Job Discussion Forums

[Spector]

So it seems that the FMT visa is what you get when entering Mexico, and upon getting a job at a school, the school you are employed by is required to get you an FM-3. But what happens if six months down the line, you see another job and you go for it? The FM3 only applies to the original place of employment. Would the next place just get me another one? Could I then technically work in both?? Not that I would necessarily want to do that, but I'm just trying to find out the law in Mexico, as I'm considering following it

[Phil_K]

Your employer is not OBLIGED to get you an FM3 - some do it for you, but being legally in Mexico is YOUR responsibility.

When you change jobs, YOU have to go to immigration to apply for a change of employer to be noted in your document (FM3).

I suppose technically you could apply for additional activities, and be legally allowed to work for both, but if you want to work for multiple companies, it's better to apply for independent status.

[notamiss]

In the case that you don't apply for independiente, what you apply for is called a cambio o ampliaci�n de empleador�cambio to change employers, or ampliaci�n to add an employer. There is a fee.

[Prof.Gringo]

Hope this helps:

When you are in Mexico as a tourist you are not authorized to do any lucrative activities. To do everything legally, you would need to have a job offer and take all the paperwork to the INM (Immigration) office and ask for a change of status from tourist to being a non-immigrant visitor with the ability to work for "ABC school, Mexico DF" as an English teacher. That permission is on a FM-3 (not all FM-3's are for work and many do not authorize lucrative activites) which is valid for one year. If you wanted to work for another school at the same time you would ask for an "ampliacion de actividades" and you would have to wait to receive the new permission before you could start work in the other school/employer. If you leave a job you must inform INM within 30 days. If you do not already have another job (as I mentioned above) you receive 30 days to find a new one. But this can be extended by asking for more time at the INM office. Everytime you add an employer you must pay the correct fees all over again, but this does not extend the expiration of your FM-3.

For example: You get a job offer at ABC School. You must do the paperwork for the FM-3 and have it in hand before you can legally begin work. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. After you have worked at ABC school for 3 months you get another offer (part-time) at XYZ School. You must return to INM and pay the fees again and wait for the permission to begin the new job. After 3 months at XYZ school you leave ABC School. Again you must return to INM to have this noted in your FM-3 within 30 days of your employment ending. After this you change address. This also must be reported to INM within (30 days?) a fixed time period. After the original year has lapsed (since your FM-3 was authorized at ABC School, which is always a date before you had the FM-3 in hand) you must return to INM and renew your FM-3 for another year.

Also a FM-3 is a non-immigrant visitor migration status. This does not allow you to ask for Mexican citizenship. That would take 5 years on a FM-2 visa which is an immigrant visa. After 5 years you can either convert to inmigrado status (like a Green Card in the US) or ask for Mexican Citizenship from the SRE. Having inmigrado status finally allows you to work or perform any lucrative activity you want in Mexico without asking for the permission of INM first. You only have to keep them informed of what you are doing.

Any questions?

[Spector]

[Prof.Gringo]

[Spector]

[Tretyakovskii]

Things vary, but in Cancun, the INM tells you to come back one week from the time the paperwork for the FM3 is submitted, at which time they tell you whether your application has been approved/denied, or whether they will need additional documentation before acting on it (request for additional documentation is made by formal letter, addressed to the applicant).

So, at least here, you have official word that your FM3 is approved, rather quickly, in most cases. I don't know if any other offices of INM follow a similar procedure.

[Prof.Gringo]

In Mexico City it can easily take months to have a FM-3 in hand. There's more foreigners here so it take's longer for INM to process the paperwork. The upside is they don't seem very picky. Pretty much any piece of paper with something like "Qualified English Teacher" will get you a FM-3. No degree, no problem.

I worked at one school that did just that. They printed up some kind of certificate and they gave it to INM to demonstrate your "qualifications"

[Phil_K]

[Zellig]

I'm considering working in D.F this fall or after christmas. Reading the previous posts, it looks like it doesn't matter if I have a job before going.

I can go down, look for work, and start processing the papers while I work?

I worked for a year in Monterrey, but I got the job before going. I had to do lots of paperwork at the Mexican embassy before going, but still didn't get my work visa for about 6 months into my job. So in others works, I got a bit of a head start, but it's not entirely necessary processing all that before going. Is this correct?