# Seeking residency in Mexico - help.



## Christopha (May 15, 2011)

I'm wanting to know what fields have labour shortages in Mexico and what kind of qualifications the immigration department favours for granting permanent residency with work permit.
I am from New Zealand and considering studying psychology but need to know if I would get residency based on that.
What about an electrician?

Do I have to have buckets of money in my bank account?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Mexico does require that you be able to prove foreign income/resources, equivalent to about $1300 USD per month, in order to obtain a visa as a temporary resident. Otherwise, you are limited to 180 days. If you were accepted as a student by a university, you might get a visa that way for the duration of the course.
You probably know that finding work in Mexico is very difficult and many Mexicans risk their very lives to get out and find work elsewhere. Unless you are Mexican culturally and ethnically, I don't think you could even make it as a psychologist. They aren't much used here anyway. Electrician/Plumbers are a dime a dozen here and don't cost much to hire. Of course, fluent Spanish would be a must in any case, along with special Immigration permission to work; not easy to get.


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## Christopha (May 15, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> Mexico does require that you be able to prove foreign income/resources, equivalent to about $1300 USD per month, in order to obtain a visa as a temporary resident. Otherwise, you are limited to 180 days. If you were accepted as a student by a university, you might get a visa that way for the duration of the course.
> You probably know that finding work in Mexico is very difficult and many Mexicans risk their very lives to get out and find work elsewhere. Unless you are Mexican culturally and ethnically, I don't think you could even make it as a psychologist. They aren't much used here anyway. Electrician/Plumbers are a dime a dozen here and don't cost much to hire. Of course, fluent Spanish would be a must in any case, along with special Immigration permission to work; not easy to get.


Is this the general consensus?

What about computer programmers and website designers? Much demand in Mexico?


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## Queretaro (Dec 6, 2008)

As a programmer and web designer I can chime in on this last one. Keep in mind that while I still program and web design, I run my own businesses (both physical and online), but I did work in Mexico for 2 years before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. 
There are plenty of programmers and web designers in Mexico. The one place they are currently lacking however is specialized programmers (those certified in SAP, a CRM package, Oracle etc). Just having graduated from uni with a programming degree would not make you competitive. You need to have at least 5 years of specialized experience in a certain IT area with a certificate to prove it - Mexicans love certificates. 

As most people said, it is not easy. Most expats I have meet are sent here by the company they already work for. They do not come here and then get a job. Good luck.


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

There are a few general caveats that the Mexican Government looks for. First of all can you support yourself with some form of income (not what you hope to receive working here)? Second is the job that you're hoping to find something that can not be done by a current Mexican citizen? Third, if you are going to be going to school how will you support yourself and when you finish will you be hired by a company here. 

In other words:

1--can you support yourself without having a job here?
2--is some company sponsoring your stay in Mexico?
3--do you already have a job here or are you looking to get some training and then try to get a job? 

There are others but you get the picture. You can not come to Mexico with the hopes of finding a job right away even if you have all the education that other posters have mentioned. The best way to come here with little income is to already have been hired by a company with a location here and have them help process your visa. Without that, IMHO you're out of luck.


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## Christopha (May 15, 2011)

Thanks. Just to clarify, my intention is to train before moving to Mexico.

So it sounds like you are all saying that even if I secure a job in Mexico that pays well before entering the country, the Mexican government would expect me to be able to support myself on an income from outside the country?


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Christopha said:


> Thanks. Just to clarify, my intention is to train before moving to Mexico.
> 
> So it sounds like you are all saying that even if I secure a job in Mexico that pays well before entering the country, the Mexican government would expect me to be able to support myself on an income from outside the country?


To find a job in Mexico before moving there will be near impossible. Unless you already work for a multi national in a mid level / top management position and there is an opening there and strategically it makes sense for the company to move you there. 

