# Mexican tourist document and vehicle



## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

I plan to enter Mexico with my own vehicle (from Guatemala).

1. I heard that if entering with vehicle on a tourist document, one cannot re-enter with another (new) tourist document (and the vehicle) until 180 days have elapsed. ("This rule is being enforced", I heard.) Is this true? If so, it would mean one cannot do a "border run" in one's vehicle, re-entering next day, for example, or even after a couple of months out of the country.

What is the position?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The tourist document, the FMT, is a single entry document. When you depart Mexico, it becomes invalid (though that is seldom enforced at some crossings). However, you must stop at 'Aduana' and have them remove your temporary importation sticker on your car and give you a receipt. Keep that receipt forever. Then, when you reenter Mexico, you will get a new FMT and get a new temporary importation sticker and paperwork for your car. Technically, if you have already been in Mexico 180 days, I believe that is the limit in a single year; though enforcement is spotty. If you plan to stay in Mexico, you should apply for an FM3 visa which you renew every year and eliminate any need for a 'border run'.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

Thanks for this reply, too.

Even if enforcement of the 180-day rule is "spotty", I could not be at peace while wondering whether, once out of Mexico with my vehicle (and on tourist papers there's no other way I could be out), I might not be allowed back in.

Thus, the way I'll have to go is either with an FM3 before the first entry or make that first entry on tourist papers and then apply for the FM3 whilst in the country.

Btw, I read today that there is a (common?) misconception that for an FM2, there is no need to go down the "FM3 first" route: one can apply for an FM2 rather than an FM3, if that's what suits.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Yes, I believe you can start with an FM2, although the income requirements and the fees are higher and there is a limit, although quite generous, on how much time can be spent outside of Mexico in a five year period.
If you get an FM3 before coming to Mexico, be sure to have it registered, within 30 days of entering the country, as soon as you settle into your Mexican address. You will need proofs for that address in the form of utility bills, lease, etc.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

_If you get an FM3 before coming to Mexico, be sure to have it registered, within 30 days of entering the country, as soon as you settle into your Mexican address. You will need proofs for that address in the form of utility bills, lease, etc_

So on an FM3 one must be pretty quickly at a fixed abode/permanent address, and actually renting accommodation (under a lease in one's name) rather than in a hotel/pension/casa de huespedes/alojamiento con familia etc.??

Mmm ...... that would make sense in a way from the point of view of the authorities and their control over _extranjeros_ in the country. With "no fixed abode", a visitor could stay in Mexico, wandering around, a sort of long-term tourist who didn't need to leave the country after six months.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

_Technically, if you have already been in Mexico 180 days, I believe that is the limit in a single year; though enforcement is spotty._

I take it that this is a ruling - if enforced- which applies whether or not one is in one's vehicle.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

That is true.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

popotla said:


> _If you get an FM3 before coming to Mexico, be sure to have it registered, within 30 days of entering the country, as soon as you settle into your Mexican address. You will need proofs for that address in the form of utility bills, lease, etc_
> 
> So on an FM3 one must be pretty quickly at a fixed abode/permanent address, and actually renting accommodation (under a lease in one's name) rather than in a hotel/pension/casa de huespedes/alojamiento con familia etc.??
> 
> Mmm ...... that would make sense in a way from the point of view of the authorities and their control over _extranjeros_ in the country. With "no fixed abode", a visitor could stay in Mexico, wandering around, a sort of long-term tourist who didn't need to leave the country after six months.


This is a very puzzling issue. If one obtains an FM3 with the idea of going to live permanently in Mexico, it could very well be several months....or longer.....after actually entering Mexico before deciding what part of the country to live in, or to rent/purchase, etc. 
If the original FM3 was obtained through the Mexican embassy or consulate in one's own country, most folks would probably not be able to provide a Mexican address, let alone proof of Mexican residence....unless, as tourists, they had already purchased property or signed a long-term lease before applying for their FM3. That latter situation raises all kinds of potential problems, since there is never any guarantee that one will be granted an FM3.

So, there you are having signed a long-term rental agreement, or worse, purchased property, only to find that your application for an FM3 is denied.

I try very hard not to be a "Type A" personality when it comes to dealing with the Mexican bureaucracy......... but it's sometimes very difficult.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Relax. If you get your FM3 before coming to Mexico, you will not have a problem. You will be living somewhere and may use that address, with verification from the landlord. You do have to register your FM3 within 30 days of entering the country and within 30 days of any change of address.


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## popotla (Feb 6, 2009)

_This is a very puzzling issue. If one obtains an FM3 with the idea of going to live permanently in Mexico, it could very well be several months....or longer.....after actually entering Mexico before deciding what part of the country to live in, or to rent/purchase, etc. 
If the original FM3 was obtained through the Mexican embassy or consulate in one's own country, most folks would probably not be able to provide a Mexican address, let alone proof of Mexican residence....unless, as tourists, they had already purchased property or signed a long-term lease before applying for their FM3. That latter situation raises all kinds of potential problems, since there is never any guarantee that one will be granted an FM3.

