# Starting a business in Playa



## Timroy1027 (Aug 27, 2017)

I currently stay in Playa del Carmen several months a year on a tourist visa. However i would like to open a business there. So i am wondering if anyone knows of a Notario Publico that speaks fluent English or a expat organization that can help me through the process from visa to permits and licencing etc.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You have to apply for residence visas in your home country; not in Mexico, unless you are married to a Mexican citizen or have children who were born in Mexico. You apply at the nearest Mexican consulate, and they can also discuss requirements for starting a business in Mexico. It gets complicated, real fast.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

RVGRINGO said:


> You have to apply for residence visas in your home country; not in Mexico, unless you are married to a Mexican citizen or have children who were born in Mexico. You apply at the nearest Mexican consulate, and they can also discuss requirements for starting a business in Mexico. It gets complicated, real fast.


"Complicated" is putting it very nicely. "Permits", Mexican taxes, possibly U.S. taxes, bank statement reporting, etc.

Liability means two different things in Mexico and in the U.S. If you have assets in the states, anyone from America can sue you there for any injuries incurred at your business. I have seen apartments in Mexico with two stories and no handrails on the upper walkway or lights in the stairwell as the bulbs turn up missing, that alone would get your butt sued off in America if an injury occurred.

Under Mexico federal and state law, a tourist who is injured or killed is compensated in the same manner and in the same amount as a day laborer who is injured or killed on the job. Judges use formulas that are based on a multiple of the local minimum wage plus medical expenses. Damages for pain and suffering are rare. Punitive damages are nonexistent. 

Suing in Mexico not a gainful proposition for injured tourists: Travel Weekly


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I do not understand why Zorro would write about folks being sued, missing lightbulbs and no handrails instead of answering the OP's question...

To start a business you will probably need a lawyer who specializes in forming a corporation and tax law, also a reliable CPA to do your books and pay the taxes...Then there are the employee rights like pay, taxes, vacation time and year end bonuses.....Like Ringo says"" It gets complicated, real fast.""


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> I do not understand why Zorro would write about folks being sued, missing lightbulbs and no handrails instead of answering the OP's question...


Because insurance is an important part of opening a business anywhere tourists will frequent. Would you open a business in Playa Del Carmen without insurance including liability? A local has little to worry about being sued as the link showed. Americans have assets in the U.S. for which they can be sued and insurance is *a part of the price* of starting a business. It gets complicated.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Zorro,
I would bet very few businesses have insurance in Mexico, unlike the USA where every other commercial on TV is for a lawyer, I have never seen an ad for insurance, except when you are renting a car and they stick it to you......
The OP never even suggested this would be a tourist orientated business.


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## LMtortugas (Aug 23, 2013)

The major barrier as RV clarifies is eligibility to open/operate a business entity in Mexico. 

Forming a small business, such as a LLC similar to one in the U.S., is routine, requires small capitalization, easy transition to a more sophisticated business entity if growth warrants, and Mexico offers tax incentives to new start-ups. Certainly compliance and disclosure regulations prevail but nothing unordinary. 

Liability is a reality everywhere. Insurance to mitigate is available. 

Enlist a competent Mexican CPA.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> Zorro,
> I would bet very few businesses have insurance in Mexico, unlike the USA where every other commercial on TV is for a lawyer, I have never seen an ad for insurance, except when you are renting a car and they stick it to you......
> The OP never even suggested this would be a tourist orientated business.


Those owned by Americans have insurance if they have assets in the United States, that was my point. The people that I know here and have a business do carry insurance. I honestly don't know why this is a sticking point. If you open a business here and have assets in America for which you can be sued, you would be foolish not to carry insurance, but the choice is yours.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Let me add, if you are selling jewelry from a booth, no insurance is needed. If you are taking people parasailing, scuba diving, on a drinking cruise, a pool bar or anywhere someone could be injured, insurance is a good idea. Especially if you have assets in America, but it is a personal choice. The OP mentioned permits, licensing, etc. 

This would be the etc.


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## cheftim (Nov 19, 2013)

Thanks for the input folks. I just needed an answer to the question though. Everything else i have under control Thanks

T


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Timroy1027 said:


> I currently stay in Playa del Carmen several months a year on a tourist visa. However i would like to open a business there. So i am wondering if anyone knows of a Notario Publico that speaks fluent English or a expat organization that can help me through the process from visa to permits and licencing etc.


First, you will have to apply for a temporary or permanent visa in your home country, as mentioned by another poster. Permanent visa requires that you show more income via bank statements than temporary. 

Permanent carries with it the permission to work, you don't have to request that, though you do have to notify immigration in Mexico when you have your business up and running. Under a temporary visa you will have to apply within Mexico for permission to work, turning your visa into a "temporal lucrativa" (after obtaining the temp visa approval at consulate outside of Mexico) The consulates cannot grant you a temp with work permission and any info they give you on this may not be accurate.

With temp visa approval in hand and upon return to Mexico, you then need to consult a lawyer (not a notario) who specializes in immigration and business law. 

I am on the other side of Mexico, so sorry, I can't recommend a lawyer in Playa.
Hope this answers some of your questions.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

By the way, Timroy, I am a business owner here in Mexico, so I have been through this, not just someone who is telling you things I have "heard" or things I believe to be true.
And, if and when you learn a reasonable amount of Spanish, you can do a lot of the business stuff, like tax reporting, etc. yourself, rather than having to pay someone to do it for you. There is no law that says you have to employ an accountant, for example. I do my bi-monthly reporting online myself. But my business is simple and I don't have any employees- if I had a complicated thing going on, it would probably be worth my while to hire someone, although I know several people who got taken by accountants. As in, the accountants did not actually pay out the $ they were given for taxes owing. Buyer beware.


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