Job Discussion Forums

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

I just got through a horrendous discussion with a friend who has lived here in Mexico on and off for the past 5 years. She refuses to get an FM3 and has committed herself to continuous FMTs throughout, despite the fact she wishes to stay here in Mexico permanently. She is involved with a Mexican but is not eager for marriage.
She insists that it is the responsibility of her employers to get her an FM3 and refuses to do it herself. This is not on account of a lack of paper skills, she is one of the most savvy business people I know, it is from some stubborn streak or ornariness.
When I tell her that the possibility for her to be expelled is too risky and she should play it safe and pay the 1900 pesos, she balks. She has the money, that is not the problem. She insists that if she were to get caught she can always pay mordidas and has done so several times, whether it was for immigration transgressions or other matters, was not clear. Regardless, she is well prepared to pay mordidas.
I know of two people who were kicked out of the country for not having FM3s and have related both stories to her. It did not phase her in the least.
My question is, who out there knows illegals who did eventually get kicked out. What were their stories? I need to throw a scare into her.

MO39 · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject:

Why are you so concerned about this stupidly-obtuse friend of yours who refuses to get an FM3 on her own? It's her problem, and if things finally catch up with her and she ends up having a huge problem with the authorities, it would serve her right, wouldn't it? I wonder where she works and how she gets paid if she's here on an FMT...

throwdownyourcrutches · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:02 pm Post subject:

OK. I don't have the exact answer to your question but if she is one of the smartest business people you know and she is aware and willing to assume the risk, why do you want to continue carrying this burden? You have done your part and made sure she was educated to the consequences.

MO39 · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:50 pm Post subject:

Just had another thought about geaaronson's friend. Though she says she wants to stay in Mexico permanently, perhaps subconsciously she's not entirely convinced of this decision. Getting an FM-3, while not on the scale of becoming an "imigrante" or citizen, is a statement that she may not really want to make. Or maybe she just enjoys leaving the country every six months to get a new tourist visa!

jfurgers · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 442 Location: Mexico City

If someone has an FM3 work visa, they don't have to pay taxes in Mexico if they ever leave. What if someone becomes a permanent resident in Mexico then goes back to their own country to live for a while? Do they have to report their income in the country they're living in to Mexico and pay taxes?

Just wondering.

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject:

Reasons to have a FM-T (Tourist Card):
1. Not having to tell la migra I'm moving/moved.
2. It's cheaper (in the short term)
3. It's easier
4. You can overstay as long as you want and just tell migra you lost it (if they even ask for it)
5. It's cool to be a gringo mojado (we need to balance out the scales)
6. You can just jet over to Cuba every six months (Now with microwaves!)
7. Your visa run trip to Guatamala makes Tepito look like North Dakota.
8. INM (La migra) workers can't/won't speak English.
9. I hate standing in long lines.
10. Not having to get a letter from an employer to take to la migra after you skipped class on payday!

MO39 · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:08 am Post subject:

Three reasons I'm getting an FM3:

1. so I can open a bank account here

2. so I can purchase health insurance

3. so I can look for work (teaching and translating) with companies that require you to be legal so they can pay you without any hassles

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

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

Yes, MO39, that's what I was beginning to think as well. Yeah, I had a blowout with her but I should just forget it, she's being thickheaded. I asked her if she enjoyed living dangerously and she had no answer to that. Something definitely is going on unconsciously, perhaps she would really like to get out of her relationship with her boyfriend and getting deported would be the solution. It would be a stupid solution, considering she loves Mexico. People do weird things when their personal passivity precludes acting in their true interest.
Her income is quite sizeable in that she is able to command higher hourly rates than even the highest norm, plus she for months at a time accrues 30 hours of English instruction through recruiters. She also works in the communication business on a freelance basis at which her rates are extremely high, so her income would put all of us to shame. Should she get kicked out of Mexico, she would have to take it up again in the States.