| Pages:
1
2 |
micah202
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 1-19-2011
Location: vancouver,BC
Member Is Offline
|
|
tourist visa..good a year,or per visit??
....howdy,,,yet another tourist visa question....
.......drove down baja in january,,got a tourist visa,,,
....in early march I FLEW out of SJD for awhile....planning to come back after 2-3 weeks,,,,some official was collecting tourist visa's,,,I told her I
was returning shortly,,but she took it anyways,,,,,,,I had thought those were valid a year,,,or is it 'per visit'??
.....a ~$23 curiosity......
|
|
|
DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
|
|
I think it's good for 180 days, but airlines may have different guidelines.
|
|
|
mulegejim
Nomad
Posts: 470
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: San Clemente, CA/Mulege, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
I believe it is per visit, up to a maximum of 180 days - this is why you have to surrender the FMM when flying back to the US because at that point
they know your visit is over. Driving is different in the respect that there is no Mexican official at the border asking for the FMM so, in effect, it
could be used for multiple trips in a 180 day cycle - not saying it is legal just that that's the way it is. Jim
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65311
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by mulegejim
I believe it is per visit, up to a maximum of 180 days - this is why you have to surrender the FMM when flying back to the US because at that point
they know your visit is over. Driving is different in the respect that there is no Mexican official at the border asking for the FMM so, in effect, it
could be used for multiple trips in a 180 day cycle - not saying it is legal just that that's the way it is. Jim |
The best answer I have read in a long time!  
|
|
|
turtleandtoad
Senior Nomad
Posts: 730
Registered: 1-20-2005
Location: Wherever I park. See sig for current location.
Member Is Offline
Mood: Good if fishing
|
|
As a typical tourist, you are allowed to be in-country for a maximum of 180 days.
When you enter you are issued a FMM, which starts the clock for that 12 month period. When you leave (and turn in that FMM), that stops the clock.
If the next time you enter the country it's within 12 months from the issue date of the first one, and you still have some of your 180 days left, they
issue you a new FMM. You can do this a maximum of 6 times during the 12 month period; still assuming that you have time left on your 180 day limit.
If you use up the 180 days before the 12 months has ended, you will be denied entry until the after the 12 months expire.
This is one reason why it's so important to turn in your FMM when you leave. Otherwise, the clock is still running even though you aren't in Mexico.
It's a little confusing and I'm not sure that the migracion people are totally comfortable with it and may not be enforcing it properly. But, since
it's all computerized and linked to the main office in Mexico City, I'm sure the ones that aren't doing it right will hear about it eventually.
Of course this is just the rules for the standard tourist FMM, there are 13 other tourist classification FMM's that have their own rules.
I hope I didn't lose too many people on that explanation. It's taken me months to get it settled in my own mind.
Any questions? There WILL be a test later! 
[Edited on 3-17-2011 by turtleandtoad]
Mike & Robin; Full-Time RV\'ers
37\' Georgetown w/3 slides & 275 Watts of Solar Power
06 Taco TRD
www.turtleandtoad.com
I am here
To paraphrase Frank Lloyd Wright; I\'m all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let\'s start with keyboards. --
Mike Dean |
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65311
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
"If you use up the 180 days before the 12 months has ended, you will be denied entry until the after the 12 months expire."
That is how I read the new rules for FMM as well... However, when I used that in my answer here (some time ago)... I got jumped on that it wasn't
true, there were no limits, when the 180 days expire, you can turn around and get another 180 day tourist card, without waiting for the 12 month
period to expire first.
|
|
|
turtleandtoad
Senior Nomad
Posts: 730
Registered: 1-20-2005
Location: Wherever I park. See sig for current location.
Member Is Offline
Mood: Good if fishing
|
|
That's the way the law reads.
But some people may be getting away with getting another FMM before their time. Like I said, not all the migracion people are up to speed on this, and
not all the migracion offices are on-line.
Just don't depend on it! Once the migracion offices come on-line, the local officials won't have a choice; if you've used up your 180 days, the
computer will refuse to print out the FMM.
Mike & Robin; Full-Time RV\'ers
37\' Georgetown w/3 slides & 275 Watts of Solar Power
06 Taco TRD
www.turtleandtoad.com
I am here
To paraphrase Frank Lloyd Wright; I\'m all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let\'s start with keyboards. --
Mike Dean |
|
|
bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
Member Is Offline
|
|
When my wife went to get a FMM a couple weeks ago at Algodones, she handed them her passport with the FMT she got last year (she spends most of her
time in the US).
