# Car in Mexico



## Daof4 (Sep 14, 2016)

Been looking through posts for info but none found 
If I bring a car on a visitors permit it has to leave when I do. 
We have a older car and was thinking of leaving it in Mx for when we stay there 
If that is a NO. Being a non resident but a home owner Can I buy a Mexican plated car and leave it there 
Looking for options. 
Renting is OK but gets expensive after a while .
Thanks in advance.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Daof4 said:


> Been looking through posts for info but none found
> If I bring a car on a visitors permit it has to leave when I do.
> We have a older car and was thinking of leaving it in Mx for when we stay there
> If that is a NO. Being a non resident but a home owner Can I buy a Mexican plated car and leave it there
> ...


If you are on a tourist permit, the car has to leave when you do. If you are on a Residencial Temporal visa, the car can stay until the visa expires. If you buy a Mexican plated car it can stay in Mexico with no problem. I don't know if tourists can buy and register cars. If so, that would be an option. If not, your best bet would be to get a Residencial Temporal. Then you could come and go for up to four years while leaving a non-Mexican plated car in Mexico.


----------



## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> If you are on a tourist permit, the car has to leave when you do. If you are on a Residencial Temporal visa, the car can stay until the visa expires. If you buy a Mexican plated car it can stay in Mexico with no problem. I don't know if tourists can buy and register cars. If so, that would be an option. If not, your best bet would be to get a Residencial Temporal. Then you could come and go for up to four years while leaving a non-Mexican plated car in Mexico.


Good response, TG, just a couple of points might need clarification. I'm guessing Daof4 isn't talking about the border zone or the Baja peninsula where no car permit is needed and they don't care how long it stays. As far as getting a temporary vehicle importation with a residente temporal visa, I always thought the max for the TIP was 180 days, even though you may have an RT for much longer. You can come and go multiple times with the same vehicle permit---as long as the TIP is canceled before its expiration lest you lose the deposit.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

perropedorro said:


> Good response, TG, just a couple of points might need clarification. I'm guessing Daof4 isn't talking about the border zone or the Baja peninsula where no car permit is needed and they don't care how long it stays. As far as getting a temporary vehicle importation with a residente temporal visa, I always thought the max for the TIP was 180 days, even though you may have an RT for much longer. You can come and go multiple times with the same vehicle permit---as long as the TIP is canceled before its expiration lest you lose the deposit.


I am no expert. I have never had a non-Mexican vehicle in Mexico. But my understanding is that the TIP is good for as long as your residence status, 180 days if on a tourist permit, years if on a temporary visa. I could be wrong. 

The only reference I could find, http://www.visasmex.com/files/Manual_importacion_temporal_de_vehiculos.pdf, dates to 2006 and talks about "imigrante" and "no-imigrante" status so it is pretty out of date. But sections 5.2.1 and 7.2 seem to confirm my understanding.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Now, the TIP (Importada Temporal) must be extended formally by Aduana upon renewal of a Residente Temporal Visa. So, you must be in Mexico at the appropriate time, and for the duration, of the renewal of your visa, and IMMEDIATELY make formal notification of renewal to Aduana in order to get the TIP extended. For that reason, it is best to renew for 3 years, at the end of your first year, and Aduana will extend the TIP accordingly.
Yes, at least in Jalisco, a residence visa and proof of address are required to register a vehicle. Tourist permits will not allow it.


----------



## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

My TIP is from 2007 and a Federali had no problem with it.

Many people say you can't register a Mexican car with Tourist Permit. Why don't you get a Resident Visa


----------



## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> I am no expert. I have never had a non-Mexican vehicle in Mexico. But my understanding is that the TIP is good for as long as your residence status, 180 days if on a tourist permit, years if on a temporary visa. I could be wrong.
> 
> The only reference I could find, http://www.visasmex.com/files/Manual_importacion_temporal_de_vehiculos.pdf, dates to 2006 and talks about "imigrante" and "no-imigrante" status so it is pretty out of date. But sections 5.2.1 and 7.2 seem to confirm my understanding.


You're correct, according to the most recent document I found, Nov. 2014 from  SAT at bottom of page 16. I had importación confused with "internación", i.e. a permit for frontera plated vehicles to enter the interior.


----------



## cscscs007 (Jan 8, 2011)

I can answer some of these questions, but then more come up I don't know the answer to.

As far as registering a car you need the vehicle paperwork (and copies) including getting a copy of the receipt for the payment made the day you register the vehicle and a copy of a proof of address, and a Tourista will not work. You must have at a minimum a Residente Temporal.

On a Residente Temporal it is mandatory that for the first time it is valid for one year. 30 days before the expiration of the Residente Temporal one can go in and renew the card for 1-3 years depending upon your circumstances (I am only stating this because under family unity rules being married to a Mexican national only requires 2 years Residente Temporal before changing to Permanante).

My question is this:

For example, John Smith drives into Mexico, stops at the border and get his FMM and TIP for his car. While he is in Mexico he goes to INM and applies for a Residente Temporal through his wife, which is granted. He decides to take a trip back to the USA for a month. By law he must cancel the TIP on his vehicle which he does. 
At the end of the month trip he returns to Mexico driving. Now, by law he must inform Aduana that he has a Residente Temporal status. How long will his new TIP for his vehicle be valid for? Will it be valid for 30 days only, or will Aduana upon seeing his Residente Temporal card issue the TIP for the same date of expiration as his card?

I was asked this by a friend of mine, and I do not know the answer. Maybe someone has encountered this scenario and can answer this


----------



## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

cscscs007 said:


> I can answer some of these questions, but then more come up I don't know the answer to.
> 
> As far as registering a car you need the vehicle paperwork (and copies) including getting a copy of the receipt for the payment made the day you register the vehicle and a copy of a proof of address, and a Tourista will not work. You must have at a minimum a Residente Temporal.
> 
> ...


Hits home, and I'm currently a year into a married-to-a-Mexican RT, which still lets me own a NOB vehicle. A permanente _must_ register their car in Mexico. BTW, two years after establishing domicile on an RT, the spouse of a Mexican can skip the RP and go straight for naturalization, if they wish to.


----------

