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Author: Subject: FM 2 or 3 or what?
Janzie
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 12:06 PM
FM 2 or 3 or what?


We are going to be spending our winters in Baja and are wondering about the varying levels of immigration. If we want to open a bank account, purchase an ATV or the like is it sufficient to have just the usual 180 day tourist permit? What is an FM3? FM2?
Thanks for your help.
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 12:23 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by Janzie
We are going to be spending our winters in Baja and are wondering about the varying levels of immigration. If we want to open a bank account, purchase an ATV or the like is it sufficient to have just the usual 180 day tourist permit? What is an FM3? FM2?
Thanks for your help.


The nomenclature has changed. No more FMs. They are now called FMM-----tourist permit, Temporary Resident, and Permanent resident.
Since your plans kind of rule out Tourist Permit, you should probably be going for Temporary Resident status.




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 01:01 PM


Why? If they are going to be in Baja 180 days or less the tourist visa is fine...And beats me why anyone would want a Mexican Bank account with all the ATMS around......



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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 01:46 PM


What kills much of the money withdrawls from Mexican ATMs are the fees that your US bank is charged by the owner of the Mexican ATM.
By opening an account in a Mexican affiliate bank, one avoids the withdrawl feels that you would normally be charged.


Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Why? If they are going to be in Baja 180 days or less the tourist visa is fine...And beats me why anyone would want a Mexican Bank account with all the ATMS around......




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 01:53 PM


I believe with the tourist visa you are restricted on leaving stuff in Mexico and have limited legal recourse if you have a land dispute.
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 01:55 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
What kills much of the money withdrawls from Mexican ATMs are the fees that your US bank is charged by the owner of the Mexican ATM.
By opening an account in a Mexican affiliate bank, one avoids the withdrawl feels that you would normally be charged.


Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Why? If they are going to be in Baja 180 days or less the tourist visa is fine...And beats me why anyone would want a Mexican Bank account with all the ATMS around......

However, the tourist permit is about $28 U.S. How much are the fees for the Temporary and Permanent status a year, and does that justify a few extra points off the exchange rate at an ATM?




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 02:11 PM


Are you a 'tourist' if you have a home in Mexico you keep going back to? Tourists are people on a tour or vacation, camping, hoteling, renting a vacation home, right?

Once you buy or lease property in Mexico, keep going back to that property, leave furniture, appliances, personal items there all year long, then aren't you instead a PART-TIME RESIDENT of Mexico and not a tourist anymore?

I know the tourist card (FMM) has been modified to do more than when it was an FM-T, but are you covered legally by it when you leave property in Mexico while you are not there with it, part of the year?




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 02:45 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by Janzie
We are going to be spending our winters in Baja



What part??




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Janzie
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 04:23 PM


Thanks for all your replies.
We plan to be in the Mulege area from November to the end of April, mas o menos.
Just wondering if any of you have a definitive answer? What benefit is a temporary residents permit over a 180 day tourist visa, and what is the cost? What about buying vehicles and opening bank accounts.
We are Canadian, but Udo is right. The fees pile up for ATM withdrawals. We do try to max them out.
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 04:25 PM


Same old rant David,
With an FMM you can buy property and have or build a house on the land,fill it up with belongings and leave it intact when you leave Mexico and return for another 180 day FMM...
I have 1 beach house north of Puerto Vallarta I purchased it with the old FMT and have had it for 7 years, no Mexican official has ever said I must get a temp or perm visa to leave my belongings there..
Same with my organic veggie ranch near Dolores Hidalgo,GTO I bought with only a FMM and have had no problems with furnishings...
So David until you own property in Mexico I wish you would stop giving out false hearsay information....

To the OP, you can open a bank account with Banamex USA and get an ATM card to withdrawal pesos from Banamex ATM's fee free or from any Citibank ATM world wide ,or Schwab bank ATM is fee free worldwide with any banks ATM.....