Opening your own business is an alternative but your Spanish will need to be perfect and you will be competing with a lot of Mexicans who also have decided to open their own businesses due to the lack of opportunities and jobs in the private sector. You will also need to have sufficient proof of funds and income in order to get the appropiate permit to stay legally in the country.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Christopha said:


> Thanks. Just to clarify, my intention is to train before moving to Mexico.
> 
> So it sounds like you are all saying that even if I secure a job in Mexico that pays well before entering the country, the Mexican government would expect me to be able to support myself on an income from outside the country?


Not necessarily. With the caveat that there are going to be big changes to immigration procedures, categories and regulations in November, and things may be different after then, the way it has been up to now is that you enter the country with a tourist visa, and you then have 180 days to convert it to some sort of longer-term visa with permission to work. You can get that permission to work through sponsorship from an employer who is offering you a job. If you can find the employer who will offer you a job within the 180 days, you’re in. That being said, it’s not very likely. You’ll be competing with countless Mexicans with diplomas and degrees in the fields you’re interested in, who also speak native Spanish. Your best bet is to leverage something they don’t have, your abilities in your native language.


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## pappabee (Jun 22, 2010)

This thread is getting a little convoluted even for me. The OP asked a few questions and different people have answered them. Basically if the OP is not entering Mexico with a sponsorship from some company, getting a work permit will be next to impossible, even if he/she is planning to go to school. 

Work permits for electricians or those in the computer industry are extremely hard to come by. In a village the size of Ajijic there must be 20 or more people who do computer work. And I know of at least 50 electricians (I tried to hire one and found out that everyone and their cousin is or knows an electrician). Mexico currently does, and according to everything that we know of so far regarding the new rules coming in November, will continue to require proof of the ability to support one’s self prior to granting any visa longer than the 180 days. Oh, you had better take a good look at the average wage here also. 

Christopha it just isn’t going to happen. You can enter on a 180 day visa and then try to stay here illegally, some do it but if you get caught as someone said, Mexican prisons make people think that the Inquisition was not so bad at all

You can ask all the questions that you want, you can get all the positive advise (if you do this or that then it might work) and you can get all the other positive advise (it just is not going to work the way you want it to). But the bottom line is if you apply for a visa prior to entering Mexico you probably will not get it. If you enter Mexico on a 180 visa and then try to get another visa you will either be forced to leave at the end of the 180 days or you will have to go underground. 

The choice is yours, to take a chance or revise your plans.

My advice is to revise.


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## gkloken (Aug 9, 2007)

Christopha said:


> I'm wanting to know what fields have labour shortages in Mexico and what kind of qualifications the immigration department favours for granting permanent residency with work permit.
> I am from New Zealand and considering studying psychology but need to know if I would get residency based on that.
> What about an electrician?
> 
> Do I have to have buckets of money in my bank account?


While all that is said and done above in all the post have a truth to it, it differs totally from area to area . It is important to show income to maintain yourself with accommodation until you find what you want to do. However, you like thousands and thousands of Americans can just come here on a 6months visitors visa and apply like everyone else for your temporary residency once the visitors visa is about to expire, this is not permanent residency (which is different from what you understand about permanent residency ).

Temporary residency is perfectly fine and you can get a *working temporary visa* as well. 
Very few Americans living in certain parts of Mexico speaks Mexican only a few words or sentences they picked up from living here. You can have your temporary work visa for 5 -6 years if you want to. Again Americans here who never change their status to Permanent Residency. Others keep coming on 6 months visitors visas and just go and renew it one week before it expires. 

When it comes to work, you can do any job that is related to tourism or any international company eg. like hotels etc . As long as you do not take away a job from a Mexican in the Mexican sector. That does not mean that you cannot manage a restaurant for instance. 

You can also just train for teaching English and come and teach English until you find what you want to do. There are many places oopen for that also with NGO's and places like those

There are also several incentives that you can find out about at the Mexican Embassies, where they encourage foreigners to come to Mexico and jobs are available, also businesses to invest in. 

