Living in Mexico on a tourist Visa. Legal or Illegal?

[qtla9111]

Interesting.

Living In Mexico On A Tourist Visa

[moisheh]

Maybe you don't have recent experience but you always have your wisdom!

[NamMedevac_70]

Well said navegator. I have had experience in these matters for many years.

[Belgique]

I've been lurking for a long time Mr. Moisheh. Don't comment because my experience is so out of date. All is well. Best to you and your bride.

[moisheh]

Belgique!!!! A voice from the pa st.

[Belgique]

Chris: Awesome post.

[navegator]

Looking for visa overstay of Canadians, US citizens, Germans, Dutch, ETC. ETC. that are in Mexico and are not involved in the narco business or other wise is not a priority of the government as much as looking for the Colombians, Russians, Israeli, Cicilani and other mafia characters that do contribute to the illegal activities associated with these characters.

So yes they have broken the law of the land, but they actually contribute to the economy since many are retirees from the original country and receive money from the pensions via bank transfers or have businesses that benefit the locals it is not a priority at all, maybe one day it will be in the mean time:

Hay que seguir viviendo esta vida loca!

navegator

[Talleyho69]

You have been here longer than we can ever possibly be and we envy you that.

Yes, we will always be foreigners, just like our blonde friend in Hawaii will always be a haole, no matter how long she lives there.

Here, in extremely touristy (finally again) Zihuatanejo, it's the mask issue. Canadians, sorry, and many from the US refuse to wear masks because they are fully vaccinated and boostered. SO WHAT!!!! At this point, it's a rule, a respectful thing and something to just be done. They won't. So, all the foreigners are judged by them, including us. That is just wrong.

A couple that we know well, not particularly friends, have lived here for over 10 years as permanent residents. They decided not to return their "illegal" car to the US, and buy a plastic license plate. After 5 years, they got stopped on their way to Morelia and turned back by a very kind officer who told them to never leave town with the car again or they could lose it. Last month, on their way home from the US with the car packed with their toys, SUP's, Kayaks, bikes, they got stopped and were lucky. They were told to turn around and not pass. They drove to the states, rented a storage locker and flew back to their place in Zihuatanejo. They plan to not have a vehicle again.

OK, they live here, play here, and won't pay to buy a legal car here? Sorry, we are embarrassed by them and actually could have our lovely world changed by them. It's just wrong.

We absolutely know we made the right decision moving here and are SO glad we are playing by the rules. It's not hard, it's respectful and right. We are now eligible for citizenship and will be pursuing that when the restrictions ease. Again using the word respectful, we think that it is respectful to get citizen ship in the country that we reside in and plan to stay in. Just our opinions.

My rant is over. I agree with you completely that many RVers don't help the economy. At least they are purchasing fuel, if they are moving away from the border.

Please come visit our paradise!!! We have seriously traveled in Mexico since 1982, almost immediately, as stupid youngsters said we'd like to retire here forever. We have done so and could not possibly be happier!!!

[qtla9111]

playaboy wrote:
If you are not a perpetual tourist, why do you care if someone else is?

This is a pretty common approach to things these days, "live and let live" and that is probably why there are so many problems.

It has a lot to do with a person's moral compass.

You might ask, "How does this affect you?". For starters, as a foreigner, something of which I will never escape, it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many Mexicans. "You gringos come here and do whatever you want". I've heard all the lines.

Now, because of the foreigners coming from the southern part of the continent illegally, we have now been put on alert so that INM might stop us and check to see if we have our papers with us. That's what happens when people don't follow the rules and everyone else has to pay the price.

Americans and Canadians in SMA are breaking federal, state, and local rules by paying mafias that provide a plastic license plate to avoid paying taxes and import fees on their vehicles. It looks pretty silly to see, as I did last week, a current model Mercedes and a Lexus both owned by gringos flaunting those plates. What is the message being sent to Mexicans, "Oh you come here in your big fancy cars and then not pay anything while we have to pay coyotes, Aduana, and cartels upwards of $450 USD so we can cross our cars into Mexico legally?" ?

Americans and Canadians come here thinking we have no rules or that they can easily be broken. Yet in their respective countries, they would never think of doing such things and frown upon those foreigners who do.

What does a Rver in Mexico actually pay for that adds to the general economy?

Many rvers come with their rvs loaded with foodstuffs, fuel, wine, the sacred Canadian butter, and the cheddar cheese. Buying veggies off the food truck is self-serving and the RV park owner employs but a handful of people most of which make next to nothing.

The list goes on. Don't brag to a Mexican that "I'm an American" because first off, we are all Americans, and second turn around and think you can break all the rules, it's not a show of one's true colors.

Buy Mexican and follow the rules. JMHO

[playaboy]

If you are not a perpetual tourist, why do you care if someone else is?

[Talleyho69]

We have all been told times are changing. and they are!!!

The computer systems are always being updated, one way or another.

The video that you are referring to has been discussed in earlier posts, and at least two of them, with the exact same person and script, in different locations have been posted.

They do state the actual legalities.

Here in Zihuatanejo, and elsewhere that I have been reading about, when you get off of the plane you aren't automatically being given 180 days on your FMM. People get lazy and don't pay attention. We have very good friends that we picked up at the airport in late October on the first direct flight from Canada to our Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo airport. They are here for 5 months, never think about things, and were given 20 days. They didn't notice until I asked them.

What to do? Looks like you just go the airport on your departure date, act clueless and pay a fine and next year, pay attention, ask for the time you need and be ready to show proof of lodging and/or a return booking.

So, what? The rules have been in place for a long time, be smart and work with them.

Residency? It's not hard, just a hoop to jump through. If you plan to actually live in a country other than the one you hold a passport for, why not do it right and be legal? We did it! It was easy!!!

[liamricci]

We just spent 4 months this year living in Mexico in a lovely little town called Puerto Morelos , 30 minutes from Cancun. I met many and many people living there on a tourist visa and going out of the country once in a six months and going back the same day. People just got used to this lifestyle now. Good for us that more and more countries start to approve visa applications online https://evisa.express/. Only few years ago i spent hours and hours in a different embassies and collecting millions of different docs.

[qtla9111]

navegator wrote:


So all of you do not worry, if the old regimes come back in a few years we will be back to the old graft and corruption and business as usual.
navegator

X2

If you are referring to the "old" regimes of Lopez Portillo and the like 🙂

[Wm_Elliot]

When computers first were introduced in N. Laredo's immigration offices Maine was not listed as a US state on the software they were using. We/they had to use Massachusetts as our home state.

[navegator]

It was only time until the technology caught up with all off us, I used to enter by Reynosa and exit by Reynosa, go up to my brothers in San Antonio for a week and re-enter by Nuevo Laredo and exit by Nuevo Laredo, and back by Reynosa and never had a problem and was never questioned, wait until the Mexican Immigration system has access to HSI system of cameras that take a photo of the license plate and driver going out and entering, Canada has access to this system, things will get interesting.

So all of you do not worry, if the old regimes come back in a few years we will be back to the old graft and corruption and business as usual.

No hay nada de que preocuparse unos cuantos refrescos (money) lo arreglan todo

navegator