# Want to move to Mexico but have so many questions!!!



## JPL43 (Jan 6, 2018)

Happy New Year all!

A friend and I are looking to move to Mexico but, are both pretty ignorant as to where to start in regards to just about everything. We aren't looking to retire by any means so, finding a golf course or a retirement community is not a thing.

If someone would be kind enough to post a link to some info to start besides this forums FAQ id greatly appreciate it. 

Thank you so much.

cheers


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Best thing to do is visit the Mexican Counsel in New York and get a list of requirements to move to Mexico, explain you are not asking about retirement....


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

chicois8 said:


> Best thing to do is visit the Mexican Counsel in New York and get a list of requirements to move to Mexico, explain you are not asking about retirement....


You will, when within six months of being ready to move, be required to apply to the consulate for a temporary residence visa. There will be financial proofs required to show your income flow for the previous 6-12 months, etc. They will give you the details.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

JPL43 said:


> Happy New Year all!
> 
> A friend and I are looking to move to Mexico but, are both pretty ignorant as to where to start in regards to just about everything. We aren't looking to retire by any means so, finding a golf course or a retirement community is not a thing.
> 
> ...


Have you visited Mexico - and if so where ? What were your impressions ?

There are tons of books available. Perhaps a subscription to Amazon Unlimited would help you.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Generally you aren't going to be able to work in Mexico. You can do online work for US or non-Mexican companies. If you have no visible means of support (to recycle an old advertising slogan) you're not going to qualify for temporary residency and will have to use tourist visas and leave the country at least every 180 days.

One early step you need to do is to make sure you have a passport that won't expire soon. Getting a passport can have a long lead time and it holds up everything, including exploratory visits.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

eastwind said:


> Generally you aren't going to be able to work in Mexico. You can do online work for US or non-Mexican companies. If you have no visible means of support (to recycle an old advertising slogan) you're not going to qualify for temporary residency and will have to use tourist visas and leave the country at least every 180 days.
> 
> One early step you need to do is to make sure you have a passport that won't expire soon. Getting a passport can have a long lead time and it holds up everything, including exploratory visits.


Eastwind, sorry, but not true about not being able to work in Mexico on a temp. visa. Once a temp. visa is approved at a consulate, one can apply to be given a Temp. Lucrativa visa at INM in Mexico. The consulates cannot issue these. Would have to have a solid job offer, or a self-employed business (plus tax number). I had a temp. lucrativa visa here for 8 years (I started my own business) before becoming permanente. It is more expensive than normal temp. visa.


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## JPL43 (Jan 6, 2018)

lat19n said:


> Have you visited Mexico - and if so where ? What were your impressions ?
> 
> There are tons of books available. Perhaps a subscription to Amazon Unlimited would help you.


I have but, only in a "touring" capacity. I will say however that I fell in love with the landscape, the people, the food, the pace and all that I experienced there.

what I'm looking to learn is the best place for us to start our journey there. meaning, I know we will live in one area for a year or so then move on to another region. so, I'm looking for info in regards to low cost living, some conveniences but, I don't want to be around a bunch of spring breakers. lol


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

But.....Can you qualify for a residence visa? That is step #1.
Otherwise, you will be a 180 day tourist and have to leave Mexico. You cannot renew a tourist permit in Mexico.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> But.....Can you qualify for a residence visa? That is step #1.
> Otherwise, you will be a 180 day tourist and have to leave Mexico. You cannot renew a tourist permit in Mexico.


This is true, but many people go to the border, "leave" Mexico and turn around the re-enter on a new tourist permit a day later. Not sure if this is legal, but it sure is common.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

If we didn't already own an expensive house in Mexico - which we love and will probably never sell - we might have a look at Leon.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lagoloo said:


> This is true, but many people go to the border, "leave" Mexico and turn around the re-enter on a new tourist permit a day later. Not sure if this is legal, but it sure is common.


