# Guatemala to Queretaro



## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

Well all final decisions have been made. On March 1 we will be leaving Guatemala and moving to Queretaro. I am using an international mover here in Guate to move some of our belongings up the Pacific Coast and into Queretaro, while my wife and I and our two sons will drive through Guatemala to Belize and into Chetumal. 

We are doing this because my wife has family from Guatemala there and her uncle has arranged for her and I to get our residency as soon as we arrive. Otherwise we would drive up the Pacific Coast.

I was wondering what would be the best route to take from Chetumal to get to D.F. I have to stop in D.F. to pick up paper work for the residency, then head to Queretaro. 

Is the road that goes from Chetumal to Becan and then on to Escarcega any good? 

Will probably have other questions going forward..


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

Sounds exciting!


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

The road from Chetumal through Escarsega is a good one and, actually, all the highways from that area to DF are excellent roads. You could actually get to Queretaro these days skipping a drive through Mexico City by taking the relatively new Arco Norte Cuoto just west of Puebla to Queretaro but it sounds as though you need to go through the capital for personal reasons. Otherwise, you can skip DF altogether with its thuggish and corrupt cops looking for foreign license plates to rip people off. If you can skip Mexico City with Guatemala plates, let me know and I´ll tell you how to drive around that hellhole. The new Arco Norte freeway is the best cuota in Mexico. A supurb limted access highway with no crooked cops.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

OOPS¡ Double post.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I drove from Chetumal to Escarcega to Cardenas a couple weeks ago, the road was fine, at least 3 Pemex stations in that stretch...gas up in Quintana Roo, 30 centavos a liter less because of lower tax rate...there were a couple of military stops and x-ray machines you drive through, guess they are looking for drugs and guns.. I did not stop until Cardenas, at the north end of town is a brand new hotel with 24 hour restaurant and a large gas station....


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

Hound Dog said:


> The road from Chetumal through Escarsega is a good one and, actually, all the highways from that area to DF are excellent roads. You could actually get to Queretaro these days skipping a drive through Mexico City by taking the relatively new Arco Norte Cuoto just west of Puebla to Queretaro but it sounds as though you need to go through the capital for personal reasons. Otherwise, you can skip DF altogether with its thuggish and corrupt cops looking for foreign license plates to rip people off. If you can skip Mexico City with Guatemala plates, let me know and I´ll tell you how to drive around that hellhole. The new Arco Norte freeway is the best cuota in Mexico. A supurb limted access highway with no crooked cops.



Thanks for the information about the road through from Chetumal to Escarsega. I will definitely take that route. I do have to go through D.F. since we are filling out residency papers in Chetumal with our contact there and they should be ready in a week's time and we will time our trip through D.F. to pick them up there. Looking forward to taking the new route as I only have been up the west coast and into DF that way but only up the east coast to Cancun.

If anyone is interested I have a very good contact to get paperwork completed for residency. I have been to Mexico probably a dozen times and my wife, who is Guatemalan only twice and we both will have our permanent residence by the time we reach D.F.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Guategringo said:


> Thanks for the information about the road through from Chetumal to Escarsega. I will definitely take that route. I do have to go through D.F. since we are filling out residency papers in Chetumal with our contact there and they should be ready in a week's time and we will time our trip through D.F. to pick them up there. Looking forward to taking the new route as I only have been up the west coast and into DF that way but only up the east coast to Cancun.
> 
> If anyone is interested I have a very good contact to get paperwork completed for residency. I have been to Mexico probably a dozen times and my wife, who is Guatemalan only twice and we both will have our permanent residence by the time we reach D.F.


If you must drive through Mexico City as we used to do several times a year driving between Lake Chapala and Chiapas before the Arco Norte bypass opened from Puebla to the Edomex/Michoacan border, keep two things in mind. They have the "Hoy No Circula" rule which applies to all vehicles with license plates issued anywhere in the world. One day a week it is prohibited for you to drive there as determined by the last number on your license plate. If you violate this rule, it is considered a serious offense and there is a good chance they will stop you in the metro area. They will, at the least exact major mordida from you and may even impound your vehicle. Also, bear in mind that the corrupt Mexico City cops are out on the perifericos cruising on the lookout for out-of-DF or foreign plated cars like buzzards seeking carrion. Driving through the heart of the megalopolis is better than cruising the perifericos more than absolutley necessary. 

