Just an FYI as I had no idea this happened, but from Jun 1 to August 31 there's an embargo on any oversized luggage coming into Mexico via air.
edit: apparently this is seasonal and I'm a bit slow
https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/baggage/international-checked-bag-limits.html#seasonal-limits
Just wanted to provide people here with a review and info about the experience at the DC consulate, as my wife and I just got our temporary resident visas there (actually, about 2 weeks ago). We read many such reports here on Reddit, so I wanted to share ours to continue the sharing for others.
Short story, we got approved the same day, and the entire visit took about 2.5 hours. Here are the details:
To begin with, we used a facilitator (https://gpexpatservices.com/) who came well recommended here and from the Mexico Relocation Guide (https://mexicorelocationguide.com/). Both are resources I can highly recommend both for those who are looking to make this move. u/Dry_Link_7156 Gaby Pellicer was VERY helpful and patient with us, and answered all of our questions and concerns! I also read a ton here on this subreddit, which helped quite a bit, too.
Our facilitator setup the appointment for us. She apparently has an inside-track to them, which was great. We are in CT, but she aimed to get us into Boston, Philadelphia, and DC as these were the best options for a same-day process. Boston, right now, is not providing many appointments (she said), so I was aiming for PHL and DC primarily. I thought we'd get PHL, but ended up at DC - she contacted us about a week before, but fortunately we have flexible schedules so we made it work even though it was relatively short notice.
The DC consulate is located at the address provided (by our facilitator, Google, Mexico website, etc), but it's not "in" the building. Just before you get to the front door, there are steps to the right side - the consulate is there.
There is parking in a lot directly across the street, so that was easy. We parked there ($17.99 for 4 hours, paid via phone online) and walked to the consulate easily.
We arrived very early at about 8:15am for our 9am appointment. We certainly didn't need to do that, but it's good in case there is an accident on the roads along the way (we were driving in from Baltimore). We had a decent amount of commuter traffic so it took us about 1.5 hours, but it wasn't too bad.
The security guard checked our bag with all our papers, and my wife's purse, and we had to remove phones, keys, etc before going through the metal detector. I remembered that I left my belt on, but we had no beep or issue. The guard was nice and asked what we were there for - we told him the temporary residence visa. He wasn't completely sure, but told us the visa office was down the hall on the left. Amy checked and saw that, as well as a waiting area there, with some ventanillas. At the ventanilla, I asked where we wait for the temporary residence visa, and they said it was that Visa door (correctly identified by the guard), but that it wouldn't open until 9. So, we waited... no problem. Bathrooms were right there, and a few other people were around... things weren't fully open yet.
We finally saw someone open the door to Visas at about 9:20. We asked if we should wait inside there, and he said sure... turns out, he was actually the person who was going to process us from behind the glass wall with two ventanillas (basically plexi or glass "wall" with two openings at the bottom). He was dressed very casually - had a pony tail and a shirt with a sugar skull decoration on it. He went around to the other side, got settled, and then asked us what we needed. There was no one else in this small room - just my wife and me. We told him we were married and hoping to get processed together for the temporary resident visa, and that we had an appointment. He said no problem and that one of us would be "primary". My wife suggested me, so I went first. He asked for passport, application, and documents. He asked if we were going to qualify by income or assets, and we told him assets... so he wanted those documents and asked for the 12-months statements.
I provided the passport and signed the application in front of him - our facilitator suggested this. He pointed out that I need to print my name and sign in the box on the application. Then I provided an affidavit of one-and-same since I don't always use my middle name, then verification letter, bank tabulated balances (our facilitator said we should have the bank provide a letter with a table of each month and balance of our accounts), and the bank cover letter +12 months statement summaries. I was concerned, at first, that our statement summaries were only the first few pages of each month - the remaining pages (often 25+ pages!) were transaction reports for the account. Fortunately, the consulate guy never asked, noticed, or cared about that. We also had wet-ink signatures and initials on each page, which he didn't care about either (as far as I could see). I saw he picked up a highlighter, and I think he highlighted the total balances on the papers himself.
