BajaNomad

Passport question

DianaT - 1-17-2009 at 12:06 PM

We have some friends who want to visit us in Bahia Asuncion, but do not have passports yet.

Are they now enforcing this at the border? They will be driving.

Thanks
Diane

Dave - 1-17-2009 at 12:08 PM

Not yet.

Bob and Susan - 1-17-2009 at 12:36 PM

you only need birth cert for visa
and drivers license to get back

Paulina - 1-17-2009 at 12:50 PM

You might want to tell your friends to be persistant at the Immagration office if the officer doesn't want to accept their birth certificates and insists they need a passport for a visa. Thats happened to me a couple of times before.

P<*)))>{

Bajahowodd - 1-17-2009 at 01:19 PM

As long as they don't stay until June.

Don't wait 'til Ensenada

Mulegena - 1-17-2009 at 01:56 PM

to get visas to Mexico. They'll give it, yes, but throw a fine on top of it and give you the baddeye to boot, says a friend who crossed in last week. Get your visa at a border crossing.

DianaT - 1-17-2009 at 02:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
As long as they don't stay until June.


Is that the deadline now?

Thanks for all the information.

Diane

BajaNuts - 1-17-2009 at 03:40 PM

passports are processing very fast now, usually less than 2 weeks, are they traveling before then?

HCR - 1-17-2009 at 03:44 PM

Just wanted to support what Bajanuts said about the quick turnaround on passports---my friend had hers returned so quickly she figured there must have been a problem until she opened the envelope--got it renewed in LESS than two weeks.

wOW! Will wonders never cerase?

Bajahowodd - 1-17-2009 at 03:47 PM

A fine for getting a visa (I assume you're talking FMT)? One is not necessary to visit Ensenada. And one of duties at the Port office is to issue them. Can't understand the problem.

Get your FM-T (tourist visa to Mexico) at the border crossing

Mulegena - 1-17-2009 at 06:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
A fine for getting a visa (I assume you're talking FMT)? One is not necessary to visit Ensenada. And one of duties at the Port office is to issue them. Can't understand the problem.


No, a visa is not needed to go to Ensenada, but to go further south one is. The Ensenada Port Office issued my friends their tourist visas and whacked them with a fine for not getting one at the border! Dunno??? Just reporting what happened to them.

Sallysouth - 1-17-2009 at 06:14 PM

Read the post, they said Bahia Asuncion, further south than Ensenada. Never been there but sure wish I could be there!Shari is the hostess with the mostess!!!

DENNIS - 1-17-2009 at 06:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Mulegena
No, a visa is not needed to go to Ensenada, but to go further south one is.



Keerect. One week [used to be 72 hours] in the free zone without an FMT. That includes Ensenada.
Now, I remember well of the past when that statement, one week as opposed to 72 hours, was met with strong resistance here. I only say it because it is what I was told at the Ensenada immigration office by an agent. I can only assume he knew what he was talking about.

Bajahowodd - 1-17-2009 at 06:25 PM

Methinks the guy at the Ensenada Port Office stuffed his pocket. Unless, as Dennis pointed out, your friend had been hanging around the border area for some time and just happened to mention it.

BajaNuts - 1-17-2009 at 06:31 PM

I drove through TJ, overnight at GN, and kept driving all the way to La Paz. Arrived in La Paz Thursday evening. Saturday afternoon someone mentioned FMT or similar, which I hadn't even considered! Monday morning I was at the immigration office on the malecon for my 6 month tourist papers. I'm pretty sure I didn't get any fines for not getting it at the border. Maybe because I could have come off a boat or who knows what.

