BajaNomad

FM3 and traveling in Mexico

CortezBlue - 9-28-2009 at 07:40 PM

Ok, twice a year I travel throughout other parts of Mexico besides my casa in San Felipe. So last year while going through customs in Cancun, I was using my US Passport. While digging through my paperwork the customs guy saw my FM3 and started yelling at me in spanish. Eventually another guy came over who spoke english and he told me that I COULD NOT enter Mexico using my US passport, becuase having an FM3 essentially made me a citizen and that I had to enter Mexico using my FM3.
Has any one else had this same issue?

Also, while buying my airplane ticket for my upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta, I had to pay a Mexican Tourist tax. I had to call the airline about something else and during the conversation the operator started chatting about mexico and when I mentioned I owned a casa in Mexico and had an FM3, she informed me that I did not have to pay the additional travel fee for Mexico.
Anyone else had any experience with this.

Thanks

lizard lips - 9-28-2009 at 08:30 PM

When you have an FM3 you are to have it stamped going out of the country and when you re-enter you must provide it to Mexican customs and have it stamped again for re-enter.

A lot of us here in Northern Baja do not have it stamped when we go to San Diego for the day but if you live in the US and take a plane from the US to any point in Mexico you had better get it stamped when you left Mexico so the Mexican custom officials can see that you did this when you present it to them at the airport when you arrive by plane.

I flew from Los Angeles to Europe then on to Argentina. Took another flight to Mexico City from Buenos Aires and presented my FM2 to Mexican Immigration. They saw that I had an exit stamp in Tijuana so i was good but I also did not have it stamped a few times because the Tijuana office was closed.

Just remember to always have an exit stamp if you plan to fly back into Mexico from the US. They get really peeed if you don't......

bajamikey - 9-28-2009 at 09:20 PM

is it the u.s. or mexican customs that stamp your fm3 when returning to the u.s.

jls - 9-28-2009 at 09:31 PM

When leaving Mexico why would they stamp my FM3 at the U.S. border crossing? I am probably missing something. I can see Mexico stamping my FM3 when I enter the country but not leaving it. That seems unusual.

lizard lips - 9-28-2009 at 10:28 PM

Have your FM3 or FM2 stamped when you enter or leaving Mexico by Mexican Immigration. Not US immigration. If you do this you won't have any problems.

BajaWarrior - 9-29-2009 at 04:34 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by lizard lips
Have your FM3 or FM2 stamped when you enter or leaving Mexico by Mexican Immigration. Not US immigration. If you do this you won't have any problems.


The frequent crosser would fill the FM-3 book with stamps in no time...We cross 20 times a year...

grace59 - 9-29-2009 at 05:59 AM

I previously asked a similar question about getting my FM3 stamped when entering and exiting Mexico by car...since we got the FM3 in April we've been to San Felipe twice...should we stop at the border when entering and exiting Mexicali? If so where do we get this done.....? How should we do this now that we've left without having it stamped? We have a house there, but at this point only visit a couple of times a year.

mulegejim - 9-29-2009 at 06:13 AM

When I have flown out of Mexico from Loreto, you are directed to the immigration office where you fill out a form, I can't remember the name, have it stamped and signed and your FM3/FM2 stamped. You keep the form and when returning to Mexico present it and your FM3/FM2 to immigration - they retain the form and stamp your FM3/FM2.

I never had a problem getting reimbursed for the FMT cost with Alaska, although you do need to file a request for the refund at the service counter. A check was always issued in a couple of weeks. The old Aero California would just deduct the amount from the ticket price when making a reservation if you indicated you had a FM3/FM2.

osoflojo - 9-30-2009 at 10:58 PM

Crossing the border by land does not require an exit stamp, never has. Only by air. If you get caught in the Catch 22 explain it to Aduana /Migra and you can get a pass.........