# same ole questions ???



## mrrssy (Nov 24, 2012)

....my name is Denis and I am a Veteran looking to find a place to be with access to to the VA in San Diego. Nothing new there...me and a bunch of others I'm sure ... Realistically, I'm needing to find some info about the possiblity of finding sanctuary slightly above the squalor level, maybe in Rosarito or even San Quintin where I did some fishing in days gone by. Enuff said..please respond with ANY suggestions as I need a way out of where I am now...So. Cal...you get the picture I'm sure !!! Thankx .


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mrrssy said:


> ....my name is Denis and I am a Veteran looking to find a place to be with access to to the VA in San Diego. Nothing new there...me and a bunch of others I'm sure ... Realistically, I'm needing to find some info about the possiblity of finding sanctuary slightly above the squalor level, maybe in Rosarito or even San Quintin where I did some fishing in days gone by. Enuff said..please respond with ANY suggestions as I need a way out of where I am now...So. Cal...you get the picture I'm sure !!! Thankx .


Welcome to the Mexico Forum! I can't give you any information about living near the border, but I can advise you that to qualify for a resident visa, you'll need to show proof of a monthly income of at least $1900 US.


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## mrrssy (Nov 24, 2012)

...thankx...


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

mrrssy said:


> ...thankx...


Happy to help  .


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## MonarchSalt (Dec 29, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> Welcome to the Mexico Forum! I can't give you any information about living near the border, but I can advise you that to qualify for a resident visa, you'll need to show proof of a monthly income of at least $1900 US.


Good to know (re income requrement) and good thinking (re medical care so close in SD). Wow. Soooooo many things to consider. I definitely meet the income requirements, however, it comes from SSDI/WC. Today I plan to read read read here! I am not 65 (45) but qualified for Medicare due to the SSDI. 

I better find out about all of that!!!!


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

MonarchSalt said:


> Good to know (re income requrement) and good thinking (re medical care so close in SD). Wow. Soooooo many things to consider. I definitely meet the income requirements, however, it comes from SSDI/WC. Today I plan to read read read here! I am not 65 (45) but qualified for Medicare due to the SSDI.
> 
> I better find out about all of that!!!!


From my knowledge: your Medicare will do nothing for you in Mexico. If you are on SSDI, you probably would not qualify for IMSS (universal health care in Mexico). 

You will need to show your monthly income of $1900 (as a single) going back 12 months, the Mexican authority (INM) will call it a pension.

If you want to live close to the border so you can use your Medicare benefits, and plan to make frequent trips back NOB, you could opt for an FMM Tourist visa, which is good for 180 days at a time. No income requirements at all.

In all things about becoming an expat your best source of information is not us, although we are really good, but the nearest Mexican Consulate that serves your city. I found that they are very helpful to the extent they are aware of the regulations. I established an email/phone relationship with a person in my Consulate and when it came time to come in and get the paperwork done, that, and a dozen roses, made it a lot simpler.


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## dongringo (Dec 13, 2010)

Playas de Tijuana is your best bet. You can almost walk to San Diego from there. And I doubt anyone will ever ask you for a visa, including the tourist version, unless you want a Mex bank account, drivers license or phone line.


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## MonarchSalt (Dec 29, 2012)

FHBOY said:


> From my knowledge: your Medicare will do nothing for you in Mexico. If you are on SSDI, you probably would not qualify for IMSS (universal health care in Mexico).
> 
> You will need to show your monthly income of $1900 (as a single) going back 12 months, the Mexican authority (INM) will call it a pension.
> 
> ...


Thank you for that info..very helpful! I have alot to think about...and alot to do!!! Congrats on nearing your goal...and have a safe trip!


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## arturo_b (Sep 17, 2009)

One of my neighbors chose his apartment because he can see his old Air Force sergeant's house from his window. They both go to the VA a lot, something I don't understand because I trust Mexican medicine more than US medicine and because I'm not a vet.

There are a lot of VA junkies in northern Baja. Many of them post on TalkBaja.com , a board for the entire peninsula.

Border towns from Ensenada to Matamoros have a much more relaxed approach to foreign residents than the interior of Mexico does. That's because people can enter Mexico's land ports without any documentation whatsoever and stay up to three days without a visa. So many foreign residents overstay (and we don't call them illegal aliens, so please return the favor) that COLEF estimates a million gringos now live in Baja California. A lot of them have shown up recently because they can't afford to pay rent in San Diego anymore.

You can stay here without a visa indefinitely so long as you don't piss off your neighbors. The INM will remove you on a complaint or if you run afoul of the law. And, if you can document five years' continuous residency, you should be fast-tracked for inmigrado status. At least that's what a friend who's an immigration attorney told me. "But the ****** boards all say they need US$100K in savings and US$2K in monthly income to qualify" I asked him. "No, just five years' residency," he said. Next time I see him, I'll have to ask for details. Maybe it's just a fronterizo thing.

