# FM3 in Mexico: Free tocome and go?



## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

Does an FM3 stipulate how many days per year must be spent in Mexico, or lay down a cumulative total of how many days in a consecutive five-year period are allowed outside the country (= must be spent in Mexico)?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

No, the FM3 is a multiple entry/exit document without limits. You may also leave and reenter Mexico without your vehicle if you have an FM3 or an FM2 (The FM2 does have limits). Do stop at immigration and have them stamp the appropriate entry/exit pages whenever you cross the border.
Caution: If you drive, be sure to have Aduana remove the importation sticker and give you a receipt. If your car were stolen or otherwise unable to return to Mexico, you would never be able to bring in another without that receipt and you could be fined heavily; up to the value of the vehicle.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

Thanks, RVGRINGO.

What now becomes slightly unclear, though, is the following. On returning to Mexico, with the same FM3 and -we'll assume- in the same vehicle, is aduana/imigracion then going to provide another (free?) sticker for that vehicle or does one again have to go through the border tramites (in as far as they concern the vehicle) required when the vehicle was first taken in? I thought that while in Mexico with the FM3, an accompanying vehicle was legal for as long as the FM3 was legal.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Technically, you must have the sticker removed every time you leave Mexico but many violate this requirement.
However, and this has happened: If your car still has its sticker and is stolen, burned or wrecked in the USA, you will NEVER be able to import another car to Mexico and you may be fined up to the value of the vehicle. Mexico simply assumes that the car is still in Mexico or that you have sold it in Mexico illegally. The latter could even effect your ability to return; a great inconvenience if you own property. It is also wise to follow the letter of the law in case you ever want to become 'inmigrado' or a naturalized citizen.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

I understand what you're saying about following the law. I prefer to do things that way.

Sorry, but I'm still not clear about one aspect of the sticker. When one gets another sticker, on return, is this a sort of "free replacement" for the sticker removed on exit?

Actually, I realise at this point that it's not clear to me how the matter of an accompanying vehicle is dealt with if entering Mexico with an FM3 for the first time / applying for an FM3 while in the country.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

You have to reapply for the new permit/sticker and pay the 40 some dollars. No free replacement


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

These are also some helpful links

Article 106, Article 106

Ajijic Legal and Immigration Services


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

*Vehicle stickers + Stolen vehicle*

Vacationing in Mexico on a tourist card, and Temporary Vehicle Import Permit, our vehicle was stolen in Zihuatanejo in Feb/07, then found a couple of days later, damaged beyond repair. It then took 5 months to reach an agreement with my Mexican car insurance company as to the "write-off value" of the vehicle......"perdida total"....... and some months after we had returned home to Canada.
It was then left up to me to get the original Temporary Vehicle Import Permit cancelled. Otherwise, Mexico considers you must have sold the vehicle in Mexico....and they want to charge customs duty, which would have been several thousands of dollars. 
My Mexican insurance company would not help in this process, beyond providing a "to whom it may concern" letter confirming the total loss of the vehicle and advising that it could be viewed in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
Since I thought I had all the possible documentation to convince Mex. Customs that my car had been stolen, (photographs of the smashed vehicle, letters from the Mexican insurance company, photocopy of the cancelled cheque for the write-off value, etc. etc....(everything translated into Spanish where required)....we took a chance and drove our "new" vehicle down to Mexico in Nov/07. Mexican customs, however, would not allow me to bring the "new" vehicle into Mexico because the computer showed I still had a vehicle in Mexico. All my documentation was of no value whatsoever....Customs at the border crossing don't have any authority to deal with these matters. 
Fortunately, our "new" vehicle was registered in both mine and my wife's names. Mexican customs advised we could bring this "new" vehicle into Mexico under my wife's name, which we did. I then sent an e-mail to the Los Angeles broker from whom we had purchased our Mexican car insurance ploicy, to ensure they changed the name on the policy to that of my wife.
I knew I would have to straighten this problem out sooner or later. Finally, after several back-and-forth letters to the main Mexican Customs office in DF, and after sending them two fat envelopes of documentation, two weeks ago I received a certificate confirming that the original Temporary Vehicle Import Permit has now been cancelled......23 months after my vehicle was stolen.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

The normal way or recommended way to handle a totaled vehicle in Mexico is to contact the nearest Aduana ... and basically give it to them. They can remove it from the computer


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

*Been there....done that...doesn't work*



sparks said:


> The normal way or recommended way to handle a totaled vehicle in Mexico is to contact the nearest Aduana ... and basically give it to them. They can remove it from the computer


Ah, Sparks.....that would make too much sense. 

We tried that at the Customs office at the airport in Zihuatanejo. Like the Customs offices at border crossings at Nogales and at Piedras Negras, they all said everything had to be handled by Mexico City. Maybe if I had towed the vehicle 1500 km back to the border, or the 500 km to Mexico City....... 

Part of the problem is that the Mexican car insurance company towed the vehicle from the Zihua police pound to a garage to do the "fix or scrap" evaluation. From that point on, I never saw the vehicle again. Once I accepted a write-off settlement, the car then became the property of the insurance company.

Like any other connection with the Mexican bureaucracy, it seems the wheel has to be reinvented time and time again.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

As far as needing to be in Mexico for a certain number of days, my understanding is that you must apply for the renewal of your FM3 in person in the city where it was granted during the 30 day period preceding the expiration date. Have I got that right? That is the only real residency requirement, isn't it?

Actually, that brings up another question. If I get an apartment somewhere, will a six-month lease be OK? Am I required to maintain a residence in Mexico permanently in order to keep the FM3?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I doubt that if you moved after a few months that you would have to go back to the issuing city to change your address. I would imagine that you could do it at your new location within 30 days of arriving. The only 'reguirement' that I'm aware of is that you must apply in person in Mexico. Yet, I know of people who have had to be out of the country, got a travel letter from immigration and had an agent do the actual renewal. Things can be flexible if you plan ahead.
You don't have to stay anywhere once you have your FM3. If you want to travel, do so; just be sure to renew on schedule and have an address to call 'home' when you do so. You will need a new lease, room receipt, deed, etc., along with the usual proofs of foreign income.


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