Job Discussion Forums

[business2300]

I was hoping to get a bit of information on a fm3 working visa.
A school has offered me a position there in Mexico. They will require the fm3 working visa. They also told me that I would need to take care of getting the fm3 working visa, and they would supply me with their letter stating that I have been offered the position.

1.They said I would need to make sure it is properly endorsed. What's this exactly?

They said I would need the following:
passport
fmt tourist visa
the letter from them
photos

2.Will I need anything else, from myself or from the employer, when I go to the INM office?
birth certificate
diplomas
financial statements from the US?

3.When I go to the INM office, what exactly will the procedure be, and what are the steps in detail?

4.How many times will I need to go the INM office?

5.How long does it take to receive the visa?


I assume by my research that I will be registered with the IMSS Suguro Social, and have basic medical coverage.


I read something about the Hacienda - the mexican irs
and Infonavit (??)

6.Do I need to be registered there and pay taxes?

I appreciate the help.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I think most of these questions have already been discussed ad naseum on this forum. You might try doing a search here on Dave's to find threads devoted to this topic.

[delacosta]

This topic has been recently covered in depth.
May I suggest you do a search?

[Guy Courchesne]

Ditto...might also be helpful to know where you are going to process the FM3. It differs round the Republic.

[J Sevigny]

You should go to your local immigration office with the sole purpose of getting the information you have asked for here. you have to pick up the appropriate forms anyway.

As Guy said, things differ from place to place, and according to the whims of the person processing your application. Some offices, like the one in Guadalajara, seem to be basically rubber stamp organizations. Others, like the one in Saltillo, Coahuila, are horribly slow and bureaucratic, even by Latin American standards.

Your best bet is to go straight to the source and find out what you'll be dealing with.

[Polly0607]

One thing that might be worth mentioning is the apostille or legalization of any paper that certifies you as able to teach English.

This has to be done before you leave your home country. Do a search on this as well in the forum.

[mapache]

Business 2300

Let me see if I can help you (please excuse my colleagues' impatience with your inquiry - this forum can be clannish at times)

A good school will have an administrator who knows the formats of the letters, the ropes with the local office, and who has a good relationship with the local immigration officials. They should help you with all this including photocopies. Sometimes a representative of the school can take things to immigration for you depending on the mood of the immigration official and whether or not the school owner has fought with the local immigration office. (One owner I know had such a bad relationship with local immigration she got no cooperation and even suggested her foreign teachers offer bribes at their own expense to facilitate the process.) If your school can�t / won�t help you, you will need:

!. A copy of every page (including covers) of your passport and tourist visa.

2. A copy of any marriage licenses or divorce decrees.

3. A letter to the local immigration office applying for the FM-3 (this is mysterious because each office has a different format and they give you no format as a guide). Plan on writing a letter, in Spanish, requesting the FM-3 to teach English. Call the local office and inquire as to whom the letter should be addressed. Part of the process will be having your letters rejected for improper format/information. When this happens, ask the immigration official to add the necessary information to the letter for one of you many return trips

4. Letters of reference from two Mexican citizens including a copy of their voter identification card. See comments in 3 above regarding the format of these letters.

5. A letter of moral support (apoyo moral) from a Mexican citizen with a copy of his or her voter ID card. (See comments in 3 above about the format of these letters)

6. A copy of the letter from the school offering employment along with a copy of the owners' voter ID card and proof of his or her current payment of taxes.
Be careful because some owners balk at giving you this letter because they worry it may constitute an employment agreement you could use against them later. Nail this down with your school in advance. Coordinators play good guy/bad guy and may pretend they have to refer you to the school lawyer who may never meet with your or give you this letter. I have known teachers who were promised this letter but it never materialized leaving them stuck with immigration later.

7. A copy of 6 blank SAT payment forms. This is how government fees are collected. The forms are available at any stationary store (papeleria). Immigration will eventually fill these out and return them to you to pay at a bank. The annual FM-3 fee is about 1,700 pesos per year. Many good schools will pay this for you as a part of your offer.

8. Go to the local immigration office early (wait in line as early as 8 AM) and sign the register to wait your turn. Do not get angry or show annoyance if those later on the list get a hearing before you. It's part of the system. Plan on waiting up to 4 hours on a busy day. You may have to return 6 to 8 times so patience is the key. Do not offer or pay a bribe for faster or more expedient service. Do not contribute to the corruption this way. BE PATIENT.