We used to have a poster who was adamant that it is illegal, but no one has ever demonstrated that. It is within the rules and very common.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

What else are you going to do if your finances aren't sufficient for the regular visas? Works for some people for years.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

It's also been claimed elsewhere that they might stop granting RT's and RP's because of Trump. Turned out to be baseless evidence-free emotional snowflakery. I don't recall anyone here posting that though. You can find all sorts of stupid opinions on the internet if you search using strong confirmation bias.


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

eastwind said:


> *Generally you aren't going to be able to work in Mexico. *You can do online work for US or non-Mexican companies. If you have no visible means of support (to recycle an old advertising slogan) you're not going to qualify for temporary residency and will have to use tourist visas and leave the country at least every 180 days.
> 
> One early step you need to do is to make sure you have a passport that won't expire soon. Getting a passport can have a long lead time and it holds up everything, including exploratory visits.


Yes you can. I have been here since 1981. Retired here as an English prof.

Outside a few clicks of GDL there is a complex called, Technology Park, Technology Plaza and more. I drive by there. What do I see? Hundreds of foreigners waiting for the bus to GDL. I mean there are Asians, East Indians, Africans, green people, purple people.

And, not unlike any other nation, if you have skills they need, like English teachers, doctors, engineers, air traffic controllers etc .... Come on down!


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

I concur with modeeper's observation..... 

It is commonly said that one " cannot work in a job that a Mexican National could do ". Well, I see tons of non-Nationals working at jobs that a National could and does do. There are some requirements but it is/must be entirely doable.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

RickS said:


> I concur with modeeper's observation.....
> 
> It is commonly said that one " cannot work in a job that a Mexican National could do ". Well, I see tons of non-Nationals working at jobs that a National could and does do. There are some requirements but it is/must be entirely doable.


Along those lines (somewhat germane)..

From the US -

Immigration Agents Target 7-Eleven Stores in Push to Punish Employers

"The sweeps of 98 stores in 17 states, from California to Florida, resulted in 21 arrests, according to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which signaled intensified efforts against businesses that hire unauthorized workers."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/us/7-eleven-raids-ice.html


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

lagoloo said:


> This is true, but many people go to the border, "leave" Mexico and turn around the re-enter on a new tourist permit a day later. Not sure if this is legal, but it sure is common.


This is common, like you say, and some people have been doing it for years, some for decades. Successfully. Whether it’s legal or not, it works. I think that based what can be observed, it was allowed, but is not guaranteed.
People are still doing it, but there have been increasing reports over the last year or two that some people reentering after a visa run have been turned away, or given less (much less) than the maximum 180 days, or sternly lectured that this is the last time, and from now on they need to get a resident visa. 
One never heard of this happening when the tourist card was just a piece of paper, but now that electronic records are being kept, the official admitting you to the country can see the entire pattern of your comings and goings, and can tell whether you are a de facto resident living in Mexico on a series of tourist permits.


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

lat19n said:


> Along those lines (somewhat germane)..
> 
> From the US -
> 
> ...


Oops, if you are planning to cross into Mexico I suggest you wait a few weeks till this blows over. You could be gang-raped by the border migra.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

modeeper said:


> Oops, if you are planning to cross into Mexico I suggest you wait a few weeks till this blows over. You could be gang-raped by the border migra.


Nonsense.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> Nonsense.


I took his comment as cynical.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

modeeper said:


> Oops, if you are planning to cross into Mexico I suggest you wait a few weeks till this blows over. You could be gang-raped by the border migra.


I'm hoping that was sarcastic.

My guess is that most of the people caught in this operation won't even be Mexican.