The official looked at the FMT and said it hadn't been paid (no bank stamp) a she had to pay for last year's as well as the FMM she was getting. The
inmigration officer made her FMM up on the computer. After she paid for both years, he gave her passport back and stamped the FMM.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65311
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalou
When my wife went to get a FMM a couple weeks ago at Algodones, she handed them her passport with the FMT she got last year (she spends most of her
time in the US).
The official looked at the FMT and said it hadn't been paid (no bank stamp) a she had to pay for last year's as well as the FMM she was getting. The
inmigration officer made her FMM up on the computer. After she paid for both years, he gave her passport back and stamped the FMM.
|
Lucky they didn't yell at her for not turning in the FM-T before it expired!
|
|
|
BAJA.DESERT.RAT
Senior Nomad
Posts: 980
Registered: 11-5-2009
Location: BAJA SUR
Member Is Offline
|
|
hola turtleandtoad,
thank you for the great explanation !
will someone please post what the cost of an fmm currently is.
i thank you in advance,
BIEN SALUD, DA RAT
|
|
|
bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Lucky they didn't yell at her for not turning in the FM-T before it expired! |
Couldn't expire if it hadn't been stamped as issued.
Last Thursday the cost was 262 pesos.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
|
|
sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
Member Is Offline
|
|
This thing gets beat over and over. When flying
into Mex from the US, your ticket has, embedded in the taxes,
the price for an fmm, I don't believe any tourist
can avoid that fmm fee on a flight to Mex.
Perhaps holders of fm3's can.
The 180 day max per yr., is 100% FALSE. Turn your
current fmm before it expires, and you can get a new
one. There is no mythical clock some keep reporting
of 180 days. Can DK or Turtle give ANY example of
a Gringo Tourist being denied entry into Mex beacuse
of a previous fmm living out it's 180 day time?
Of course not, it DOES NOT HAPPEN, the fmm's are
10 1/2 months old, that is the first one's were issued
May1, 2010. The continued reporting of this myth
is INCORRECT, don't you think someone would have
surfaced by now, as being denied a second fmm
in a yr? Stop with the one per yr. it it misinfo
|
|
|
micah202
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 1-19-2011
Location: vancouver,BC
Member Is Offline
|
|
SANCHO,,that would mean that they'll give me a new tourist card when I head back through SJD,,and I've already paid for it with my ticket and
'taxes'?? ...thanx!
|
|
|
mulegejim
Nomad
Posts: 470
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: San Clemente, CA/Mulege, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by mulegejim
I believe it is per visit, up to a maximum of 180 days - this is why you have to surrender the FMM when flying back to the US because at that point
they know your visit is over. Driving is different in the respect that there is no Mexican official at the border asking for the FMM so, in effect, it
could be used for multiple trips in a 180 day cycle - not saying it is legal just that that's the way it is. Jim |
The best answer I have read in a long time! |
Thanks, Jim
|
|
|
maplea
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: 3-17-2011
Location: canada
Member Is Offline
|
|
FMM not returned upon departure
New, to the board but been skulking about since before january when we drove to baja for the first time--fantastic time! Lots of great info and people
on this forum--appreciate it all.
We paid for our FMM at the TJ border, had passports stamped, and stayed three weeks and drove back the same way. Couldn't figure out where to return
the FMM,and after the chaos of the TJ border crossing (for first timers, anyways), we just continued on to san diego.
So I have my FMM, and my passport was stamped going into mexico. Will I be able to return next january, a year since I went in before.
My FMM expires sometime in early june of 2011.
Should I mail it somewhere so I don't have any problems next january, or just forget it and take my chances. We will be driving down again, thru TJ,
again.
thanks.
Maplea
|
|
|
DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by maplea
We paid for our FMM at the TJ border, had passports stamped, and stayed three weeks and drove back the same way. Couldn't figure out where to return
the FMM,and after the chaos of the TJ border crossing (for first timers, anyways), we just continued on to san diego.
So I have my FMM, and my passport was stamped going into mexico. Will I be able to return next january, a year since I went in before.
|
Welcome to BajaNomad, Maplea.
They stamped your Passport? I didn't know they did that.
.