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 05:06 PM


Bajagrouper is absolutely right on the MONEY. Save all the hassle and cashish, get a Schwab account and drive on down. There are heaps of hoops to jump thru and reams of regulations to worry about with residency. Ditto with the Mexican banking system. If you're looking to make a small fortune here in Mexico just put a large one into a Mexican bank.
Plus, let's say some trip you are enjoying life and don't want to return after 180 days? Guess what? You can just go on enjoying life and stick around for a few more days or years. No one is going to ask you for your papers - EVER. No, not even the police. Oh sure immigration can ask but who out there has ever been asked? OK, I lied, you will have to take a tour of the airport in Guerro Negro instead of staying on Hwy. 1 IF, traveling south, you are traveling on an expired FMM and IF it is during their sporadic working hours. Oh, I forgot! If you are the 1 in 250,00 unlucky ones to get caught you're going to have to go back to the border and get another one. Oh bother. The only problem I see here is that you're Canadian and would never consider spitting in the street if there were an ordinance agaaaainst it. This is a great example of "if I had known then, what I know now". My advise, try it on an FMM for a few years but don't rush into residency.




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 05:16 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by bajagrouper
Same old rant David,
With an FMM you can buy property and have or build a house on the land,fill it up with belongings and leave it intact when you leave Mexico and return for another 180 day FMM...
I have 1 beach house north of Puerto Vallarta I purchased it with the old FMT and have had it for 7 years, no Mexican official has ever said I must get a temp or perm visa to leave my belongings there..
Same with my organic veggie ranch near Dolores Hidalgo,GTO I bought with only a FMM and have had no problems with furnishings...
So David until you own property in Mexico I wish you would stop giving out false hearsay information....

To the OP, you can open a bank account with Banamex USA and get an ATM card to withdrawal pesos from Banamex ATM's fee free or from any Citibank ATM world wide ,or Schwab bank ATM is fee free worldwide with any banks ATM.....


Did you read my post... I was ASKING a question. No ranting at all. Because you do it, or get away with it, does that make it legal and offer you protection when the 'real owner' shows up and wants your property (this happens frequently enough in Mexico to be a concern)???

The logic is baffling, none-the-lest: When does a tourist become a part time resident? How can you be living several months, in the same place in Mexico, every year, and be called a tourist?

Again, is the FMM we get for vacationing in Mexico (and I understand you can buy/ lease property with it) the same FMM one SHOULD have to maintain the property in Mexico for your future returns to it???

No rant, no hate, just questions I would think ANYONE would want to know the answers to BEFORE moving to Mexico part time.

Thank you.




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 06:42 PM


Janzie, Welcome to Nomads. A lot of us here have nothing to do but sit around all day and rant. You are under NO obligation or urgency to apply for residency here. I respectfully suggest you come here on a tourist basis and talk to others that live here full or part time. Take the time to make an intelligent decision based on YOUR needs. The truth is you do not have to have resident status to own property and surround yourself with ATV's boats or any other of life's pleasures no matter what people here may write. I was just asked "what's to stop you from just driving into Mexico and avoiding ANY paperwork?" I can't answer that question.



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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 06:50 PM


You will most likely enter the country on a 180-day tourist permit which currently costs $24.50 USD. This confers rights and responsibilities and will serve you well and give you plenty of time to enjoy yourselves and "get the lay of the land" first-hand.

With a 180-day tourist permit you can camp on the beach or in a campground, rent a place to stay, buy "construction and improvements" i.e. house and maintain ownership of that house with a 10-year renewable lease on rented land, put related house bills in your name, buy an ATV or car, open a bank account, fly within Mexico and fly out of Mexico. You'll need to renew that 180-day visa each time you come back in-country.

You will need a Temporary Resident visa (or Permanent Resident visa if you qualify) to own a fidecomiso (bank-held trust) or Mexican corporation. A temporary resident visa costs about $350US/year and the permanent resident costs about $450/year.