Have a nice trip. Boy, Guatemala to Queretaro. That´s a hellava change.  Keep us informed as to how you like Queretaro.

By the way, if you are driving from Chetumal through Escarcega, you might want to take a break and visit the Maya ruins at Calakmul. Not well known but worth a visit if you have an interest in ancient Maya cities.


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

I will stop at the Maya ruins, I have visited ruins in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and parts of Mexico but not these. We will go there on our way. We have a week between filling out residency papers in Chetumal and picking up our residency cards in DF. so we will take our time.

I wish I did not have to drive into the heart of DF since I have fought many a time with the taxis and other drivers there. I used to fly into the city and spend a week there on business without ever leaving the city. The first time I paid a taxi to take me around, but after that I rented a car.

I have run into many police in my travels in Mexico on the west coast and the Yucatan peninsula and have paid no more than $5 or $10 U.S. each time and refused to pay more. I found that being forceful back to them in Spanish has worked for me. Here in Guate I refuse to pay a dime. I tell them arrest and then let me call the embassy and that usally makes them stop pressing for a mordida. 

Does US$1,250 sound reasonable for my Mexican residency? That is what it is costing my wife and I apiece. At least I will not have to worry about renewing this or that or anything else... I have read enough on this site to see how the process has changed and is worrying many people.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

It is sort of amazing to me that you are getting in one week.
The new process here is that you submit paperwork and then two weeks or so later your paperwork is accepted and you go in to sign the forms and have fingerprints taken. Then the paperwork gets sent to Mexico City and about 3 weeks later the card comes back.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Gosh. Guategringo, $1,250 USD sounds like a ripoff for a residency permit. However, I am not an expert on these matters. Good luck to you.


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

Hound Dog said:


> Gosh. Guategringo, $1,250 USD sounds like a ripoff for a residency permit. However, I am not an expert on these matters. Good luck to you.


I guess what I am saying is that my wife and I will go straight to the "immigrado" status and bypass the FM3 or FM2 and not have to renew them five times. This will make us permanent residents similar to the green card in the U.S. 

I have heard with all the changes taking place in the immigration laws in mexico it is becoming amore and more complicated process to file for permanent residency and this will allow us to bypass all that. In my opinion paying that amount is worth not ever having to renew anything and to know everything is complete with no waiting time for any of us, including our children.


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

conklinwh said:


> It is sort of amazing to me that you are getting in one week.
> The new process here is that you submit paperwork and then two weeks or so later your paperwork is accepted and you go in to sign the forms and have fingerprints taken. Then the paperwork gets sent to Mexico City and about 3 weeks later the card comes back.


I know, but my wife's uncle is very close to the governor of Quintana Roo and we are going through him. The paperwork will be all done, included fingerprints in Chetumal and then sent to DF via DHL which I have to pay for and then we will be able to pick up everything at once in a week's time in DF and be "immigrado" status or the equivalent of green card holders at that time. No FM2 or FM3's to worry about.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I think the cost for a Residente Permanente is $1000 mxn to change status (unless you were imigrado previously) plus $3815 mxn for the visa, for a total of $4815 mxn or about $400 usd.

http://www.inm.gob.mx/static/Tramites_LM/Estancia_LM/Expedicion_de_doc_Migratorio/Expedicion_de_doc_migratorio_por_renovacion.pdf

http://www.inm.gob.mx/static/Tramit...residente_temporal_a_residente_permanente.pdf


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Guategringo said:


> I know, but my wife's uncle is very close to the governor of Quintana Roo and we are going through him. The paperwork will be all done, included fingerprints in Chetumal and then sent to DF via DHL which I have to pay for and then we will be able to pick up everything at once in a week's time in DF and be "immigrado" status or the equivalent of green card holders at that time. No FM2 or FM3's to worry about.