I had read here that some consulates are picky about the signature matching what we have on our license or passport. Our facilitator said she never heard of this being a problem, so neither my wife nor I practiced... and we just signed as messily as we normally do. He didn't care.
Interesting twist, he asked if I had access to my bank accounts on my phone, and if I could show him the CURRENT balance there via screenshot. He said he needed this since it was near the end of the month (June 23, and our docs were through May), so he wanted to see that. I said yes, and went online to get this from our bank system. I took the screenshot and he had me email it to him via an email address from a sticker on the glass wall between us. After he received the screenshot, I saw that he printed this himself in the back somewhere and added it to the file.
He then had me sit back down and looked through everything for a little while. He asked me if I had a copy of my passport, and I said yes and gave that to him, then sat back down.
In the meantime, I assembled the documents he took from me, for when he called my wife up. He eventually called her up, and she handed all the same things over and signed the form and handed that and her passport to him as well. I noticed I didn't have a second copy of the bank table-summary page (it may have been in another folder), but he never asked for it, so I didn't dig any further for that.
Both my wife and I own sole-member LLCs (we each have one company) and we did not give any business info papers, even though we had copies ready to go. He never asked for them nor any info about our income. Our assets are mostly IRAs, although we also have a "liquid account" with that bank with more than the ~$80k required for this consulate. He also never asked for our drivers license or copies of the drivers licenses.
After some more time, he called us both up and we chatted right there, through the window to each other. He asked why we want to move to Mexico, and we told him we loved it, and wanted to retire there. He asked if we spoke Spanish - my wife answered first and said she wasn't that good at it, but that she was taking classes online and hoped to be fluent soon. She froze a little (she gets anxious sometimes) but he said she did fine. He asked about her job and also asked how she handled anxiety with her profession as a therapist. She said that when she's in "therapist mode" she doesn't have as much issue, as she is there "for the client" so she gets less anxious... plus she's been doing her job for 25+ years, so it's easier. They chatted a bit more about the work, and how she would continue to work remotely from Mexico. He reminded us that the temporary visa does not allow us to work WITHIN Mexico, but we can continue to remote-work. We agreed and understood, of course. He did say that he looked up her website and saw that she was not taking new clients on that page - she explained how this was because we are working to transition, so she didn't want to take new clients. He understood and accepted that explanation.
He asked if we knew where we wanted to be, and my wife said we were aiming for Ajijic. He said he knew of many others going there, or to SMA (San Miguel Allende), or PV (Puerto Vallarta)... and that they weren't the best places to learn Spanish. We explained that we knew that, but we always try to speak Spanish with locals, and to go outside of just the gringo areas. I guess he's from the SMA area, and found many people would just be lazy and keep speaking English... but it didn't sound like this was going to be a problem for our application.
Then he started asking me similar questions. He said my job sounds interesting, and asked more about it - I described how I do programming and automation for manufacturing, and that I can do this remotely since I am already doing that from my home in the USA, most of the time. He asked if I spoke Spanish and I answered in Spanish, just to show him I could speak somewhat well... then he kept talking in English anyway... so I guess he thought I was good enough!
He asked for the marriage certificate, and we showed him that, and pointed out that we did already have it apostilled (thank you again, Gaby!)... he said, this was great to see, otherwise we would have had to do that later. He asked if we used a facilitator and we said we did - he was impressed with how well prepared we were (I tend to be over-prepared whenever possible, haha).
The entire conversation was VERY friendly and not scary or imposing in any way. He was very nice and friendly. After these questions, we all continued chatting a bit. He noticed we got married in Las Vegas, and asked us about that, because he was going to get married soon as well. He was thinking about doing that as well, and so we chatted about how we liked that so much, and it was so nice and easy, and didn't cost as much time, money, or stress. He liked what he heard about that. He also thought that maybe he should be a facilitator, as they get paid more than he does at this job!
He had us pay for the visa and asked for a credit card - we gave him that and he processed it right there.
