start working legally until you have your FM-3. Having said that, if your worried about having your papers appostilized and all that, don't worry. My papers were completely screwed up when I got here, and they still processed my FM-3 WITHOUT my degrees in hand.
They said at first that they wouldn't, then I whined a little bit and then they said that they could. I think they're fairly lax about handing out FM-3s over there. Still had to wait for my FM-3 to clear before I could start working though. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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My papers were completely screwed up when I got here, and they still processed my FM-3 WITHOUT my degrees in hand.
They said at first that they wouldn't, then I whined a little bit and then they said that they could. I think they're fairly lax about handing out FM-3s over there. |
Exactly. Guerrero and DF are like that as far as I've seen. |
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MixtecaMike
Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 643
Location: Guatebad
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Do NOT trust registered mail. It can take over a month once it gets to Mexico, and can disappear completely. The post office is a government service, you know, it works as pathetically badly as most of these things do.
DHL is expensive but will be there in under a week. NZ to DF, three days. Guatemala to DF 3 days. Better than the lazy bums at FedEx, Los Angeles to South Korea 6 **** days. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| MixtecaMike wrote: |
| Do NOT trust registered mail. It can take over a month once it gets to Mexico, and can disappear completely. |
I had a bad experience with registered mail the one and only time someone sent me something that way. The mail carrier who delivers mail on his ancient motorcycle had left a note on my door while I was at work stating that I had a registered letter at the local P.O. I went there to pick it up, but nobody could find it. They even invited me into their back room to help look for it. Most of the floor space, cubbyholes, and tables were filled with stacks and bundles of mail. Some of it must have been there for years. The clich� looking for a needle in a haystack immediately came to mind. About an hour later, we gave up the search, and I went home. About two weeks later, the mail carrier astride his motorcycle came rumbling up to my front door. He'd found my registered letter, which he'd just discovered had been crammed into the bottom of his mail bag all that time. |
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