So, there you are having signed a long-term rental agreement, or worse, purchased property, only to find that your application for an FM3 is denied._

Exactly and precisely, HolyMole, that was my point. Applying for an FM3 outside the country and having to provide proof of residence makes very little sense. If it's going to be "first time in Mexico", one must look around, and if one is following up on an earlier visit, made on a tourist document, during which one arranged accommodation, well, as you say, there's no guarantee that the FM3 will be granted. (Indeed, if applying for one within the country, the same applies.)

_Relax. If you get your FM3 before coming to Mexico, you will not have a problem. You will be living somewhere and may use that address, with verification from the landlord. _

Actually, I don't quite follow what RVGringo has posted here. "You will be living somewhere"(?) Well, not necessarily. That "somewhere" implies somewhere in Mexico, I think, and if indeed you are living somewhere (in Mexico), that means you've been there already (on some other type of document?). This brings us back to the point that HolyMole made directly and I made indirectly when I raised the matter by saying, above:

_So on an FM3 one must be pretty quickly at a fixed abode/permanent address, and actually renting accommodation (under a lease in one's name) rather than in a hotel/pension/casa de huespedes/alojamiento con familia etc.??

Mmm ...... that would make sense in a way from the point of view of the authorities and their control over extranjeros in the country. With "no fixed abode", a visitor could stay in Mexico, wandering around, a sort of long-term tourist who didn't need to leave the country after six months. _

One of the points about bureaucracy is that it is not designed to _help, to facilitate some end_. When involved in it, one is dealing, actually, with a non-human actor (the state), which does not possess feelings and emotions -such as empathy, understanding, desire to help, reasonableness- that human actors, acting as free agents, generally or often do. The _people_ that one is involved with in dealing with bureaucracy are mere agents of that actor (the state), not the actor itself. This is not to say that there are no helpful state bureaucrats; it's to say that when there are, it's their own characteristics as helpful or generous human beings which are coming into play. Similarly if an agent of the state is more obstructive than need be, that might be for one or more of a number of personal motivations: to exercise power over others is just one.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Please don't worry. You are assuming complications that don't exist. You may come to Mexico on either an FMT or FM3 and you will certainly have a place to lay your head at night. That will be your address. If you obtained your FM3 from a Mexican Consulate, you must register it within 30 days of entry and you can use the address wherever you are staying, using receipts and/or a letter from the landlord as proof. Then, if you decide to travel, there is no problem and one does not have to change his address while going from hotel to hotel or campground to beach. In that event, you would only need to change the address and simultaneously renew the FM3 within 30 days of its annually required renewal. Many people who only stay for six months per year, and rent a different place each year, have FM3 status without difficulty. Of course, one must meet the foreign income requirements and prove that income each year. If you have no definite intention of residing in Mexico and just want to travel, the FMT is the appropriate document and can be good for up to 180 days per year.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

RVGRINGO said:


> Please don't worry. You are assuming complications that don't exist. You may come to Mexico on either an FMT or FM3 and you will certainly have a place to lay your head at night. That will be your address. If you obtained your FM3 from a Mexican Consulate, you must register it within 30 days of entry and you can use the address wherever you are staying, using receipts and/or a letter from the landlord as proof. Then, if you decide to travel, there is no problem and one does not have to change his address while going from hotel to hotel or campground to beach. In that event, you would only need to change the address and simultaneously renew the FM3 within 30 days of its annually required renewal. Many people who only stay for six months per year, and rent a different place each year, have FM3 status without difficulty. Of course, one must meet the foreign income requirements and prove that income each year. If you have no definite intention of residing in Mexico and just want to travel, the FMT is the appropriate document and can be good for up to 180 days per year.


I'm a planner and a plodder. I research everything to within an inch of its life before acting. On the other hand, I've met many expats in Mexico who say "Just do it ! "....and, I think, in the long run, theirs may be the best way to get on with life, especially when dealing with the Mexican bureaucracy. 
Thanks for your patience.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You may have just had an 'Eureka moment' in your preparations for Mexico. We try to avoid planning more than one thing in any single day because the culture damands living in the 'now'. That period of time may extend into the time that a second appointment or event occupied, precluding accomplishing both and insuring that someone will be disappointed or left waiting. Of course, it is also unacceptable to give bad news, so you won't be told that something can't be done at a certain time. Today, some 20 days after renewing our car's registration, we went to pick up the new stickers, as instructed, since they weren't ready when we paid the fee. Of course, they weren't ready today either and we were advised to try again next week. On a good note, we called for the bulk propane truck and were told, as usual, "within two hours." They arrived in two hours and ten minutes; a near miracle!
So, my point is: Relax, don't plan too much because it will all get changed anyway. Expect a very happily laid back existence and always keep a smile and positive attitude in the face of inexplicable delays and complications. Enjoy life, as we have this week with a few fiestas, a road trip, visits with a lawyer to help us get naturalized, a couple of Spanish lessons, dominoes with friends and other social events. Being retired in Mexico is busy work!


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