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Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Mexico has a new policy regarding tourist visas. All tourists entering Mexico are now automatically given the full 180 day visa. Previously, it was at the discretion of the immigration agent to decide on how many days, with 90 being most common.

What does this mean? Well, you save 21 dollars and a trip to the airport or a migra office when you come in for more than three months.

corporatehuman · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 198 Location: Mexico City

Guy why are they doing this? It is great. But I don't get it. Is it because they were being overloaded with tourist visa renewals? Don't they want the money?

MO39 · Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject:

When I arrived here in September, I was pleasantly surprised to receive 180 days on my tourist care without any problems. In fact, since on a previous occasion I had been given only 30 days, I asked very politely if I could have 90; the agent didn't seem to pay any attention to my request and just wrote 180 on my card.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Agents could be real nasty if they wanted to be in the past. I saw one poor girl get 10 days on a visa even after showing her return ticket for weeks later.

Not sure why the change came about. Several people over the last couple of months have been telling me they got 180 at the airport, and today my friend in immigration confirmed the change in policy.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:31 am Post subject:

kosherpickle · Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 93

in my experience the agents in mexico are a whole lot less nosey(though just as rushed and busy, though that in itself does not mean rudeness to me) than the united states agents, the next time i head back and they ask me what specific pleasure i was seeking in mexico, i just may give them a very naughty answer.

as far as how many days i've been allowed, i have always asked for 180 and been given it without even a second glance.

GueroPaz · Joined: 07 Sep 2007 Posts: 216 Location: Thailand or Mexico

Well, if we're telling lifetime stories about tourist visas and inmigracion officers.... I could tell some amazing stories about human rights observers in Chiapas, after the Acteal massacre, being given five or seven days, and how I had to enter way down at Tekal Uman to get 90 days. Or, how we nearly got deported, and some really nasty ladies in two of the inmigracion offices in Chiapas, or my 4.5 hour interrogation, or getting pulled off a first class bus between Comitan and San Cristobal, or the illegal checkpoints in the conflict area, or the officer who asked us if we knew a certain founder of the Anabaptist movement in 1525, or the names of the mesa directiva of Las Abejas..... But that was then and there. Glad to hear they've gotten better.

I'm almost tempted to get one of those six month tourist visas if I come back, but I think I'll start with an FM2/FM3 rentista visa from Houston consulate.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I'm wondering now if the policy change is applied at all ports of entry. It seems to be true at the DF and GDL airports, but I'm not sure about land crossings, or resort areas.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

This change by Calderon was announced months ago, but it still is not automatic in many places. They are still asking tourists arriving here how long they are staying. (I overheard a couple whimpering the other day that they only got 60 days but were staying till April). The snowbirds who come every year for the winter always ask for 180 days and are granted that at the airport, but if they don't ask....it's not automatic. For it to be automatic, I suspect the forms would need to change and that blank box would have to be eliminated. Wink

MELEE · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject:

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Interesting. Some other Latin American countries are going the other way, at least for American visitors, in that they're making it more costly for a tourist visa. $100 us in Chile and Brazil now, which is a tit-for-tat action, and I think Bolivia was going the same route.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Here is the bit from El Universal back in March after Calderon announced his intention for the FMT's. I chuckled at the bit that says tourists "have to go to a special office...." Special indeed.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 4:58 pm Post subject:

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I have to imagine Calderon is thinking about retirees. In Acapulco, there is massive development of time shares and condominiums likely targeting foreign interest. This is the biggest group of foreigners that seeks visas in this country.

MO39 · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 5:17 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately for me, that makes sense. Why expedite "tr�mites" for someone like me who wants to earn money here rather than just spend lots of dollars I bring with me? Though I will also be spending my Social Security pension money in Mexico, so maybe that will help speed things along when I finally start the process after the New Year.