# Healthcare Educational Requirements for working in Mexico



## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

My husband and I are considering moving to Mexico, we have a couple places in mind. We do plan to visit for a couple months to check those places out.
My question is what are the healthcare educational requirements for Physical Therapist Assistants to work in Mexico. I am licensed in the U.S. but cannot work in Canada using my degree due to the difference in universities here. (I live in Canada now) I know that if I could work in Mexico using my degree I could most likely get a visa due to that degree & speaking English fluently for the higher expat-populated areas.
If anyone has any information or links to send me to I'd really appreciate it. I can't seem to find ANYTHING online about this - been looking for 2-3 weeks.
Thanks.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Welcome, Chelsea.
Your question may be best answered at your nearest Mexican Consulate or at an INM immigration office which issues FM3 documents. Getting permission to work in Mexico can be very difficult, especially now. Do you also speak Spanish fluently?
Another source of information might be the University of Guadalajara.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

I don't speak Spanish fluently. This is something I am worried about. I do have a background in Spanish and can read it very well but am NOT good at conversational Spanish AT ALL.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

How would you expect to handle communication with your employers or your clients? As an 'assistant' immigration doesn't have a special category for you, so you would require an FM3 with working permission supported by your employer. You'll need a job offer and commitment letter in order to even apply. I'm not even sure that the position you seek is formally recognized in Mexico.


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

I think that position does exist here in Mexico, but I usually here something related to rehabilitation. The thing here is that the medical profession is saturated. Keep in mind that to be medico general (general practitioner) requires only a 4 year degree after prepa (high school). If you want to be a specialist physician, you have to go through an arduous medical exam that limits national slots in graduate programs to about 2000 out of I think about 14 to 15 thousand applying general practitioners per year. I know people who are medico generales who work in other positions because they simply cannot get the client base to support them and have to take jobs in other professions. I shouldn't even remotely mention the pay scale here.

Thus, even if you did have Spanish, the immigration department, given they have so many people already in this area (and taking low salaries compared to the U.S.), I would see that they would reject you.

Only profession that I know is more saturated than medical has to be legal. I guarantee you if for all the people who have a Lic. en Derecho (law degree) were truly practicing attorneys in Mexico (rather than in other professions), you'd see something like in the U.S.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

Well, as for the language. We were planning on moving to an area with more English-speaking people. Somewhere like Ajijic. I understand there to be a large English-speaking population there.
Rodrigo84 - Why do you say they would reject me? I was told there was a need in this avenue and a need for more English speaking therapists is the higher English-speaking populated areas.
I have the education, experience, and ability. I just don't have the Spanish - which wouldn't take me long to pick up since I already have a strong background in it.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Chelsea,
Please realize that you cannot expect to obtain working permission for a job that can be performed by a Mexican national. That is the very purpose of the Immigration Laws in Mexico. As for Ajijic, there is a rehabilitation clinic here and more than one bilingual registered physical therapist in the area; they certainly would not welcome competition.
Should you think that you could work 'privately' and illegally, you could expect early detection, arrest and deportation. Some have even had to leave the country in the middle of the night, for their own safety, after getting proper permits, running a perfectly legal business, but drawing the attention of the local 'sindicos'. Winning in court didn't help, but they got out alive.
Please, don't be naive when dreaming about being able to support yourself in Mexico. It isn't easy on Mexican wages (from $5 USD per DAY!) and the laws are very protectionist. In the past, they have been lax but enforcement is tightening because of the global financial crisis and the return of so many Mexicans from the USA without job prospects.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

I would never work anywhere illegally. It took me a year and a half living in Canada before I could get a work visa. I also wouldn't want to do anything to offend anyone. I was just hoping to use this skill to help people there as I did in the U.S.


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

RVGRINGO, I was replying at the same time as you, so I will add in response to Chelsea.

I should mention that I know doctors here, GPs, that have practiced for many years often just making $5 to $10 a consultation or even less than that. I remember that Dr. Simi has doctors that you can consult and they charge only like $2 or so. My American cousin was shocked when he realized he was earning more than specialist MDs and some good lawyers, because that's the way the Mexican system is structured. That's unlike what would occur for him back in the U.S.

In addition, I am not sure as a foreigner from a foreign school about any licensing process. For instance, a foreign nurse or MD cannot just practice in Mexico, same goes for a foreign attorney. I think in the case of attorney, they have to have graduated from a Mexican law school if I remember this correctly, as there is no bar exam for outsiders. I am unsure if there is a licensing process for what you want to do. Often, it is just the case of getting a Licenciatura from a Mexican school.

Even so, and as mentioned by RVGRINGO, there are Mexicans in the medical profession who speak English and I could see someone in the immigration department possibly using that as a means for rejection.

It was a lot easier several years ago to get immigration approval for work here, but that isn't the case with the economy in the toilet here. There are a lot of people who were north of the border and now they are coming back, further causing unemployment issues here.

No one is saying do not try, but there is no automatic approval just because you want to work here.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

I was thinking about just getting a temp travel job in the States every now and then if I could find cheap flights or even moving to Monterrey and driving across the border every few months. Looks like I might just have to do that. Thanks.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Your motivation is admirable but I want to be sure that you don't expect to make a living outside of the rules and that you are very aware that you might be denied permission to work and face stiff competition and/or 'resistance'. Additionally, you couldn't expect to make a living from just the English speaking residents, most of whom are quite comfortable using Mexican services at Mexican prices. Few providers, even physicians, use 'assistants' in their practice.


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## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

RVGRINGO said:


> Your motivation is admirable but I want to be sure that you don't expect to make a living outside of the rules and that you are very aware that you might be denied permission to work and face stiff competition and/or 'resistance'. Additionally, you couldn't expect to make a living from just the English speaking residents, most of whom are quite comfortable using Mexican services at Mexican prices. Few providers, even physicians, use 'assistants' in their practice.


That's quite true on the lack of assistants. Some doctors I know work out of really nothing more than a hole in the wall, a small concrete area between two stores.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

Okay, as for the 'assistant' part. I do everything that a Physical Therapist does except the initial evaluation. I am educated in wound care, first aid, orthopedics, pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, many MANY different diseases, spinal cord injuries, etc... This is not a 'hand me the scalpel' job that I am after - I'm the one USING the scalpel. As for 'outside of the rules' the reason I'm looking into this so much is because I do want to do everything legally and without insult to the local healthcare professionals. I just thought this would be a skill I could offer.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Please contact the Medical School at the University of Guadalajar. I'm sure they could advise you of the requirements for certification in Mexico. Once that is accomplished, you might then contact INM (immigration) about the requirements for a 'professional' FM3.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks. When that was suggested before I did email a few places and asked questions.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Great! Now for the test of your patience; answering e-mail isn't yet a significant part of the culture but everyone has it. Websites may be several years old. However, if you find a phone number, it might be worth making a call (Spanish, at first, of course) to pose your questions. You can dial directly to any number in Mexico: 011-52-(area code)-xxx-xxxx. You may see the numbers in an unfamiliar format, like groups of two numbers, so just start at the right and re-arrange them to your more familiar pattern, if that helps. Otherwise, an international operator can help you for a higher toll charge.


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## Chelsea (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks for your help. I do appreciate your suggestions.
How far is Ajijic from the U.S. border? I know it's pretty far.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

At the closest, Laredo, Texas, about 1150 kilometers, best driven in a day and a half with an overnight in Matehuala, or Ciudad Victoria or San Luis Potosi if crossing further east near Reynosa.


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