[Edited on 3-18-2011 by DENNIS]
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65311
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by maplea
New, to the board but been skulking about since before january when we drove to baja for the first time--fantastic time! Lots of great info and people
on this forum--appreciate it all.
We paid for our FMM at the TJ border, had passports stamped, and stayed three weeks and drove back the same way. Couldn't figure out where to return
the FMM,and after the chaos of the TJ border crossing (for first timers, anyways), we just continued on to san diego.
So I have my FMM, and my passport was stamped going into mexico. Will I be able to return next january, a year since I went in before.
My FMM expires sometime in early june of 2011.
Should I mail it somewhere so I don't have any problems next january, or just forget it and take my chances. We will be driving down again, thru TJ,
again.
thanks.
Maplea |
Yes, there is an address to mail it to... I posted it a few months ago... It came from Discover Baja Travel Club (who sells pre-paid FMMs to members
in San Diego). If I can find it tomorrow, I will post it here... Until then feel free to use the Nomad search to find it.
[Edited on 3-18-2011 by David K]
|
|
|
sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
Member Is Offline
|
|
Micah202, If you are flying into Mex from the US,
maybe Alaska Air, doesn't matter, your plane ticket
you purchased in the US will have in the Taxes/fees
section of your ticket cost, the embedded fee for
a new fmm, $22 or so. I've had my passport stamped,
on occasion, I then get an exit stamp behind the entry
stamp. I've read it doesn't matter though. They tend to
take fmm's when flying out of Mex, they tend not
to on a Mex domestic flight, say to TJ. On the fmm form,
it states 'to be returned when leaving Mex', that doesn't
leave much room for interpretation to me. But you
obviously can keep it for repeated land crossings.
Mex Imm can be irritating, you can get a different slant
even from the same Imm Office. Baja Imm will still,
I'm sure, tell you no fmm needed for 7 days or less,
this seems to be strictly a Baja Imm position, no where
on the mainland does this 7 day theory exist. These regs
are Federal, applying to the entire country of Mex,
Baja Officials seem to play loose, it doesn't matter except
in an extreme circumstance, but then it may REALLY matter,
it is rarely clear
[Edited on 3-18-2011 by sancho]
|
|
|
Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
Member Is Offline
|
|
This topic seems to have a life of its own.
There were some posts that cited the new law. And some posts that noted the new law is either not enforced, or sporadicaly enforced. Similar to the
stamping of passports.
The new and current FMM requirements were seemingly implemented to ferret out those people living in Mexico full time on a tourist visa. There are
actually some additional benefits to those traveling on business.
However, as history shows, the procedures and enforcement have seemingly always been random.
If and when all Immigration points of entry are in lockstep on procedures, which will also require a cebtral data base to track the time and entry/
exit of FMM holders, there may actually be an unintended consequence, in that very frequent tourists/ vacationers, could ultimately be denied entry
until a year expires on their prior FMM.
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65311
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by maplea
New, to the board but been skulking about since before january when we drove to baja for the first time--fantastic time! Lots of great info and people
on this forum--appreciate it all.
We paid for our FMM at the TJ border, had passports stamped, and stayed three weeks and drove back the same way. Couldn't figure out where to return
the FMM,and after the chaos of the TJ border crossing (for first timers, anyways), we just continued on to san diego.
So I have my FMM, and my passport was stamped going into mexico. Will I be able to return next january, a year since I went in before.
My FMM expires sometime in early june of 2011.
Should I mail it somewhere so I don't have any problems next january, or just forget it and take my chances. We will be driving down again, thru TJ,
again.
thanks.
Maplea |
Yes, there is an address to mail it to... I posted it a few months ago... It came from Discover Baja Travel Club (who sells pre-paid FMMs to members
in San Diego). If I can find it tomorrow, I will post it here... Until then feel free to use the Nomad search to find it.
|
OKAY, found it... posted a year ago!:
posted on 3-6-2010 at 11:29 AM
Here is that info...
(This came from Discover Baja Travel Club):
Return Tourist permits before they expire to any Mexican Immigration office OR send by mail to:
Instituto Nacional de Migracion
Puente Puerta S/N
Colonia Federal
Tijuana, B.C. Mexico C.P. 22310
(postage is 79 cents from U.S.)
If you fail to have you tourist permit validated when you enter Mexico (using a pre-paid FM-T) or fail to return them before they expire you could be
fined up to $220 dollars for each permit.
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
