leaving car in Mexico

[Tequila]

I sucessfully flew out of PV last week, leaving my 180 day TIP car in Mexico. They never asked. I am re-entering with a residente temporal visa, it is only good for 30 days while I exchaneg it for a residente temporal card. I still just plan to drive the car out of mexico within the original 180 days. I figure the worst that will happen is I may lose the $400 depsoit.

[Talleyho69]

Yes, you have posted the regulations.

In real life, at least in our area, the nearest Aduana is at the airport. They do not handle vehicles, and send you to Lazaro Cardenas. At Lazaro, they will no longer reissue a TIP or extend one that has been issued to someone who has their temporary residency. It's a fact. It may not be the law, but it is how it is in this area.

[navegator]

The airline personnel are not immigration officers, all they need to do is check that the ticket is correct, that the person's name, the name on the ticket and the passport coinside.

For a Mexican traveller, they also check that they are in possession of a valid visa to enter the US.

For travellers that are not Mexican Citizens they are requiered to collect the the visa issued to the person by the Mexican government, they do not check for Temporary Importation Permits (TIP) since the computer system that they use is property of the airline and is not linked to the inmigration system as of today, the assumption is that you entered by air and not by land.

So leaving the country is not the problem, returning might be where things can get nasty, so plead ignorance! you might get away with a fine and you might not get the vehicle confiscated, also leave the vehicle in a garage or RV park out of street sight.

navegator

[moisheh]

here are few important things you need to understand if you are driving your vehicle into Mexico and plan to stay awhile.

The rules and regulations of importing foreign vehicles either temporarily or permanently may change, we recommend contacting the law professionals at MEXLAW to process your vehicles importation.

A foreign plated car in Mexico will require a temporary import permit. The permit will be valid for 180 days (the same as your tourist visa) If you are arriving in Mexico on a Temporary Resident Visa your car’s permit will be as valid as long as your Temporary Resident Visa is valid. Your vehicle will be credited with an official document issued by Immigration.

Once you enter Mexico you will pay a processing fee, approximately $44 USD, if you are traveling with only your personal baggage in the car, choose the lane directed for ¨Nothing to declare¨

The migratory requirements are the same on land as they are if arriving by air.

The entry point officials will have the final approval on whether you and your vehicle may enter Mexico. You will pay a deposit for your permit, which will be refunded if the vehicle leaves Mexico by the permit’s expiration date.

Amount of Deposit for Temporary Import of Vehicles:

Year and model of the vehicle amount of the deposit equivalent in domestic currency

2007 and later $400 USD DOLLARS
2001 until 2006 $300 USD DOLLARS
2000 and prior $200 USD DOLLARS
Note: You may want to purchase a temporary import visa online through the Banjército website from 2 months to 7 days prior to entering Mexican territory if you are arriving during the busy season.

https://www.banjercito.com.mx/registroVehiculos/

Temporary Resident Visa

When entering with a pre-approved Temporary Resident Visa, your vehicle permit will be issued for only 30 days. When you arrive in Mexico you will start your visa process at INM, next you take your original and copy of passport, the INM issued NUT number and your car entry permit to the Aduana and apply for an extension of your Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The TIP will be extended for the duration of your visa and have the same expiration date. If you do not complete this process your vehicle is considered illegal, you will lose your deposit, and the vehicle may be confiscated.

You can not sell your foreign plated car in Mexico; you are required to turn in the TIP as you leave Mexico. Otherwise, you will forfeit your deposit, and you will have issues bringing another vehicle into Mexico.

[moisheh]

Article 106

IV. For the period that your condition of stay lasts, including your renewals, under the terms and conditions established by the Tax Administration Service by means of rules, in the following cases:

(a) Vehicles owned by foreigners who enter the country, on the condition of a stay as a visitor and a temporary resident, provided that it is a single vehicle.

Vehicles may be driven on national territory by the importer, his spouse, his ancestors, descendants or siblings, even if they are not foreigners, by a foreign national who has any of the conditions of stay referred to in this subparagraph, or by a national, provided that in the latter case, any of the persons authorized to drive the vehicle travel on board the latter and may make multiple entrances and exits.

The vehicles referred to in this subparagraph shall comply with the requirements set out in the Regalements.

[moisheh]

Talley Ho. The rules are quite clear. You enter mexico with an FMM. After you get a Temporal you keep the TIP. It is valid as long as your immigration status is renewed. You must inform Aduana when you renew. I do not know how this is done. Thousands of expats do this all the time. Some never get a permanente. I don't keep up with a lot of this but that was the rule shortly after they changed in 2012. When I have time I will try and find more info. Part of the problem is that people go to their local Immigration office where the clerks give hem bad information. In HMO there is an office where one can go and get all kinds of help with Federal issues. They can offer tax information and a lot more. I am sure they have these offices all over Mexico. Immigration do not know anything about Aduna, Banjercito and the Hacienda.

