# TIP & staying in Mexico



## MaryQuilter (Jun 15, 2017)

Expats with Temp Res who brought their vehicle with them on TIP, how long do you plan on keeping your vehicle in Mexico? How long will the TIP last, can it last past the initial 1 year and then 3 year temp residency? Just wondering if you can extend the TR past 4 years so you can keep the vehicle in use also. 

We think it will be easier to bring some of our belongings in a truck and then have the truck for use. Our other plan is to ship some things then purchase a vehicle in Mexico. 
Since we are planning to move permanently we have the dilemma of what to do with the vehicle we bring from the US at the end of TR. By that time the vehicle would be past the 5year old status to import. 
Has anyone taken their vehicle back to the US to sell after they became Perm Res? Or done the import of their vehicle? 

As I understand it, I would keep US tags on my vehicle for the time it is TIP, do you think vehicles with foreign plates are targeted in Mexico either by police or for vandalism/ theft? We will be living in the Riviera Maya, probably Tulum area. 
Thank you for any and all information


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

In Quintana Roo and the Baja Penninsula you have to have current US/Canadian vehicle registration as they are very strict about this as both areas are legally "Free Zones" I have read in several places. They, the "Transitos" and possibly federal Pólice, target foreigners in foreign plated vehicles that have expired license plate tags. It has not been noticed to be much of a problem in other áreas of Mexico by comparision.

Vehicle importation with the right VIN number now is for 8 and 9 year old vehicles. There are ways around this rule but I have read it much, much more costly.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

This is my take based on what I have read in a few places:

1) If you are driving in a "free zone" (no TIP) then you must keep your US plates current.

2) If you paid a TIP and you are legally in Mexico (valid, not expired immigration permit), then the issue of whether your US plates are current is, in the eyes of the police, not important. There are some bureaucratic steps to take, to make sure your TIP vehicle remains properly attached to your immigration permit. Also, you cannot switch from one type of immigration permit to a second type of permit, without having to remove your vehicle from Mexico (example - from Visitante, to Temporary Resident). Now, your insurance company may have other ideas, it is important to verify whether they think your having expired plates matters.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Your vehicle must be legally registered to be driven on the public roads in its home jurisdiction, as is stated in most Mexican state traffic regulations. Additionally, most insurance policies require that the vehicle must be in Mexico legally; which is another way of saying that it must be legal at home, and that the Importada Temporal must be current. To keep it current, you have a brief window at every visa renewal in which to go to Aduana and make a formal request for extension of the document to match your new INM document. A glitch there, and your car is illegal & you may not even know it. In the event of an accident causing damage or serious injury, your insurance may be invalidated by the carrier & you will be jailed until Ministerio Publico investigates and financial arrangements are made.
Scofflaws will argue this, but they should take the time to learn Spanish and read the language in the state laws, and in the fine print of their insurance policies. The reality is that nothing bad happens to you, perhaps for years, or forever; but when a really bad event happens.......it can really hit the fan.
So, as a Residente Temporal, you must renew with INM and make application to Aduana during the process to keep your Importada Temporal in effect. Before your four years are completed, you will need to have removed your foreign vehicle from Mexico. Perhaps, in your case, you might use your truck for the move, get settled in and look for another vehicle in Mexico. Then, take the truck back to the USA for disposal. You can weigh that against the inconvenience of being without a vehicle, if you shipped your goods, until you actually get your visa card and the other documents required to register a car. Plus, you may want a smaller vehicle for the smaller streets and parking situations, economy, etc.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

You can read this: http://chapalalaw.com/Driving.pdf


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## ManHammer (Sep 17, 2012)

Ok wow I am learning that I still need more "learning". What is a TIP zone?

I too am planning on taking my truck and a small trailer and moving to baja which I just learned is a free zone. I was told I should document the items I am bringing and would not pay a tax so long as the items were not new.

I will also have a temp res visa and will hope to get full citizenship eventually. Why would I need to worry about the truck being brought back in 4 years? I was not told this by the Mexican Consulate here in Atlanta but I will be there again tomorrow so I guess I could ask them but any thoughts you have would also be appreciated!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

ManHammer said:


> Ok wow I am learning that I still need more "learning". What is a TIP zone?
> 
> I too am planning on taking my truck and a small trailer and moving to baja which I just learned is a free zone. I was told I should document the items I am bringing and would not pay a tax so long as the items were not new.
> 
> I will also have a temp res visa and will hope to get full citizenship eventually. Why would I need to worry about the truck being brought back in 4 years? I was not told this by the Mexican Consulate here in Atlanta but I will be there again tomorrow so I guess I could ask them but any thoughts you have would also be appreciated!


After 4 years on a Residencial Temporal visa you will be converted to a Residencial Permanente visa. Holders of a RP visa are not allowed to drive a non-Mexican plated vehicle. That is where a comment about returning a truck to the US might have come from and applies in Baja as well as the mainland.


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## ManHammer (Sep 17, 2012)

TundraGreen said:


> After 4 years on a Residencial Temporal visa you will be converted to a Residencial Permanente visa. Holders of a RP visa are not allowed to drive a non-Mexican plated vehicle. That is where a comment about returning a truck to the US might have come from and applies in Baja as well as the mainland.


Is it not impossible to have the truck somehow registered and re-plated?


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

For you, ManHammer:

https://www.mexperience.com/bringing-foreign-plated-cars-into-mexico/


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## ManHammer (Sep 17, 2012)

UrbanMan said:


> For you, ManHammer:
> 
> https://www.mexperience.com/bringing-foreign-plated-cars-into-mexico/


Thank you for this article. Man, sounds like getting your car stolen would not only be bad (for obvious reasons), it would require a lot of paper work!


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## ManHammer (Sep 17, 2012)

What about selling your vehicle say in 2 years to and American, Canadian or Mexican?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

ManHammer said:


> What about selling your vehicle say in 2 years to and American, Canadian or Mexican?


You can't sell it in Mexico. You would have to take it out of the country, then the buyer could bring it back if they wanted to.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

ManHammer said:


> Ok wow I am learning that I still need more "learning". What is a TIP zone?
> 
> I too am planning on taking my truck and a small trailer and moving to baja which I just learned is a free zone. I was told I should document the items I am bringing and would not pay a tax so long as the items were not new.
> 
> I will also have a temp res visa and will hope to get full citizenship eventually. Why would I need to worry about the truck being brought back in 4 years? I was not told this by the Mexican Consulate here in Atlanta but I will be there again tomorrow so I guess I could ask them but any thoughts you have would also be appreciated!


1. TIP is an acronym for Temporary Import Permit, invented by some expat. The term does not exist in Spanish and would mean nothing to a Mexican official. What it refers to is the Importada Temporal for a foreign vehicle being temporarily imported into Mexico, on the condition that it be removed at a specified time.

2. You would not be told anything about importation of goods by a Mexican consulate, as they have nothing to do with Aduana (Customs) or with Banjercito (the agency which issues and removes the Importada Temporal for vehicles); nor does the consulate have anything to do with the immigration authorities, INM, other than recommending approval for a foreigner to be issued a visa. INM makes the final decision, in Mexico. Consulates are SRE, Secretariat de Relaciones Exteriores; comparable to our State Department in the USA. If you proceed to apply for naturalization, you will deal with them in Mexico, in Spanish.


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