My plans are to move to Ensenada in March 2007, taking enough furniture and cartoned household goods to furnish the 2 bedroom apartment I'm renting. I
plan on obtaining my FM3 visa in January/February from the Mexico consulate in San Diego. I believe I can apply for my menaje de casa at the same
time. Question(s); Would I be better off hiring a moving company to move my furniture or is it something I can do myself (with friends?) Are rental
trucks still not permitted in Mexico? What are the pitfalls to watch out for? This is it-I am moving, so any suggestions would welcomed. Thankslonglegsinlapaz - 12-6-2006 at 08:30 AM
The exemption for tax-free move of personal possessions & household goods with an FM3 is a one-time deal, so if you can't take it all in one trip
with all the vehicles at the border at the same time, then that is something to consider! If you're married, then it's one-time for each of your
FM3's. I moved from Portland to La Paz & opted to use a commercial mover, but I was moving nearly 2 households of goods & possessions &
of course, the 2,000 miles was a huge consideration! If anything is newer than 6 months, you have to declare it as taxable. You should have receipts
for all new items. You also have to have a detailed list of everything you're bringing in...in Espanol...in triplicate. Unless you're bringing down
used things, you might want to consider buying furniture locally & supporting the local economy & saving yourself a lot of cost & hassle
at the border; just bring down personal things you can't bear to part with! I brought small irreplaceable family heirlooms, along with my PC, in my
car. The moving van got the red light at the border & my entire load was inspected, some things were broken & many boxes were opened &
things removed from the packing material & left that way for the 1,000 more miles down the Baja! I didn't travel at the same time the moving van
did! I used United Van Lines, because my things were in storage in Portland for 6 months while I built, but I know there are many small companies who
would move things to Ensenada for a much better price...I just can't tell you who they are! oldhippie - 12-8-2006 at 06:47 AM
I drove a loaded pickup across the border 4 times when I recently moved from San Diego to TJ. Living room, bedroom furniture, kitchen stuff, TVs,
workshop bench and tools, all sorts of stuff. Always got the green light and the truck was obviously loaded each time. One time there was even a new
sofa still wrapped up in plastic. The plan was to play dumb if I got stopped and take it from there. Lucky I guess 8^).bajabound2005 - 12-8-2006 at 08:20 AM
Do a search on the forum for Menaje
then try "household goods"
There are many a nightmare stories out there and I'll bet many more yet untold.Bruce R Leech - 12-8-2006 at 08:31 AM
longlegsinlapaz gave you very good advice I would do things her way if I had to do it.
I would be very insecure trying what oldhippie did playing dumb can come back and bit you.
I would consider getting your FM3 in Ensenada. you will save your self a lot of trouble. almost every thing you do to get it in the USA will need to
be re done anyway.bajabound2005 - 12-8-2006 at 09:32 AM
Bruce, have to disagree about the FM3 -- get your FM3 in San Diego - get to the consulate first thing is the morning. Have passport photos (I'm not
sure how many you need) with you and cash to pay the fee at the consulate. Don't stand in the line outside the door. Go to guard and tell them you
want to see Laura about an FM3. Go up the stairs. As you walk into the room upstairs look straight ahead. The 2 folks on the right of the wall
directly across from the door are the ones that handle FM3s. Just go to them and let them know what you need. Have your US passport with you as
well, and 6 months of current bank/investment statements that show you have money to live on. They'll take all that and do their thing. The next
morning you can pick up your FM3. THEN - when you cross the border the first time with that FM3 in hand, get it stamped in Tijuana or Otay or
wherever you cross. THEN, when you get to Ensenada, you have to take it to Immigration again. At that point, you need some assistance locally to get
through that red tape. You must "register" in the city you'll be living and that will be Ensenada. I'll U2U you with info on who can help you here.BajaWarrior - 12-8-2006 at 10:37 AM
For those of us in the San Diego area the consulate on India st. is the way to go. I've been getting my FM-3 there for years now, real simple, just
like bajabound says.
As far as moving furniture goes or materials...Make up a reciept of all your goods, price them fairly and go through the Declaration lane and pay the
duty. I am currently building a new home below San Felipe and have made 5 very large material runs in the past three months with no problem at all
going through the New Mexicali border. I have a triple axle 20' flatbed towed by a Super Duty crew cab 4x4 with a rack loaded as well, and believe me,
it's loaded!
Don't play dumb and try to get through without declaring, I've heard some very bad experiances by Nomads regarding this very subject. When I built a
home in La Bocana de Santo Tomas some years ago I took everything but the slab and brick walls through Otay, with the same success. I like Otay
better. Less crowded with no guards milling around your vehicle.vandenberg - 12-8-2006 at 11:02 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaWarrior
I've been getting my FM-3 there for years now, real simple, just like bajabound says.
.
What do you mean," for years now " ? Getting an FM 3 is a one time affair. Getting them more then once can also bite you in the backside,as many have
found out.El Jefe - 12-8-2006 at 11:09 AM
We brought our goods down in a 14 foot box trailer. We got the menaje information from the consulate in SD. They give you instructions how to fill out
the manifest. You bring it back to them and they stamp it. Then you go to an import broker in Otay Mesa and give them your paper work and leave your
loaded vehicle with them over night for inspection. Next day after paying a fee to the broker you are off to Tecate to pass through customs. The
Mexicans will do an inspection of your load (ours was brief) after you wait around for a while among the big trucks.
The above is based on our experience a year ago. Everything had to be in one vehicle. It took a big load off my mind to be legal about it instead of
crashing the border, which I've done on other occasions.
The information we got was that you could not just cross with the menaje paperwork and your load. You had to go through a broker.
Good Luck!toneart - 12-8-2006 at 11:46 AM
This subject has come up many times here on the Nomad board.
It seems that everyone has had different experiences. I have bounced this around and the stories I hear and the advice I have gotten are varied. Here
is what I have learned by consensus:
If you have an FM3 issued by a Mexican Consulate in The United States (in my case, Sacramento), you still have to go in to your local (in Baja)
immigration office and register your address. For Mulege, the nearest local immigration office is in Santa Rosalia. Once there, they take it away from
you and make you apply all over again and pay the fees all over again. If you don't anticipate this and don't have all your ducks in a row; copies of
passports, bank statements, letter from your law enforcement agency back home verifying that you are not a criminal, etc., you're screwed. You have to
try and send for all this if you don't have them with you. Imagine the delay. I would guess that they will issue some sort of letter or temporary
document (for a fee). I have heard that some local immigration offices do not do this but you still have to register. Santa Rosalia takes a
particularly hard line attitude with this.
Another problem is that they are the only jurisdiction that can renew your FM3. Sometimes that is very inconvenient if you cannot be there on your
renewal anniversary. There are people who can serve as agents, for a fee, to do this for you, but I don't know how you would do this without leaving
your FM3 with them.
I was told by the Mexican Consulate documents clerk in Sacramento that I could simply get a brand new one from them. Given the experience that, once
in Mexico, that may be considered illegal, I chose to not do that.
Going into Santa Rosalia with an expired FM3 almost assures you of getting a hefty fine and a scolding. The only guidelines you can find online comes
from the Mexican Consulate in New York. Their rules differ from California Consulates and who knows how they will be received in Mexico.
Bruce said yesterday, in another string, that immigration is in Mulege right now because they are going to round up residents without proper
documents. What in the world constitutes improper documents in their view? What fate befalls the people who innocently possess what they are told are
proper documents issued outside of Santa Rosalia? I think this is a backlash caused by The Fence and other recent U.S. immigration
noise. I don't have a lot of faith that if I register with the U.S. Embassy that they will come to my rescue if I am unwittingly illegal.
Oh well, as any gringo has discovered, most problems are nothing that money can't fix. We are all rich, right?
When I get mine resolved, I will post the results here.DENNIS - 12-8-2006 at 12:49 PM
Not only are we all rich, we're stupid as well. And that's a fact if anybody expects the U.S. consulate to intervene in your behalf for any reason.
They dont consider our behavior or our persecution as their problem.BajaWarrior - 12-8-2006 at 03:23 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by vandenberg
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaWarrior
I've been getting my FM-3 there for years now, real simple, just like bajabound says.
.
What do you mean," for years now " ? Getting an FM 3 is a one time affair. Getting them more then once can also bite you in the backside,as many have
found out.
As posted on Bruce's website, and other sites I have looked at:
"As a holder of an FM-3 you are allowed to stay in the country as a non immigrant for a period of a year. This permit may be renewed annually. After
the fifth year you may be interested in acquiring the next immigration status (immigrant) or simply continue as an FM-3 holder."
I choose to simply continue as an FM-3 holder. I am 45, have have full time+ business and only get away to my place on long weekends. I, unfortunately
am far off from retirement, (which I wont be doing full time in Mexico, just even longer weekends).The only reason I have it is to satisfy my
insurance company for the coverage on my beach house. When the crew from San Felipe Immigration came knocking on my door at Thanksgiving two years
ago, I presented my valid FM-3 and they thanked me for my time.
I really think with all the feedback on this forum for years now regarding this subject, there are definately some differances in the way they are
acquired, and what is exactly needed. So it is confusing to a lot of us. The consulate in San Diego keeps giving me a new FM-3 each year, they're ok
with it. Strangely enough, I know a LOT of people that are weekenders like myself, and they have never gotten an FM3.
I'd really like to know if indeed I am doing this wrong, but on Bruce's website, it gives me the clearest explanation of the purpose of a FM-3.