Other than owning a corporation or a fidecomiso another reason to begin the process of the residency visas is if you wish to eventually apply for Mexican citizenship. Note, this is subject to change as the immigration laws change.

Mulege's bank, Bancomer, will gladly open a dollar or peso account for you. Note: Bancomer requires a minimum daily balance of $2000pesos ($150US+/-) 24/7/365 or they will deduct significant fees which will effectively render your account empty and inactive and closed within a few short months. Bancomer has an ATM that honor cards from other banks and levies transaction fees that vary according to its relationship with that particular bank. They let you withdraw up to $10,000pesos/day with a foreign bankcard but only $3,500/day with their own bankcard.

[Edited on 3-22-2014 by Mulegena]




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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 07:29 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by bajagrouper
With an FMM you can buy property and have or build a house on the land,fill it up with belongings and leave it intact when you leave Mexico and return for another 180 day FMM...

You can buy and fill it with stuff, yes. And this technically is not allowed for a tourist, because a tourist is not supposed to leave anything behind. OTH, this can be allowed for somebody who intends to be something more than a tourist, ex. planning or applying for FMRT - temporary resident. Yes, we can get away with breaking some their laws.

As others noted, from practical point of view the OP can bring ATV and leave it in storage in Baja, nobody cares. And they can use local ATMs with their US cards.
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 08:01 PM


Interesting post... So to be clear on this topic, If i were to buy land with a fedecomiso, I would need to pay the annual fee to the bank for the fedecomiso plus an annual fee to the feds for the part time resident visa?

Quote:
Originally posted by Mulegena
You will most likely enter the country on a 180-day tourist permit which currently costs $24.50 USD. This confers rights and responsibilities and will serve you well and give you plenty of time to enjoy yourselves and "get the lay of the land" first-hand.

With a 180-day tourist permit you can camp on the beach or in a campground, rent a place to stay, buy "construction and improvements" i.e. house and maintain ownership of that house with a 10-year renewable lease on rented land, put related house bills in your name, buy an ATV or car, open a bank account, fly within Mexico and fly out of Mexico. You'll need to renew that 180-day visa each time you come back in-country.

You will need a Temporary Resident visa (or Permanent Resident visa if you qualify) to own a fidecomiso (bank-held trust) or Mexican corporation. A temporary resident visa costs about $350US/year and the permanent resident costs about $450/year.

Other than owning a corporation or a fidecomiso another reason to begin the process of the residency visas is if you wish to eventually apply for Mexican citizenship. Note, this is subject to change as the immigration laws change.

Mulege's bank, Bancomer, will gladly open a dollar or peso account for you. Note: Bancomer requires a minimum daily balance of $2000pesos ($150US+/-) 24/7/365 or they will deduct significant fees which will effectively render your account empty and inactive and closed within a few short months. Bancomer has an ATM that honor cards from other banks and levies transaction fees that vary according to its relationship with that particular bank. They let you withdraw up to $10,000pesos/day with a foreign bankcard but only $3,500/day with their own bankcard.

[Edited on 3-22-2014 by Mulegena]
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 08:16 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by churro
Interesting post... So to be clear on this topic, If i were to buy land with a fedecomiso, I would need to pay the annual fee to the bank for the fedecomiso plus an annual fee to the feds for the part time resident visa?
Simply put, yes, I believe so. Will someone who has a fidecomiso report, please?



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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 08:38 PM


Yes, you pay and pay and pay. Annual fideicomiso, property tax, and FMRT visa fees if and when you qualify for that visa.
Our wallets is what's keeping their economy running :)
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 08:55 PM


Not to mention that you can't apply for a temp or perm resident permit unless you have a tourist FMM, so...
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[*] posted on 3-21-2014 at 08:59 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by churro
Interesting post... So to be clear on this topic, If i were to buy land with a fedecomiso, I would need to pay the annual fee to the bank for the fedecomiso plus an annual fee to the feds for the part time resident visa?



Yes
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