He then had us sit down again for a while, and he went back to the paperwork. After a while longer, he mentioned to us that we were all set, but he's just waiting for the security clearance to complete. A while later, he called my wife up as he had her passport ready with the sticker for the Visa. My wife had to review it and then sign a paper to confirm it's correct (note for EVERY consulate, be sure to check the name and info on the visa before signing it!) . He said my security clearance is coming momentarily. In the meantime, he asked if we knew the next steps (canje). We said we knew the basics, so he explained it anyway. Nothing new that our facilitator or many threads here hadn't already told us, so we were prepared! Amy mentioned how Chapala is now requiring us to stay for up to 30 days, and he said he didn't know that... but that there were many changes happening. He said it was about 1-3 weeks, from what he knew.
My paperwork came through, so he had me review mine and sign the paper to say I did that. We then continued chatting a bit more... again, casual stuff. He said how the last time he was at SMA, people would recognize him and say hello and thank him for how easy canje was, as he explained. He said he couldn't remember the people, but then realized it was from his work here... and how the world can be very small sometimes! He also said he may need to visit Ajijic at some point, and we said we'd love to see him there as well! Again, he was nice and friendly throughout!
After that, he said that's all he had for me, and wished us good luck on our move to Mexico... and we left. Very happy and very excited for our next steps!
In the end, we did over-prepare our documents, but we didn't need:
- Detailed financial account info (ie, we had copies of the complete 400+ pages of our bank statements including the transaction pages, just in case!) - Maybe, in the future, they will take electronic copies, as he accepted that with the screenshot!
- Drivers license or copies
- Business document (ownership) or income info
- Wet ink or signatures or initials - He didn't seem to look for or notice them, from what I could see.
- Probably didn't need the bank table-summary info either
During the entire visit, no one else came into this room with us (except a cleaner who came through to wipe a few things and chat with the consulate guy for a minute)... even she said hola to us, and we said buenos dias... everyone was so friendly and nice! One of the many reasons we want to be in Mexico!
Let me know if anyone has any questions... I'm happy to provide more detail if I can remember it! Overall, it was a great experience, with a same-day approval for us. Can't beat that!
Have an unlocked iphone that I use with a telcel sim card. I use my iphone while in Mexico and in the US with the telcel service. I am normally on the 30 day plan that has 3gb of data and costs 200 pesos. I believe lot of people use this same plan.
When I'm in the US, I typically add credit to my telcel number on a 3rd party site like recharge so I would get another 30 days and 3gb of data of telcel service. The thing is because I normally don't use up the 3gb of data, I have a lot of data saved up. I believe I have over 30gb data saved or more.
I'm getting all my documents ready to apply for the temporary residents visa and it has this in one of the requirements
-One colour photograph without retouching, passport size (white background, without glasses, without makeup, without a beard or moustache, bare head, or any garment that prevents full identification of the person and taken prior to the request for proof of not more than 30 days)-
did anyone else need to do this? I'd hate to shave it off and find out that it was an old rule.
Hello everybody
Just curious but is anybody in here a pilot who flies in Mexico? We’re currently planning to move to San Miguel de Allende later this year and I’m currently flying in the United States in Cessnas as CFII. I know that getting access to rental Planes in Mexico is quite difficult so I’m thinking of possibly purchasing or acquiring a Kitfox or something similar and taking it down to Mexico to fly. I’d love to get the input of anybody who already flies in Mexico
Hi, I recently got my Mexico visa and I am looking for flights to book to travel from Mumbai to Mexico City/Guadalajara. Is there any route in which I am not required to get any transit visa for the layover countries? Also please suggest the airlines I should go for.
A friend of mine is living in Tapachula temporarily because her Cuban husband was deported there but now has his CURP. From what she tells me, it sounds like they are getting ripped off everywhere they go. For example, their child injured himself and was prescribed hydrocodone and antibiotics (keflex), and they were told it would be 126 USD. I told her that was crazy, and that those same generic meds would be less than $30 together in the US without insurance. But she doesn't know how to argue that she's being overcharged. Does anyone have any advice in navigating and negotiating medical costs?
Hello!
