# Fm3 info needed



## Claudia Young (Feb 15, 2013)

I'm trying very hard to get the latest information on obtaining a mexican
fm3 visa. I know that just recently the requirements have been changed, it is now feb. 2013. Does anyone know where/how i can get accurate information?

Please respond if you know!!!


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

You need to go to your nerest INM (Instituto Nacional de Migración) office in either San Cristóbal or, perhaps, Tuxtla Gutierrez if they don´t have a branch in San Cristóbal. I am not in Chiapas at present so can´t help you locate the nearest INM office but if you go down to the tourist information office in the principal plaza in San Cristóbal and inquire they can probably direct you to the nearest office. Recent changes in the law just being implemented are causing a great deal of confusion and the old FM-2 and FM-3 visa designations are no longer applicable. You will be seeking a temporary residency visa and the INM people should be able to explain to you the requirements for qualifying for temproary residency above and beyond a tourist visa which have just recently become more stringent. If you are not conversant in Spanish you may wish to take along a friend to translate for you. 

The main thing you may be concerned about is the new standard to go beyond a simple 180 day tourist visa which requires that you have a minimum monthly income independent of Mexican sources in order to qualify. That requirement has recently changed and they should be able to inform you of what that requirement is. 

Good luck.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

If you don't currently have a resident visa you'll need to return to your home country and apply at a consulate. Or cross the border for a new visitor visa


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

By the way, as a follow-up to my post yesterday, I believe that under the new rules, if you are in Mexico under a tourist visa, you will need to leave the country and go back to your home country to apply for a temporary residency visa at the Mexican consulate nearest your residence there. I don´t believe you can apply for one here in Mexico. Inqure at the INM office in San Cristóbal which I am now informed is near the Chedraui supermarket there.

Oops; just read Sparks´ post which advises the same as mine. I suppose you could head for Guatemala for a new tourist visa but you may have to stay there for a couple of days. Who knows.


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## EagleRay (Jan 8, 2013)

sparks said:


> If you don't currently have a resident visa you'll need to return to your home country and apply at a consulate. Or cross the border for a new visitor visa


That is correct. I'm currently living in the U.S. but will be moving to Mexico in June. My wife and I just went to the nearest Mexican Consulate yesterday and got our visas de residente permanente. We had to make an appointment about a week ahead of time. We were required to bring our passports, driver's licenses, letters from our employers documenting that we were retiring and 12 months worth of bank statements showing monthly income of a minimum of $2,500. It cost $36 USD each and took about three hours. Would have only been about 45 minutes under normal circumstances but they were having computer problems. Once finished, they applied our new visas to the inside of our passports. We now have six months to go to Mexico and then within 30 days of entering Mexico we have to go to the local immigration office and apply for our residente permanente card. 

And we were told that if we had been in Mexico we would have had to come back to the U.S. and apply at the Mexican Consulate first.

Hope that helps!


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## Claudia Young (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks so much - that's the first solid information that we've received - appreciate it very much.


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## EagleRay (Jan 8, 2013)

Claudia Young said:


> Thanks so much - that's the first solid information that we've received - appreciate it very much.


De nada!

And I forgot one thing, we also had to bring passport photos.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

For a visa here the foto size is "infantil" which is smaller than passport size

You do realize that with a permanent visa you can't have a foreign plated car


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## Claudia Young (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks again. Another question - did you have to bring a statement from you sheriff's dept. attesting that YOU HAD NO CRIMINAL RECORD? another QUESTION - WAS THE $25000. MONTHLY IN YOUR BANK for each of you or for both?


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## EagleRay (Jan 8, 2013)

Claudia Young said:


> Thanks again. Another question - did you have to bring a statement from you sheriff's dept. attesting that YOU HAD NO CRIMINAL RECORD? another QUESTION - WAS THE $25000. MONTHLY IN YOUR BANK for each of you or for both?


No, we did not have to bring any statement regarding our lack of a criminal record. The visa application form did have a question asking if we had any felony convictions which we checked no and that was sufficient for them. 

As for the bank account, we just showed them our joint checking account statements for 12 months which showed monthly deposits well in excess of $2,500 per month. Additionally, we gave them a copy of a statement from my wife's soon to be ex employer showing her retirement pension.

Remember that all things regarding Mexico are fluid and highly dependent upon where you go and who you talk to. Check with the Mexican Consulate nearest you as their requirements may differ somewhat from the one in Indianapolis that we used.

I have gone to government offices in Cozumel many times and been told they don't follow the federal regulations there, they have their own set of rules in Quintana Roo. Thankfully, they are usually more lenient than the Feds.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

The criminal check seems to be a regional thing. Some states yes and others no


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