Moisheh

[Talleyho69]

We had lived in one home for 38 years. We brought down exactly what we wanted and it fit perfectly into an 8 foot little enclosed trailer. What did we bring? Our kitchen stuff (we cook) and our art. We still have about 3 boxes of "stuff" that got put in that we now agree shouldn't have been brought, but we think we did very well.

It's very very nice to start over, unencumbered, know exactly what you have and where it is, and we recommend it highly!

We miss the VW convertible, but don't miss the care and feeding it needed.

[qtla9111]

I've met so many people that are, for some reason or another, reluctant to give up their "worldly possessions" to move to Mexico. I have friends who have moved to Mexico that brought the whole house including canned goods.

Memorabilia, photos, a few trinkets, sure why not. Go out and live and buy some new furnishing and help the economy. Just like snowbirds who bring everything including enough fuel to get back to the border. On line travelogues are more interesting.

Why bother?

[Talleyho69]

When you have applied for temporary residency, you have a specified period of time in which you must enter Mexico, and from there, another period of time during which you must go to Immigration and get your residency finalized. IF you are driving, and are in the first round (year) of getting your temporary residency, you have to get a 180 TIP for the vehicle when you enter the country. The issue is that once you get your residency started, your TIP is no good, and if you stay for over 180 days, you have nothing at all and lose your deposit.

When you drive in again, in order to get a 180 TIP on your vehicle you have to have an FMM. If you get an FMM your temporary residency is no longer valid. If you try to get a 180 day TIP with your temporary residency card, they will not issue one. Catch 22.

Three years ago, friends/neighbors started their temporary residency time. Thy pursued it and pursued it, and after two trips up to Lazaro Cardenas from Zihuatanejo, they were told that all they could do about the vehicle is take their chances on driving the vehicle illegally, and to be sure to get it out within the 180 days or forfeit their deposit. They pursued it through Mexico City and immigration at the airport, and were told the same thing.


Maybe it is possible to legally drive a non Mexico plated vehicle if you have some kind of residency status, but I'd be willing to bet that if something happened, the insurance company would refuse to pay or take care of you.

Not the kind of thing to take a chance with.

As an aside, the regulations for importing a vehicle are very straight forward, and are out there. We moved permanently to Mexico 2.5 years ago. We found that it was not possible to import our collector VW that we had driven for 38 years. Not possible, period. So, we sold it in the US and bought a vehicle here.

Vehicles here are cheap. Depending upon the exchange rate, you can purchase a BRAND NEW Nissan March for $9000 US. Really. The range of used cars is huge. At least in our part of the world, vehicles don't have a large number of miles on them because people don't commute the distances they do in California. Importing a vehicle to Mexico really is not a great option when you can sell your vehicle in your home country and very likely have more than enough cash to purchase something better here!

[moisheh]

Talley Ho: Where did you get that info? her is a cut and paste from Mexperience
entering Mexico with a Residente Temporal permit:
Holders of Residente Temporal (with or without work privileges) and Residente Temporal Estudiante may import their car to Mexico using a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The vehicle will remain legal in Mexico for so long as the resident permit remains current. For details about residency permits, see our Mexico Immigration page.


https://www.mexperience.com/bringing-foreign-plated-cars-into-mexico/
I am sure I can find some of the same to confirm. That page was dated 2019.

Moisheh

[Tequila]

I was told a foreign plated vehicle is no issue with temporal, only permanente

[Talleyho69]

It is no longer possible to keep a foreign plated vehicle in Mexico once you start the process of temporary residency. You are correct in that it was legal in the past before they eliminated the FM3.

[moisheh]

I think that with a Temporal you can have a foreign plated car. It is the Permanente that causes problems. A temporal is more like a one year FMM. But after so many renewals you either have to go to a Permanente or start the Temporal all over again. Like many we dropped our FM3 when all the changes began and just use a FMM.

[Talleyho69]

Insurance is another potential problem.

The one time we had to make a claim with our carrier, we had to show proof that we had a temporary visa because we were insured as a tourist. Fortunately at that time we were not residents.

Your vehicles may not be insurable once you have your temporary residency because the policies most people buy are written for tourists.

As residents, insurance is readily available and is also valid in the US, probably Canada. Just have to have the correct policy.

That is definitely something you need to check.

[Talleyho69]

All the airlines care about is collecting a form from everyone getting on the plane. They don't care if it shows a vehicle.

Once you have either your residente temporal or permanente card, you have to stop at the little immigration office in whatever airport, and they will have you sign a ledger and issue you part of a visa just to satisfy the airline.

Remember, when you fly back to Mexico, you can via e mail, provide a picture of your residente card and simply ask for a refund of the approximately $27US visa fee that is included in your plane ticket. Very easy to do.

Legally, once you register your residente temporal (congratulations!) you aren't allowed to have a vehicle on a TIP in country. Will you get caught? Very very probably not. IF you were, you could have your vehicle impounded. The same goes for the RV on the 10 year permit.

I will admit that we drove our RV down and back one time after we had our residente permanente, knowing the potential problems, and did fine.

Good Luck!