9. On the first visit, immigration should give you a copy of your application (good as your work visa for 30 days) and a letter to take to your local municipal (or state) government. Take this letter to the local government (try to get an address and directions from the immigration officer). You will fill out another form there and get a letter back in two or three days at most. Take this letter back to immigration. Try not to show your annoyance that the immigration department is thoroughly enjoying making you wait many hours and return many times - be polite and persistent. They have 30 days to process your application.

10. Ask for the SAT forms to be filled out by immigration so you can go to the bank and pay. You may not be able to get these forms filled out the same day but may be told to return ma�ana which does not mean tomorrow.

11. Take the SAT forms stamped paid by the bank back to immigrations and politely ask if there is anything else you need. Do not be surprised if you now need something else or if something you thought was OK now needs to be revised or needs to be an original copy. Keep your cool.

12. Eventually, after the game is played out, you will be told when to return to get your visa. If your application has expired, ask immigration to renew it for another 30 days while you wait for your visa.

13. Return to get your visa. Thank God and the immigration official you finally got it and relax for 11 months until you go through the process again. (I have actually seen grown men from other Latin countries kiss the official in joy and relief when they finally completed the process. I would not recommend this for an �extranjero� from an English speaking country)

My shortest episode in three years has been eight trips and 20 hours of total waiting. Find a cheap way to go back and forth like taking a Collectivo because the taxi fares will kill you (if the taxi driving doesn't). Welcome to Mexico, land of the opportunity to learn patience.

[Guy Courchesne]

[mapache]

oops - I forgot. You will need copies of your diplomas or teaching certificates

[ls650]

[MELEE]

I also think we didn't anwser point for point the op's questions because as Guy and J said, things vary from place to place around the country. Several things in Mapache's list are not necessary at the IMN office I deal with. I've never heard that thing about the municipal gov. before... And there are things that you've left off the list, degrees as you mentioned, here the apostille is the golden key. And what about the photos, which have to be just so? That's why we didn't answer.

In Mexico, what was true yesterday may not be true today. What is true today, will not necessarily be true tomorrow. What is true for me, is not true for you. There are mulitple truths that can coesist. Actually this is true ( ) for the whole world over, its just a lot more obvious in Mexico.

[Samantha]

Melee is absolutely correct. There is no way to answer many of the OP's questions and be confident you are sending him in the right direction because each INAMI office is a 'clan' of their own! They each have different requirements, time-frames, and quirks for the weirdest details. Some of the items on mapaches list are not applicable in my area at all either. As someone in the thread mentioned, get the requirements from the office you are applying in. The requirements of my INAMI office will mean nothing to another location.

Someone mentioned in the thread that GDL seems to be a rubber stamp-happy office. Apparently not. A Canadian friend of mine just shared a horror story with me involving weeks of paperwork and frustration and it's not over yet. All in the name of trying to stay in Mexico legally!

[asi va]

Thank you for taking the time to post all that, Mapache. I found it helpful to see everything all strung together in a single post and I was certainly happy to see some of the time lines involved (even if they only apply to one place).


In Mexico, what was true yesterday may not be true today. What is true today, will not necessarily be true tomorrow. What is true for me, is not true for you. There are mulitple truths that can coesist. Actually this is true ( ) for the whole world over, its just a lot more obvious in Mexico.

I found this to be very true dealing with INS/BCIS in the US, believe it or not. Now that my wife has first hand experience with those problems in MY country, I find it hard to whine to her about the same situations in HER country.

[business2300]

Thank you very mucy Mapache and the others that helped.

Just to clarify. I spent a bit of time reviewing some of the posts, that mentioned something about the fm3... All of the questions I had did not come close to being answered. And the details of topics that were touched upon seemed awfully vague.

I even called the Immigration office in Morelia, the State government center that I might be working in, and they wouldn't give me information over the phone. They said I needed to go there in person. I already feel like they are stringing me along. And the city is HOURS away from Morelia. How is it possible to begin working and try to obtain the fm3?

My impression is that one cannot obtain the fm3 visa while still in the States, is that a fair conclusion?

I assume there are lots of teachers working in Mexico without this visa.
If a business employs a teacher who does not have a fm3, what are they risking? What would I risk if I work without a fm3?

[asi va]

Thread about working illegally:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=42581&highlight=deported