You have to register for a tax ID before you can work and even that is as easy as pie. It is only when you decide that you want to really immigrate to become a Mexican citizen that you are asked to speak Spanish fluently. Though it ids to your benefit that you learn to help yourself in Spanish like any tourist would because large areas do not speak English. English is spoken in most cities towns and areas where there are American companies factories and large businesses. But it is a smaller group speaking it fluently.

From what I understand from you it is not necessarily that you want to become a Mexican citizen just to come and work in Mexico? Am I right? Just remember salaries are much lower in Mexico than in US, EU, AUS , New Zealand and UK.

Where I am is a New Zealander with his own business now for 12 years, he is still temporary, never wants to become a citizen and he is doing great. This is just to mention one person out of thousands of Americans that cannot support themselves in US, so they are living here in Mexico all year round year in and out and still cannot speak Mexican. 

Some have become bums others watch cars for a tip and others are thriving in businesses or are working for other expats in their business and then the larger part of the group live on their Social security here because it is so cheap living in Mexico. BUT it is not all moonshine and roses again depending where you are don't forget that. It is a far cry from New Zealand and everything you have there .

When it comes to fluent Spanish -as a matter of fact most of these US people get very angry if they are not served in English even if that person tries their best. 

I believe in some areas it is more tighter, but I found to get a visa for Mexico was the easiest thing in the world including others from different countries. Right now don't even try the US its the biggest mess up when it comes to temp or perm visas or any kind of visa .


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## Polinero1 (Jun 8, 2011)

*Not much help*



Christopha said:


> I'm wanting to know what fields have labour shortages in Mexico and what kind of qualifications the immigration department favours for granting permanent residency with work permit.
> I am from New Zealand and considering studying psychology but need to know if I would get residency based on that.
> What about an electrician?
> 
> Do I have to have buckets of money in my bank account?


I have just a resident's visa but it is not for working. My only advice to you is NOT to believe everything that you readd on Mexican Officical websites. You can get just about any anwer you wnat to hear.


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## gudgrief (Jun 20, 2011)

gkloken sums it up pretty completely. I retired to Mexico from the US 3 years ago. Getting good information from the Mexican Consulate was quite easy. They probably wouldn't be able to tell you what fields are looking for expat candidates, but they can give you information on what qualifications you need to fulfill to get a work visa and the associated fees.


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## Christopha (May 15, 2011)

OK thanks for that everyone. It looks like temporary visas is the way to go then.
Is there quite a healthy demand for teachers of english?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Christopha said:


> OK thanks for that everyone. It looks like temporary visas is the way to go then.
> Is there quite a healthy demand for teachers of english?


There is a healthy demand for English teachers, but...
The pay is pretty low; and, they often work part time, or piece together several different jobs to get by. At least that is true of all the ones I know, and I meet quite a few in my Spanish classes.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You should not plan on making enough to live independently as an English teacher, especially if you don't have teaching credentials and TEFL certification.


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## gudgrief (Jun 20, 2011)

Where I live, a single person can get by reasonably for maybe $700US/mo. Then again, it's unlikely you could earn that much as an English teacher. Even here, where there are very few expats, there are more teachers than are needed to meet demand.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The OP would need to meet Immigration's income requirements, and/or have sponsorship by a reputable firm, in order to maintain a visa.

Note:
The FMM is a 180 day, non-renewable, tourist permit. You cannot work.
Other visas are temporary, renewable each year, until one has been in Mexico long enough to qualify for permanent residency or citizenship. In most cases, that takes five years. Meanwhile, one must have INM permission to work in Mexico.


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## Christopha (May 15, 2011)

Thanks.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> The OP would need to meet Immigration's income requirements, and/or have sponsorship by a reputable firm, in order to maintain a visa.


OR apply for a residence visa that allows you to work as an English teacher "de manera independiente", which is what I have. Of course, you will need proof that you are qualified to teach English, either an appropriate degree or a certificate from a TEFL course you've taken in Mexico or elsewhere.


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