So originally I was supposed to spend a month in Mexico as I have family here and I come here most summers. I ended up spending a day in Mexico City and then going to Guatemala since I wanted to hike the volcano, the plan was always to come back and stay the month tho. I got stamp with the 180 days. I am traveling with my sister but she decided she only wanted to spend a week in Mexico after coming back from guate, so we booked a new return flight. The previous one still exists but it was non refundable . I am now thinking of staying the month again but I got restamped for 7 days. If i explain that my plan was always to stay for a month and that i even had the flight booked months ago will I still get fined? I really don’t wanna leave in a week and I can afford being here, my sister just can’t. Id like to mention I’m a U.S. Citizen so I have an American passport. If anyone that has overstayed their stamp date can you pls tell me what happened and if you were fined?
Hi everyone. I recently got my RP card and will be visiting CDMX tomorrow. I would like to get my RFC and driver's license in CDMX. The driver's license is particular appealing in CDMX since it doesn't have an expiration date. Since I don't speak Spanish (starting learning not too long ago), I can some a local's help in navigating appointment and more importantly provide proof of address using their utility bill.
If you are a facilitator located in CDMX who helps foreigners with their residency issues, I'd love to talk to you. Or even if you are not a facilitator, if you are a fellow expat who has been through the RFC/DL process and can help, feel free to leave a message as well. Thank you!
Is something like this doable? I have always wanted to do a Mexico road trip and I figured that if I get the TEFL job I might as well. Also is the thing about people being sketched out by suburbans legit? One of the cars that I could end up driving down there is a 2015 white chevy suburban and the other one is a 2016 Honda Civic. Also how common is the road trip for people who are moving to Mexico to work?
Okay so I am going to try to give as much info as possible as short as possible to make it clear.
So I am currently a nursing student in college and I will graduate December 2028. I just did a study abroad to Puebla and Mexico City and I absolutely loved it. I currently work as a pharmacy tech and am about to get my CNA license. I also have lots of experience in customer service. I am wondering would it be possible to live in mexico for 1-3months during the summer. Preferably I would love to work from home earned USD and living in mexico. Or I am open to working a mexican job and really experiencing living in Mexico if it’s possible. I also am open to just working a ton here in the USA and saving enough to go stay in mexico for awhile. (Kind of wondering what is the best/most possible in your experience).
Lastly my Spanish is good but not perfect whatsoever. My mom speaks Spanglish at home and can get around pretty fine but I definitely need practice speaking which is kind of why I want to live down there. Any advice helps!!
TLDR: Basically Im a college student who wants to be able to live in Mexico City during the summer while working and earning money. What is the best advice?
Lived all my life in Arizona now looking to move to Mexico and I need help I don’t know what kind of work to get or how to get it or where to live my family lives down south but I don’t want to live down south I would love a place similar to Phoenix if possible where we don’t get much of Mother Nature the worst possible situation I’ve been put in was probably a little flooding on the I10 and a small microburst but that’s it who can help me now important stuff I was born in Mexico raised in Phx ima 36 year I need to go somewhere I can make a living as a single mother of 4 no help whatsoever so I got to go with what I got I worked in small used car sales business from sales to closing to underwriting I know somewhat I’m a fast learner idk what else I got going for me I’m just at my wit’s end here
Family of 3 living in Phoenix. We got Temporary Residency 3.5 years ago in CDMX with a facilitator, and then renewed it in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) 2.5 years ago with a different facilitator. Planning to convert to Permanent residency in February. I contacted a couple of facilitators in Puerto Peñasco and they said its a different process now and involves two trips to Mexico about 10 days apart, as they have to send the cards to Hermosillo. Any idea if I can get it done all in one trip to INM in Hermosillo or in Mexicali, or in Tijuana? We prefer to drive, not fly.
I seen this man's step by step process for renewing a temporary visa in Mexico City, under financial solvency he didn't state he used a facilitator. Did anyone else use a facilitator? I'm being quoted up to $670 to renew and change of address. My original address is in Cancun and I can keep it there but that facilitator wanted the same $600+ to do my renewal..I'm like what are ya'll doing that would require this level of money? Some of the paperwork can be done online.
Those of you who have Mexican bank accounts for day-to-day use -- which bank did you choose, and why? Any significant difficulties (beyond the expected layer of bureaucracy) setting up the account, connecting to Wise or accessing your funds? Good or bad online platform?
I anticipate about a year of potentially needing to withdraw my rent from an ATM, followed by a small house or condo purchase and possibly some renovations, in addition to normal groceries, utilities, paying housekeeper, etc, likely in PV or nearby. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks!
I’m hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.
My mom has been trying to sell a home in Mexico City for about two years, but finding someone she truly trusts has been the biggest challenge. She’s interviewed multiple real estate agents and unfortunately has had a couple of bad experiences, so she’s become understandably cautious.
At this point, we’re less concerned with finding an agent and more concerned with finding the right agent—someone who is knowledgeable, honest, responsive, and genuinely has their clients’ best interests at heart.
If you’ve personally bought or sold a home in Mexico City, I’d really appreciate any recommendations for:
A real estate agent you’d confidently recommend to your own family.
A great attorney or notario, if they were especially helpful during your transaction.
Any advice for finding trustworthy professionals or avoiding common pitfalls.
This has been a stressful process for my mom, and I’d love to help her finally move forward. Thanks so much for any recommendations or experiences you’re willing to share.
I work in corporate audio and video production which requires me to be in person for many hours a week. The entire events industry is like this. Its a lot of selling my time in person with no pivots to a fully work from home jobs in the field. Even planner positions would have on site events ever now and then. I feel like I either have to pivot into a new field or go into a risky freelancing business in order to continue getting paid in USD. Does anybody relate or have any ideas? Do I just go into planning and fly to the US 3-5 times a year??!
Hi everyone,
My wife and I will soon be attending the Mexican Embassy in London for a Family Reunification visa, and I was hoping to hear from anyone who has recently gone through the process there.
A bit of background:
I’m a U.S. citizen and now hold a Mexican Temporary Residence Card.
My wife and I will be attending the London Embassy so she can apply for Temporary Residence through Family Reunification.
I’ve reviewed the Embassy’s requirements, but I have a couple of questions based on other people’s experiences.
Marriage certificate
Our marriage certificate is an international multilingual certificate (including English).
Did yours need to be translated into Spanish?
Was an electronic apostille (e-Apostille) accepted, or did the Embassy require a physical apostille?
Financial documents
My financial documents were originally submitted to a Mexican Consulate as part of my own Temporary Residence application, and the Consulate retained the originals. I’ll therefore be bringing notarized copies of the same supporting documents to London.
Did anyone have to apostille foreign bank statements or other financial documents?
My understanding is that apostilles are generally only issued for public or government documents (such as birth, marriage, or police certificates), rather than private documents like bank statements. If that’s correct, how did you prepare your financial documents for the London Embassy? Were notarized copies sufficient, or did they require anything else?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has completed the Family Reunification process through the London Embassy, especially if you’ve done it recently.
Thanks in advance!
So, I'm from the UK and have always been in touch with my heritage. both of my paternal great great grandparents were born in Mexico and lived there until they were adults. They then moved to the US, had a son, then they had a son in the US. Before moving to the UK in the 1960s.
Long story short, I can quite easily prove my link to my Mexican great great grandparents. I know their names, place of birth and have the family tree through ancestry. I have verified it many times with cousins and grandparents too. But am unsure as to whether I can ( in theory) apply for citizenship.
AFAIK the Mexican consulate is pretty vague about this but they make it seem as though you can apply for Mexican citizenship if you have ancestors born there.
I'm not expecting a comprehensive answer, this is reddit after all, but for somebody who has been through the citizenship by descent process. Is there any chance at all that I would be eligible for Mexican citizenship??
Hello! My fiancé and I are tourists and, for personal reasons, we want to get married in Mexico.
I understand we will need apostilled documents. I am Canadian; I will bring my birth certificate, a sworn statement of marital status (single), and proof of marriage search.
He is Brazilian and will bring his birth certificate (with the divorce annotation) and the divorce decree. He may also obtain a certificate of marital status.
Where in Mexico is this likely to be sufficient—along with the translated documents (done in Mexico) and our medical exams (done in Mexico)?
I just want to avoid getting stranded due to a lack of necessary documentation. I will also try to contact the Civil Registry tomorrow. Thank you! 🩷