New Immigration Laws for Mexico to Go Into Effect May, 2010.

Transcription

1 New Immigration Laws for Mexico to Go Into Effect May, We recently came across an article out of San Miguel de Allende (Thanks to John Bekas of In the Roo) that addresses new immigration laws and changes coming to Mexico in May We contacted the original author, Carol Schmidt, and she was happy to share what she knew. She did, however, want to make sure we let everyone know that this is not 100% confirmed as we all know things can change drastically here from one day to the next. As you can see once you read below that this is a complex matter, and can also depend on where you are applying for your paperwork. Thank you to Carol and her wonderful website: Falling In Love With San Miguel for the information! Here are some excerpts from the meeting held on February 22nd, 2010 in San Miguel de Allende including a Q & A with representatives of Immigration and Hacienda/SAT, with information on the new Immigration Manual. In general the speakers from Immigration, Hacienda/SAT, and the Guanajuato office of Finance and Administration, confirmed reports in regards to the new Migration Manual that goes into effect May 1, / 5

2 Summary: Mexican consulates in the US and Canada will no longer issue FM3s. FM3s and FM2s will no longer be in booklet form like a US passport but will be plastic cards with imbedded data strips. The bar codes on these visa-like cards can be updated much easier with address changes, marital status changes, employment changes, and so on. There will be no more problems of having to wait for these kinds of updates to be put into print booklets. The FMT will be replaced with an FMM that will have three options*: one is a regular tourist permit like the current FMT, and the other two options will be for business people who come to Mexico for up to 180 days to conduct business for their foreign-based corporations. It is not true that the new FMMs will allow tourists in general to work during their 180 day maximum stays in Mexico. The rules overall are going to remain the same but the intent of the changes is for the process to be simplified. *1) The regular tourist permit (Visitante con Actividades no Lucrativas); 2) Business (Visitante Persona de Negocios); or 3) Business (Visitante con Actividades Lucrativas). Did that mean that it was now going to be legal for a person coming in on a 180-day FMM tourist permit to work? The FMM is now going to be a broader kind of 180-day permit form that would incorporate many kinds of temporary visitors besides tourists--including corporate business employees who come to Mexico for their employers to conduct business dealings or attend conferences or training sessions across international borders. In no way was this kind of FMM to be used by someone who wanted to come down to Mexico for 180 days and seek employment or do temporary work for a business in Mexico. The people in these categories would generally be business executives working for international corporations. The next expat question was on the benefits of having an FM3 versus an FMT (now to be an FMM). Don't assume that having an FM3 or FM2 will automatically bring you a better tax arrangement in a property sale. 2 / 5

3 You should talk to various notario públicos (lawyers who have advanced training in government documents such as real estate sales) to find the notario with the most favorable practices for your situation, and then only believe the advice from that notario. With an FMT (now FMM) you can come and go as often as you like, but each time you leave you give up your current FMT and come in on a new one. An FMT is for one visit only. If you have brought in a car on a temporary vehicle importation permit on that FMT, you must take your car out with you when you leave, and you may not be able to bring in your car on your second 180-day FMT in a year. But it is also true that not all border offices have computer access to the Mexican data bank of all expat cars legally in the country at any one time, and you very likely will be able to do so, at least until every border has complete computer hookups to the data bases. So having an FM3 is far better if you are going to be bringing a car in to Mexico for long term use. Once you have your FM3, even if you changed to an FM3 from an FMT while in Mexico, your car remains legally imported as long as you are legal. If you are one day late leaving on your FMT, you and your car are both now illegal and the car could be seized. Even though many expats do so, you can't come in on one FMT with your car, leave by plane with your car staying in Mexico, and come in on another FMT later. Your car is not magically transferred to your new FMT, Clancy said. Continuing on the benefits of an FM3 over an FMT, it was noted that you cannot get a work permit or an INAPAM senior discount card without an FM3. However, for those who do not have enough income to qualify for an FM3, the FMT is the only option. The current minimum monthly income requirement being used by Immigration varies from state to state so you must check with your local Immigration office to see what your requirements are. The questions then shifted to work permits, but it was suggested that people should follow through with Immigration to be sure whether in their specific cases they need a work permit. 3 / 5

4 Someone asked that if they are teaching an art class in their home, did they need a work permit? The answer is yes, if you are making money, from your home or not, so you will definitely need work papers. It was stated that every major organization requires work permits, even for volunteer positions. If Hacienda were to make an unexpected inspection of the organization and discovered they had key volunteers who did not have permits, the organization would be fined. At this point the representative from Immigration arrived and the Q&A shifted. The question was asked, do you need an FM3 to rent out a room or apartment. Answer: if you are making money in Mexico you need a work permit and to register with Hacienda to pay your taxes, and you need an FM3 or FM2 to get a work permit. One man, who volunteers, as well as works, asked if he needed a work permit for both activities. He was told yes, and that he would need papers in two areas, one to do any kind of work in his field of publications, and the other to volunteer for a community organization. In the past, working papers were extremely specific. You would need the wording on your visa to specify that you worked as a waiter for the evening shift in X cafe, and if your hours or duties or employer shifted you needed a new work permit. Part of the process of attempting to simplify procedures now is that you can be given a work permit for a general field, such as publications, or the food industry. A volunteer's permit has the wording, non-lucrative. Taxes therefore do not have to be paid nor does a volunteer have to register with Hacienda and hire a Mexican attorney to set up regular tax payments. The Immigration representative then mentioned the new immigration manual that goes into effect May 1, 2010 and said the intent of the manual is to make the process simpler, including making it easier to work legally. The goal is to make it simple enough that no one needs to hire a lawyer to help them get working papers; it should be a process you can do yourself. 4 / 5

5 An expat asked if those who currently have FM3s or FM2s will have to apply for the new cards that will replace the current booklets. The answer is no, the replacement cards will be given at the time of their next regular renewal. Should an expat who has an FM3 or FM2 fill out the forms to get an FMT (after May 1 to be the FMM) that are handed out on airplanes headed to Mexico to all passengers? No, because doing so means you will have to two different visa categories, which is illegal and you are subject to a fine. You should show your existing visa to prove you don't have to submit an FMT or FMM application. Please stay tuned as we find out further information to add to this story. We HOPE that as of May 1st, 2010 the entire immigration process will be a little less daunting and easier to navigate. 5 / 5