Connections can be very useful as a way to get around the rules and regulations that the rest of us have to follow!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Connections can be very useful as a way to get around the rules and regulations that the rest of us have to follow!


I wonder if the difference between the INM fee of +/-$400 usd and the $1250 usd that they are paying is the cost of their "connections".


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> I wonder if the difference between the INM fee of +/-$400 usd and the $1250 usd that they are paying is the cost of their "connections".


No doubt! I wonder whose pocket that extra money is going into ...


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> No doubt! I wonder whose pocket that extra money is going into ...


The INM office in Guadalajara has several signs posted telling people that you never have to pay any of their employees for their services. The only fees are paid at a bank.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> The INM office in Guadalajara has several signs posted telling people that you never have to pay any of their employees for their services. The only fees are paid at a bank.


I wasn't thinking of money being paid to INM employees but rather financial "considerations" being given to someone in the QR governor's office.


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

TundraGreen said:


> I wonder if the difference between the INM fee of +/-$400 usd and the $1250 usd that they are paying is the cost of their "connections".


The difference I am told, is that we do not have to wait to receive permanent residency and we do not have to renew anything like you have to with the FM2 or FM3. I was also mistaken when I thought it would cost US$1,250 apiece. That is ofr the four of us.... 

But this is my question? Can you receive permanent residence, without a renewable FM3 or FM2 card at a cost of just $400?

I am sure the money I am spending will not make its way to anywhere other than the governor's office...in QR, but in my 20 years in Latin America I have learned that it is not always what you know but who you know and the all mightly dollar still has a voice.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Guategringo said:


> The difference I am told, is that we do not have to wait to receive permanent residency and we do not have to renew anything like you have to with the FM2 or FM3. I was also mistaken when I thought it would cost US$1,250 apiece. That is ofr the four of us....
> 
> But this is my question? Can you receive permanent residence, without a renewable FM3 or FM2 card at a cost of just $400?
> 
> I am sure the money I am spending will not make its way to anywhere other than the governor's office...in QR, but in my 20 years in Latin America I have learned that it is not always what you know but who you know and the all mightly dollar still has a voice.


If you meet the income requirements, you can go directly to Residente Permanente with passing through 4 years of Residente Temporal. That is what I have been told, that is what the regulations specify, and they have accepted my paperwork to do just that. I am in the process now. I believe you can also do this if you are related to a Mexican citizen, which is probably the route you are going. 

$1250 is the cost of a Residente Permanente for four people (4 x $3815 mxn = $1220 usd), so that makes sense now. And my speculation about it was completely off base.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Guategringo said:


> The difference I am told, is that we do not have to wait to receive permanent residency and we do not have to renew anything like you have to with the FM2 or FM3. I was also mistaken when I thought it would cost US$1,250 apiece. That is ofr the four of us....
> 
> But this is my question? Can you receive permanent residence, without a renewable FM3 or FM2 card at a cost of just $400?
> 
> I am sure the money I am spending will not make its way to anywhere other than the governor's office...in QR, but in my 20 years in Latin America I have learned that it is not always what you know but who you know and the all mightly dollar still has a voice.


According to the new INM rules and regs, if you can fulfill the income requirements, you can indeed receive permanent resident status for around $400 without having held a previous visa.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> $1250 is the cost of a Residente Permanente for four people (4 x $3815 mxn = $1220 usd), so that makes sense now. And my speculation about it was completely off base.


As was mine!


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## Guategringo (Nov 9, 2012)

TundraGreen said:


> If you meet the income requirements, you can go directly to Residente Permanente with passing through 4 years of Residente Temporal. That is what I have been told, that is what the regulations specify, and they have accepted my paperwork to do just that. I am in the process now. I believe you can also do this if you are related to a Mexican citizen, which is probably the route you are going.


I went back to check everything and even called my wife's uncle in Chetumal becasue he told me in the beginning that the deal was great, unlike anything anyone else could get, etc, etc, I guess he was right because I reviewed what he originally told me and he said he intended to write in his email to me $3,250 not $1,250. What he says now is all four of us will pay $3,250 in Mexican pesos or approximately the price for one person. 

Your original thoughts were correct Tundra!!!!


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