bajalou - 1-17-2009 at 06:33 PM

Nothing's required to visit San Felipe either for 72 hours. But the local immigration office win NOT issue FMTs at all. The airport will only issue FMTs to people arriving by air. They said this has been a rule for about a year now. (they told me that the stamp for FMTs was taken from the office when the rule was first set up)

biglar - 1-17-2009 at 06:54 PM

Apparently a lot depends on which agent you get stuck with. Last Feb. my cousins and I crossed at Tecate to go to Guerrero Negro. I have been checked in the past at G.N., so to save problems always pick it up at Tecate. In the past I've used my alien registration card and with a little talking managed to get my visa. This time, he said, "Passeport ! ! !" "No passport.....alien registration," I said. Back and forth, and he got pretty hot. We went ahead to Ensenada, paid the fine and got my visa at the Port office. I wasn't happy, but what are you gonna do ?? Best to have your ducks in a row......it could spoil a vacation.

Lar.

DianaT - 1-17-2009 at 07:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaNuts
passports are processing very fast now, usually less than 2 weeks, are they traveling before then?


Two weeks? That is fast. Thanks

Diane

Bajahowodd - 1-17-2009 at 08:30 PM

I still want to know why there is this supposed fine to pay in Ensenada. It makes no sense, since just being at the Ensenada port doesn't require a visa. Several years ago, we went in to the immigration office at San Ysidro, only to find it empty. We waited like 15 minutes, and left. I assume the officer had needed to take a dump and brought a magazine with him. Anyway, we pulled into the Port Office in Ensenada, and got our FMTs with no hassle and no fine.

On the other hand, we were once hassled at the same San Ysidro crossing because he would not accept my wife's birth certificate. He demanded a passport, which we had not brought. So, while I am not proud, nor do I condone it, we proceded South without FMTs. Went to Guerrero Negro and back and were never asked for them.

This brings me to another point. We have driven up and down Baja for decades. We have been requested to show our FMT one time- That at the state line by Guerrero Negro. Honestly, one time.

Finally, for all you would be smugglers, the fastest time we ever encountered traveling from Cabo to the border happened on the weekend when Calderone was elected. Don't know the specific reason, but NONE of the military checkpoints were manned. We just kept driving through.

woody with a view - 1-19-2009 at 08:31 PM

FYI

my insurance states that failure to obtain a valid tourist visa will void insurance if involved in a wreck where you are required to have an FMT.....

one more pato for the row......

Bajahowodd - 1-19-2009 at 08:40 PM

Woody- What company might that be? Have to admit I always buy over the internet just before I leave, and only print the Dec page.

woody with a view - 1-19-2009 at 09:20 PM

lewis n lewis

Martyman - 1-20-2009 at 09:51 AM

The official in Ensenada is a well documented jerk. Avoid getting your papers in Ensenada at all costs. It will take 2-3 hours minimum and cost more. Yes, he is probably lining his pocket

David K - 1-20-2009 at 10:31 AM

The people in Baja say 7 days, in the border zone, no FM-T... but I have not yet seen official Mexican papers that give any change from the 72 hours.

The Baja state tourism people also have said the entire state of Baja California (norte) is in the 'border zone'! Yet, the federal government has yet to produce a new rule saying anything other than Maneadero on the Pacific and San Felipe on the Gulf... sometimes it only says Mexicali!

Can someone who is good at finding links to Mexican Government (INM) web sites find a federal document that clearly states the max. days and the southern edge of the 'border zone'... when an FM-T is required to be 'legal'?

Many thanks!

DENNIS - 1-20-2009 at 10:40 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
The official in Ensenada is a well documented jerk. Avoid getting your papers in Ensenada at all costs. It will take 2-3 hours minimum and cost more. Yes, he is probably lining his pocket


So true. The office in Ensenada is one of the most inhospitible places in Mexico. Their damage to the image of Mexico has been profound and I can't understand why it's allowed to go on. Their well earned reputation is just plain mean.

OK....Just to avoid conflict here, I'm generalizing. I know some have had good experiences there but, whether they know it or not, they are a minority.