The cheaper rents are in areas where it really helps to speak some Spanish. There's more English closer to the border (Colonia Federal, Colonia Libertad, and downtown). Playas de Tijuana is worth checking out, especially if you have a car. The ****** ghettos along the coast are almost 100% English-speaking, but their rents are the highest as a consequence.

There has been some effort to get Medicare coverage into Mexico. That started about three years ago; so far it doesn't seem to have borne fruit but I say that's just a matter of time. SSDI, however, will only cover people physically in the US, according to one of my neighbors, who has to use a family member's address in Chula Vista to receive her checks.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

arturo_b said:


> You can stay here without a visa indefinitely so long as you don't piss off your neighbors. The INM will remove you on a complaint or if you run afoul of the law. And, if you can document five years' continuous residency, you should be fast-tracked for inmigrado status. At least that's what a friend who's an immigration attorney told me. "But the ****** boards all say they need US$100K in savings and US$2K in monthly income to qualify" I asked him. "No, just five years' residency," he said. Next time I see him, I'll have to ask for details. Maybe it's just a fronterizo thing.


Or maybe your immigration lawyer friend is thinking of the way things were under the old rules. The fact that he (or you) are referring to _inmigrado_ status gives me that impression. The new categories are _residente temporal _and _residente permanente_.


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## arturo_b (Sep 17, 2009)

Isla Verde said:


> Or maybe your immigration lawyer friend is thinking of the way things were under the old rules. The fact that he (or you) are referring to _inmigrado_ status gives me that impression. The new categories are _residente temporal _and _residente permanente_.


Well, he is a thoroughly modern attorney. Even has Facebook. But we were interrupted in our conversation at that point and I'll just have to ask him the next time I see him. 

Inmigrado is a status beyond FM2 or whatever that status is to be called these days. It's when you stop immigrating and become immigrated. Bear in mind in this country we kept quoting prices in Salinas de Gortari pesos two years after Zedillo passed a law requiring us to quote prices in his "new" pesos. Things change slowly. The INM website is still full of official references to FMT, FM3, and FM2.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

arturo_b said:


> Well, he is a thoroughly modern attorney. Even has Facebook. But we were interrupted in our conversation at that point and I'll just have to ask him the next time I see him.
> 
> Inmigrado is a status beyond FM2 or whatever that status is to be called these days. It's when you stop immigrating and become immigrated. Bear in mind in this country we kept quoting prices in Salinas de Gortari pesos two years after Zedillo passed a law requiring us to quote prices in his "new" pesos. Things change slowly. The INM website is still full of official references to FMT, FM3, and FM2.


But when you go to INM these days, you aren't given an FM3 or FM2 or No Inmigrante or Inmigrante card. The only two possible categories are what I stated in my post: residente temporal or residente permanente. The latter category is similar to what was once FM2 inmigrante, I believe.


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## arturo_b (Sep 17, 2009)

Isla Verde said:


> The only two possible categories are what I stated in my post: residente temporal or residente permanente. The latter category is similar to what was once FM2 inmigrante, I believe.


That is also how those of us who resist change use the terms, FM3 for a resident alien of short duration, FM2 for a resident alien of long duration. But then there is also inmigrado for someone who has set down roots.

inmigrante is the gerundive, "immigrating"
inmigrado is the perfect participle, "immigrated"

And heaven help me if there's a Chomskian on this board, because they're going to tell me even my grammatical terms are out of date.

In the old days, at least, one had to renew one's FM3 frequently, like every six months or so, and one's FM2 like every two years or so, and after renewing the FM2 a couple of times one became eligible to apply for inmigrado status, at which point no further renewals were needed. The next time I see Lic. Omar, I'll have to ask him how closely current law follows that tradition.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

arturo_b said:


> In the old days, at least, one had to renew one's FM3 frequently, like every six months or so, and one's FM2 like every two years or so, and after renewing the FM2 a couple of times one became eligible to apply for inmigrado status, at which point no further renewals were needed. The next time I see Lic. Omar, I'll have to ask him how closely current law follows that tradition.


How long ago was that? In recent memory, FM3s and FM2s have had to be renewed once a year. From what I've read, the rules are rather different now. I know that once you receive residente permanente status, you don't have to return to INM forever, or at least not for several years. Let us know what Lic. Omar has to say.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Don't need no Visas!*

Hi Denis;

Living in Baja Norte where you'll be within 30 minutes of crossing over the border. I can't think of a need for you to get a Resident Visa or any Visa at all for that matter. You have your VA Medical Facilities, so I can't think of a reason you need to be concerned or fret about getting any Visa including a Tourist Visa. Just come and go as you liked. We lived in Baja Norte and never stopped to get a Tourist Visa or inquire about anything further - you don't need to living in the "Fronteer Zone".


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## Souper (Nov 2, 2011)

INM still uses the FM2 & FM3 terms, so why should we not?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Souper said:


> INM still uses the FM2 & FM3 terms, so why should we not?


They don't use these obsolete terms at the Mexico City INM office.


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