Job Discussion Forums

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

OK,
I've been away from Mexico for about five years now. I live in China, where I have a Chinese wife.
My wife is getting her immigration visa (Green Card) for the US and we're returning there. Now I have some questions regarding Mexico.
To Americans - are FM1s (Tourist cards) still free for us? Are they free for Chinese nationals with a US Green Card?

Have the laws regarding obtaining an FM3 changed much since 2000?

And to Canadians - are FM3s still free for Canadian nationals (I'm not 100% sure of this, but I've heard from a few sources, when I was down there, that such was the case).

Looking forward to getting back! Yeah, sure, to the US, see my family and so on, I guess, but, really, back to MEXICO!
See you soon.

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

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Guy,
It's been a long time, but I never crossed the border in a plane. I always walked across and got on a bus in Tijuana. And there, the FM1 was free, though I'd have to grease a palm occasionally to get the maximum time on it (which, back then, was 180 days). But even then, it wasn't more than, say, a hundred pesos.
Of course, crossing the border is free. It's just when you get to the fifty-mile checkpoint (which they have in the U.S. as well) that causes problems. But if I had given the cop 100 pesos and got him to write out the tourist card, there was no problem at all.
One time, I had been screwing around in Tijuana for about a month before I got around to going deeper south. I forgot to get a tourist card so when I got to the checkpoint I had to pay a bit, but even THEN it was only 120 pesos. A lot less than 21 US dollars, at least at the time. It was a little less than twelve.
Really, I thought it was all free of charge for Canadians. No? Hmm...

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

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

I was misinformed. Oh well.
Anyway, does anyone know about a legal alien in the US going to Mexico? The U.S.A. is cool with it, but what about los E.U.M?

I guess we can handle the cost of the tourist cards, so long as hers isn't much more expensive than mine. Who knows the answer to this? Are you people really going to make me do a google search in Spanish?? PLEASE save me that hassle!

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

...screwing around in Tijuana, eh? What was it like?

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Yeah, yeah, har-dee-har har.
Naw, Tijuana's cool. You get off of Calle Revoluci�n and you still have a big ol' dirty, ugly city, but with normal people in it. And good food!
In fact, I have a lot of family there. My brother's married to a chicana, and her family is from somewhere in Sinaloa, but most of them moved to Tijuana years ago.