CaboRon - 1-20-2009 at 01:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaNuts
I drove through TJ, overnight at GN, and kept driving all the way to La Paz. Arrived in La Paz Thursday evening. Saturday afternoon someone mentioned FMT or similar, which I hadn't even considered! Monday morning I was at the immigration office on the malecon for my 6 month tourist papers. I'm pretty sure I didn't get any fines for not getting it at the border. Maybe because I could have come off a boat or who knows what.


I have to jump in and add my two cents about the La Paz Immigration office ....

I have delt with them on several occasions and have found them to be helpful and nice !!

The last time in to renew my FM3 the lady agent pointed to each line on the declaration and told me what to print ....

Good Guest Service

CaboRon

Bajahowodd - 1-20-2009 at 01:51 PM

They're just happy to be in La Paz.

BajaGeoff - 1-20-2009 at 05:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
FYI

my insurance states that failure to obtain a valid tourist visa will void insurance if involved in a wreck where you are required to have an FMT.....

one more pato for the row......


This rule is true for most of the Mexican insurance underwriters. Basically, if you are in Mexico without proper paperwork, you are technically in the country illegally.

Bajahowodd - 1-20-2009 at 05:27 PM

That's very important to know. anyone traveling South of Maneadero better have one. It may be a hassle or there may be a fine, if you wait until Guerrero Negro or beyond. But without one, you are SOL if you have an accident South of Maneadero.

David K - 1-20-2009 at 05:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGeoff
Quote:
Originally posted by woody in ob
FYI

my insurance states that failure to obtain a valid tourist visa will void insurance if involved in a wreck where you are required to have an FMT.....

one more pato for the row......


This rule is true for most of the Mexican insurance underwriters. Basically, if you are in Mexico without proper paperwork, you are technically in the country illegally.


Geoff, could you please contact you carrier and verify WHERE in Baja they want us to have an FM-T (ie. south of Maneadero or south of the Eagle Monument) and WHEN they want us to have one (anywhere in Mexico, even TJ)... ie after 72 hours or after 7 days.

Because you are (they are) saying even though we payed for coverage, they will deny it on a bureaucratic paperwork question...?

robrt8 - 1-20-2009 at 07:49 PM

Lewis & Lewis are brokers. I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but I think they sell Qualitas:

http://www.qualitas.com.mx/aing_producto01.html

robrt8 - 1-20-2009 at 07:51 PM

Requirement #1 is a valid permit.

BajaGeoff - 1-20-2009 at 09:05 PM

We have been told that the FM-T requirement for our insurance is whenever you go south of Maneadero, or when you are planning to be in the country for more than 72 hours.

Several things will get a claim denied all because they are illegal: driving drunk, driving under the influence of drugs, and being in the country without proper paperwork.

David K - 1-20-2009 at 10:46 PM

That pretty well is what I have been saying all these years... TRAVEL SOUTH OF MANEADERO / SYAY IN MEXICO (anywhere in Mexico) OVER 72 HRS.

Thanks Geoff...

By-the-way, do they specify Mexicali or San Felipe for the east side of Baja as requiring an FM-T south of?

BajaGeoff - 1-23-2009 at 10:35 AM

San Felipe is the end of the "tourist zone" on the east side. You need an FM-T to go further south.

EnseNADAslim - 1-23-2009 at 11:30 PM

Just to add to the re-hashing of this Thread, yes, get the FM-T when crossing the boarder, and we can't knock the guys handing them out and if you look at the form they give you it is made to accept your PASSPORT # not your drivers license. The US Passport just makes it easy all the way around. Take what is legal in the US and throw it out the window, you are entering a foreign country, so give them what they need (US passport) and help the process move along.
It's amazing how friendly people can be when you play by their rules,,,,well, yea, Mexico, that can be hard to do as they don't often know the rules themselves... Stay away from Ensenada immigration at all cost---yea, they can be difficult to work with if they wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and for many of them it's every day. Wheeeeeee Now go have fun:cool: