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VISA vs FMM

GATO9632 - 3-8-2025 at 12:23 PM

Heard on the news they are enforcing visitors to MX need a VISA (unless you have dual citizenship). So do we also need a VISA and a FMM? Confused.

4x4abc - 3-8-2025 at 12:34 PM

the permit to visit a foreign country is called a visa
Mexico like most countries has various forms of it
the FMM is a tourist visa
even though many want to argue that it is not
but it is waht the Arizona station had in mind

do NOT follow their advice and get one online!
Too many fraudulent sites and even the legitimate ones can cause you headaches
like when your proposed day and time of entry do not match your actual entry time - the INM people might refuse to accept your pre paid paper
you'll have to pay again
sometimes they do not pre printed application period - legit or not
you'll pay again

so, save yourself from headaches and present your passport at the border and pay your fee - on you go
it is your responsibility to find the immigration guys at the border - they are not in your face like entering the US

do NOT skip getting the FMM!
Mexico has stepped up controls and you'll be in deep doodoo if you don't have the FMM
it is not a slap on the wrist and a small fine
those times are over
you go to jail for a week and be deported (your vehicle confiscated)

mtgoat666 - 3-8-2025 at 12:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by GATO9632

Heard on the news they are enforcing visitors to MX need a VISA (unless you have dual citizenship). So do we also need a VISA and a FMM? Confused.

‘Visa’ is a universal word that most people use in conversation about travel permissions issued to tourists visiting foreign countries. Mexico calls their most common travel permission an ‘FMM,’ and the FMM is the travel permission that is issued to American tourists. Mexico does issue ‘visas’ for some nationalities.

I have been getting FMMs for many years, but I often call it a ‘visa’ in conversation.

surabi - 3-8-2025 at 12:52 PM

Slight correction- an FMM isn't synonymous with "tourist visa", it's a migratory document that all but Mexican citizens have to fill out when crossing by land. Residents have to fill them out, so calling it a tourist visa is a misnomer.
The part they give back to you as a tourist serves as a tourist visa.

It may seem like a nit-picky thing, but it's important for temporary or permanent residents to understand- when filling out the FMM, you have to make sure that they mark it with the appropriate residency status. If they check you in as a tourist, you automatically forfeit your residency status and have to reapply, starting the residency process from scratch. Also no part of the FMM form is handed back to residents.

latitude32 - 3-8-2025 at 01:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi

Slight correction- an FMM isn't synonymous with "tourist visa", it's a migratory document that all but Mexican citizens have to fill out when crossing by land. Residents have to fill them out, so calling it a tourist visa is a misnomer.
The part they give back to you as a tourist serves as a tourist visa.

It may seem like a nit-picky thing, but it's important for temporary or permanent residents to understand- when filling out the FMM, you have to make sure that they mark it with the appropriate residency status. If they check you in as a tourist, you automatically forfeit your residency status and have to reapply, starting the residency process from scratch. Also no part of the FMM form is handed back to residents.

if you are a temporary or permanent resident why would you be getting an FMM?

4x4abc - 3-8-2025 at 02:55 PM

lets expand this
lets say you have temp or perm residency
you drive in and no FMM is required of you
so far so good
now, if you have fly out one day, what steps do you have to take before you do?
since you have neither the stub of the FMM nor the new ticket version, you have nothing to show when you leave the country

SFandH - 3-8-2025 at 04:33 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

lets expand this
lets say you have temp or perm residency
you drive in and no FMM is required of you
so far so good
now, if you have fly out one day, what steps do you have to take before you do?
since you have neither the stub of the FMM nor the new ticket version, you have nothing to show when you leave the country

"you have nothing to show when you leave the country"

Show to who?

Why wouldn't your resident card work if you're talking about a Mexican official?

[Edited on 3-8-2025 by SFandH]

surabi - 3-8-2025 at 06:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by latitude32

if you are a temporary or permanent resident why would you be getting an FMM?

It seems you didn't comprehend anything I wrote. If you are a resident, you don't "get" an FMM. An "FMM" is not a tourist visa- it is a migratory form that everyone but citizens have to fill out when crossing by land. If you are a tourist, immigration hands you back the bottom half of the form, which serves as your tourist visa. If you are a resident, the form is only used for statistical purposes and you don't get anything back.

surabi - 3-8-2025 at 06:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

If you fly out, you just go to the immigration window at the airport, present your passport and residency card, and your boarding pass, and they stamp your passport with exit date.

When they used to use the FMM forms at the airports, it worked the opposite for residents than for tourists- you filled out the FMM form when leaving the country, they gave you back the small part to keep with you when out of the country, then you turned that in when flying back in. Residents didn't have any part of the FMM form while in Mexico.

pacificobob - 3-9-2025 at 07:39 AM

We both hold PR cards. When traveling abroad, we have never done any of the above. I traveled to Guatemala in February. No forms of any type. Same with travel to the US.

surabi - 3-9-2025 at 09:54 AM

There are no forms anymore when flying. Not even for tourists- they just stamp passports now.

If driving, although no one forces you to stop or fill out an FMM form, as a PR, I figure it's a good idea- you never know when Mexico might make some changes and want to see how much time you have spent in and out of the country. And if you ever want to apply for Mexican citizenship, that information is required.