June 13, 2017 Updates
~ INM has changed their policy on Residente Temporal visas with permission to work for a company who have changed to being self employed, as INM now denies renewals when someone changes to self-employment. INM states that the original RT visa entry conditions no longer exist when a foreigner changes to being self-employed from working for a Mexican employer.
~ Humanitarin visas: Qualifying people who find themselves stuck in Mexico (unable to travel) due to health reasons may now get humanitarian visas. They must get a letter from a government clinic doctor describing their condition(s), also stating that they are unable to travel. Excuses of old age, forgetting to return, or having a broken-down unreliable car are not accepted by INM.
~ Large Variability in Stringent or Lenient Mexican Consular Visa Qualification Policies:
Each Mexican Consulate has their own special rules. Recent reports show that the Mexican Consulates in Laredo TX, Phoenix AZ and Las Vegas, NV are very lenient approving Residente Temporal visas for Americans with as little as $1,000.00 USD per month in income. The Mexican Consulate in Houston has been reported as being very difficult to work with. Finally, each Mex. Consulate’s visa application processing times vary from a few hours to a few days.
Happy Trails,
steve
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Note that there are tons of details on Visas & moving to Mexico at our main article on immigrating to Mexico at:
~ Current Rules and Procedures for Immigration, Visiting, and Staying in Mexico
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Feel free to copy while giving proper attribution: YucaLandia/Surviving Yucatan.
© Steven M. Fry
Read on, MacDuff.
Surviving Yucatan 
Steve, really enjoyed your piece on the power problems. I’ve shared it with a friend who is a power problems professional, specilaized in power protection device design and manufacture. His comments may be interesting and valuable. A question though: does the ‘humanitarian’ visa process you mentioned, apply to getting a Residente visa while remaining in Mexico, and going to the local INM office to apply? This fellow has no documentation and is in poor health. I’d like to help him thru the process if that is what you’re implying can be done. Can your refer me to a section of the INM website that may detail this? Love your blog. Regards,Bob
Sorry about that typo! Specialized!!
Steve,
I live in BCN and am a RT. When crossing to the USA by car we do not stop at INM. I will be flying to Puerto Vallarta this month. Do I need to stop at INM when I leave so that I can fill out an FMM for arrival in Puerto Vallarta?
What mode of transportation will you use for leaving PV ? If flying out, then like all other flights for RT visa holders, you check in with INM before taking the flight … Fill out the FMM for exiting Mexico, and use the other half of the FMM (Entering Mexico) for when you return.
RT holders are able to drive out of Mexico without registering their exits, but realize that if you ever choose to become a Naturalized Citizen, the un-registered exits from Mexico create gaps in the INM records that are interpreted as being out of Mexico for more than the times allowed to become a naturalized Mexican Citizen.
Happy Trails,
steve
Thanks for the quick response. I will be flying LAX-PVR-LAX. To prevent an extended unregistered exit, It sounds like I should stop at INM in Tijuana for a FMM when I drive out of Mexico and use that FMM when I arrive in PVR and then stop at INM in Tijuana again when I return by car and present the FMM from PVR. Is that correct?
That method creates a complete record of entrances & exits. (though the Tijuana INM likely don’t get many RT’s checking out of Mexico 😉
Steve, here is a complicated question for you. An acquaintance who is a citizen of India has worked in Mexico City before, and his former supervisor is living in Puebla now. She says she will write him a letter to help him get a tourist visa so he can come to Mexico and look for a job here, but she doesn’t have a job offer for him. The problem is, he does not have regular income right now, so he’s afraid he won’t be able to get even a tourist visa, let alone a temp visa with work permit. In India the website he’s looking at says if he doesn’t have regular income, he needs a letter of support from a relative, but he doesn’t have anyone who can pledge financial support. He is wondering (1) is he really subject to the income requirement as a tourist? and (2) can he accept a job offer in Mexico and start working while the work permit application is in process? Also, he is wondering if it’s possible that companies looking for employees will pay for his work visa, or if he needs to pay for it himself? To add to the mix here, this Indian man is a fan of boxing and wants to get training in Mexico City. He is wondering if there is some sort of visa for that. I want to help him but I’m out of my league here. Any advice for him? ¡Muchas gracias!
Anne Nicolai
San Miguel de Allende, Gto
Hi,
Great questions.
We’re knowlegeable for Mexico’s visa policies for countries with reciprocity agreements with Mexico. We aren’t familiar with with:
~ India’s agreement(s) or lack there-of with Mexico.
and
~ Even more salient, each individual local Mexican Consulate has a lot of local authority~flexibility to increase or decrease the rigors of their visa standards –
making some Consulates very difficult to get a visa, while a Consulate just 200 miles away in the same country can be incredibly lenient.
This last item means that neither you nor I can say how things work at his local Consulate. He really needs to go to his Consulate to find out their specific policies & requirements.
steve
Sorry, continuing from the previous message, the Indian citizen has not been to Mexico before. This would be his first time. He was working in Canada and his supervisor there, who is Mexican, now lives in Puebla. Thanks for any advice and direction you can give. And perhaps someone on this forum is also from India, and might know of a community group or online forum that could help.