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

Of course it was sarcastic. The news story never mentioned the nationality of the captees. And they shouldn't have. What we can assume about the "victims" is that they all spoke English. How can you get a gig at a 7-11 without English ability? I doubt they were still wet from crossing the Rio Grande. ICE doesn't care how many years an illegal has been in the country. They could have been Dreamers who didn't register in time. Many Dreamers have been there 20 years.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Here's some background on why they did the raid, and what they found in an earlier criminal case in 2013. Note that the motivation is to go after the employers not the employees, who were being victimized by the employers. And none of the names sound Hispanic to me.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-11/immigration-officials-raid-7-eleven-stores-nationwide-net-21-illegals


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

By the names they are Pakistanis or Indians...no surprise Pakistanis and Indians seem to like 7/11 and motels.. A well known name for owners of cheap motel os Patel --


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

ICE agents circled any Latino or Latina-sounding names on the guest registry, and returned to their vehicles” to run background checks. -LA Times


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

modeeper said:


> ICE agents circled any Latino or Latina-sounding names on the guest registry, and returned to their vehicles” to run background checks. -LA Times


That's the motel 6 story, not the 7-11 story. Different operation, different reasons, different perps.

Responding to the post about 7-11 names being Indian/Pakistani: Slavery (mostly debt slavery, including hereditary debt slavery) is still practiced in South Asia. That's more or less what the owners were being accused of.

In the 7-11 case, they investigated 7-11's in other states to see if there was a systemic problem beyond those owned by the original perpetrators. They raided 100+ 7-11's and found 21 people suspected of being illegal. Given that they might find one or two employees at most at any given 7-11, and given that some of the 21 people probably do have the right to work but didn't have documentation with them, that's a lower percentage of illegal workers than I expected.


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## RickS (Aug 6, 2009)

lat19n said:


> I took his comment as cynical.


Yes, but maybe not valuable to the discussion..... but of course we all have our opinions.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

But how far does this sort of behavior go ? Feels a little bit like storm troopers to me. Next they will have 'operations' in various neighborhoods to determine the legal status of household staff.

Before you blow off that idea - something similar happened while we were living in Austin Texas around the year 2000. And (I am on thin ice here) they found that some politicians did in fact have illegals working for them.


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

Of course the media wants to avoid saying whatever will affect their rep. Now in LA where the Mexican population exceeds GDL, storm trooper activity might evoke a friggin drive-by.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

All they have to do is go to Bel Air and Beverly Hills and wait fro the gareners and the maids to come out... they will have plenty of people there.. GO to any restaurants in the kitchen another good catch or in the garment industy district and on and on... In California in the country go around the Catholic Churches, that is why unskilled laborors wait for their job for the day.. The Immigration knows exactly where all the bodies are buried..Hopefully they will inconvenience enough rich people and companies so something gets done about getting visas to workers .. There are not enough US citizens wanting those jobs..


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## modeeper (Mar 21, 2015)

*There are not enough US citizens wanting those jobs..*

There you have it! I pity the fool American who competes with illegals for employment. Even high school summer job prospects don't include picking lettuce.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Anybody trying to keep up with a Mexican in a stoop labor agricultural job learns in a blindingly short time that he's outclassed. I knew some healthy high school guys who didn't last the day.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Will California's $15/hour "living" minimum wage apply to jobs like picking lettuce?


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

lat19n said:


> But how far does this sort of behavior go ? Feels a little bit like storm troopers to me. Next they will have 'operations' in various neighborhoods to determine the legal status of household staff.


No one goes fishing in a parking lot.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Americans cannot compete picking grapes or lettuce and do not want to.. I ran a winery and we had very few non Mexicans applying for jobs , the ones that did only lasted a few days and left. The rythm is way to fast and tough for people who have not done that kind of work for a long time.
In 98 we paid by the ton and the team would split the money. They made 20 dollars an hour. if you calculated by the hour..It was not the low wages that prevented the US workers to work there.. it was the type of work and the rythm of the work that scared people..

In Napa the winery would compete for the best pickers and wages were not low especially in the boutique wineries.. it obviously was a different story in the central valley.. The Michoacan guys would work in the central valley as they are the best, the Oaxaca guys worked in the Central Valley.. Also you could not mix people from Northern Mexico with Southern Mexico or you would end up with major fights.. The guys from Jalisco Michoacan worked well with the north and the south..

It looks like the time the migra would make appointment before showing up is over.. In the old days you has to present the files they would go through the files and then pick up the guys who were usually gone as by that time the harbest was over..

Outside of the harvest they would come and raided the vineards that same way as well.. but in the country there are lots of places to hide..


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