# financial solvency for expats



## loxenwool (Apr 20, 2021)

i'm moving to Mexico in september 2021. i have a remote job that i have worked for years. i was approved for the first part of a temporary residency here in the U.S.

my 19 year-old son, who lives with me, is in college full-time, with a small part-time job.
according to the consulate here, he doesn't meet the requirements to be eligible for a student visa, and he cannot meet the financial solvency of $2,100 U.S. dollars monthly. when we leave, he'll be leaving that job anyway. 

can someone help me understand why it's so important to prove financial solvency here (via a job) when you won't have a source of income there (at least, initially) anyway?


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

The same reason you have to show financial solvency to immigrate almost anywhere. They want to make sure you have a means of supporting yourself so you don't become some burden on the system.

How was your son planning to earn a living when he moved to Mexico? If he's going to be attending school and you will be financially supporting him, he can just come in as a tourist, and leave the country once every 6 months and reenter. 

And you may be able to sponsor him as a dependent child once you are living here-not sure what the regs are regarding that.
.


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## loxenwool (Apr 20, 2021)

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[/QUOTE]


surabi said:


> The same reason you have to show financial solvency to immigrate almost anywhere. They want to make sure you have a means of supporting yourself so you don't become some burden on the system.
> 
> How was your son planning to earn a living when he moved to Mexico? If he's going to be attending school and you will be financially supporting him, he can just come in as a tourist, and leave the country once every 6 months and reenter.
> 
> ...


mexico doesn't allow immigrants to apply for a work visa outside of mexico, so if he leaves his part time job here, he'll be without that income until he can go through the process of finding an employer to 'sponsor' him for a work visa. that is how it was explained to me at the consulate here, when i asked about one for myself (which i don't need).

they're not concerned with savings, but monthly income. for a 19 year old in college who lives at home? he just graduated from high school less than a year ago. how is he supposed to have that kind of money? it seems like someone hasn't thought this policy all the way through, unfortunately.

having to dart back and forth every 180 days is not what i want to do -- it's costly, and i hear that officials are cracking down on this practice. i'm all the family that he has, and there's nowhere for him to stay, except in a motel, if i couldn't go with him. _sigh_


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Yes, that is correct re the work permission. As I mentioned, you might be able to sponsor him as a dependent once your residency is complete. 

As far as him flying back for a day or two once every 6 months and staying in a hotel, I don't understand the issue. My daughters were travelling internationally on their own when they were 16 years old. Surely a 20 year old, which I would assume he will be by the time he would have to do that, can handle a few day trip without a parent.


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

Well I guess the good news is that, as you say, you can work from anywhere and there is no need for you to come to Mexico in September if it all doesn't work out the way you would like.

So let me get this part straight - you and your 19 year old son walked into a Mexican consulate, you told them your story, said you both wanted to come to Mexico temporarily and they turned around and said YOU can go to Mexico BUT your son could not ? Are your financials strong enough to meet the requirements for the two of you ?

Wouldn't it be rather disruptive to your son's education to come to Mexico temporarily in the middle ?

When I first read your post I did a quick search on what are the requirements to receive a student visa for the US. As you might imagine they are a little more stringent than those of Mexico - but one thing that caught my eye was there needed to be a sort of reciprocity. If a Mexican student wanted to go to the US, they needed to be matched up with a US student wanting to go to Mexico. If I were in your boat I might look into that a little more deeply. Perhaps there are people in the business of setting these sort of arrangements - maybe like a language school for example.


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## AnneLM (Aug 16, 2016)

Yes, someone hasn't thought this all the way through--- you. I know I'm being snarky, but Mexico has the right to set its rules, as does the US.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

loxenwool said:


> it seems like someone hasn't thought this policy all the way through, unfortunately.


So you want to move to Mexico, but seem to think that their immigration rules should be tailored to fit your particular circumstances.

You are starting to sound like exactly the kind of person who doesn't last down here, constantly angry, frustrated and critical when things aren't as you want them to be. And you haven't even moved here yet.

You might want to rethink your plans, because things definitely don't work in Mexico in ways that will make sense to you.


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## Future Retiree (Feb 6, 2020)

I have to agree with the others. While as someone who has only posted here a few times I hesitate to be too critical, this poster's attitude is pretty ridiculous. It is not unreasonable for Mexico to expect prospective residents to show that they can support themselves. Furthermore, there are countless smart, eager young Mexicans who lack jobs and opportunities, so expecting them to accommodate a foreign kid from a much wealthier country and allow him to work really isn't reasonable.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Future Retiree said:


> so expecting them to accommodate a foreign kid from a much wealthier country and allow him to work really isn't reasonable.


That part isn't really true. He would be allowed to work if he got a job offer. But I don't know what job a 19 year old foreigner could hope to be offered, unless for instance, they were in a beach town, he was a skilled surfer and could maybe be a surf instructor.

My youngest daughter came down a few years ago to visit, then decided to stay for awhile. She was about 31 at the time. She had just finished her Montessori teachers' training in Canada, so she decided to volunteer to work at the local international school. The kids and staff liked her so much, they offered her a full time job for the next school year, and they sponsored her temporary residency with work permission. But that's definitely different from a 19 year old with no degrees or much experience in anything yet.


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## Future Retiree (Feb 6, 2020)

surabi said:


> That part isn't really true. He would be allowed to work if he got a job offer. But I don't know what job a 19 year old foreigner could hope to be offered, unless for instance, they were in a beach town, he was a skilled surfer and could maybe be a surf instructor.


Fair enough. I should have chosen my words more carefully. Or, probably better, resisted the urge to get involved in a conversation that doesn't concern me.

Still, I think my basic point is valid. Mexico's requirements for temporary residency have always struck me as very reasonable, so I tend to get frustrated when people say otherwise.


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## loxenwool (Apr 20, 2021)

for those who thought rationally about my comment and tried to offer respectful advice, thank you. but for those with the snarky, karen-esque (who likely butt uninvited into situations in real life and then don't understand how they endangered their own lives), you're-not-a-good-candidate-for-mexico comments: i'm NOT here for it. you don't know me or what's going on in my life, and that's MUTUAL. 

i was merely expressing frustration with the the fact that the visa policy seems to be only concerned with *today's income*, which will be a moot point if your income is not remote-based. and, if you can't apply for a work visa right away, where's your income? (not that i want pesos, anyway)

not only is hopscotching back and forth over the border every 6 months costly, it is beginning to be discouraged by visa officials, from my research. mexico has its flaws, just like any other country, and posters shouldn't be beheaded for pointing them out...


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

_according to the consulate here, he doesn't meet the requirements to be eligible for a student visa_, 
Why not......?

Is he too old to get a visa as your dependent?


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## loxenwool (Apr 20, 2021)

Crawford said:


> _according to the consulate here, he doesn't meet the requirements to be eligible for a student visa_,
> Why not......?
> 
> Is he too old to get a visa as your dependent?


yes, that's what we were told at the consulate office. he has to follow the adult guidelines for financial solvency.


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## loxenwool (Apr 20, 2021)

loxenwool said:


> yes, that's what we were told at the consulate office. he has to follow the adult guidelines for financial solvency.


and the agent at the office also said if he came in under a student visa, he would have to return to the US immediately after the end of any classes. at our first visit, when i got my application approved, she said that he could come in as a student (maybe take one class in spanish or something), but now she says that won't be possible.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Now, now, children, let's keep the snarkiness down to a minimum level, ok? Thus Spake Zarathustra, your (usually) friendly forum moderator.


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