Mexico Requirements

In this section we describe Mexico’s requirements and procedures to obtain:

1. Tourist Permit (from Mexican Immigration)

2. Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (from Mexican Customs).

If you plan to travel beyond the border area, usually south of Kilometer 25 (about 16 miles), a Tourist Permit is required for each adult person in your party (issued by Mexican Immigration) and a Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit (issued by Mexican Customs) is required for vehicles.

Tourist Permits and Temporary Importation Permits are NOT required for travel to the following geographic areas in Mexico:

• If you stay close to the Mexican border, usually within 25 kilometers (15 miles)

• The State of Baja California (North). If you drive into Baja California South you will need to obtain a Tourist Permit upon entering that State, near Guerrero Negro but a vehicle permit is not required

• When crossing at Lukeville, Arizona for travel to Rocky Point/Puerto Peñasco, Sonora

• When crossing at San Luis, Arizona for travel to El Gulfo de Santa Clara, Sonora

• South from Nogales throughout the state of Sonora west of the main north – south Highway 15, as long as your stay north of Empalme. Empalme is about 275 miles south of the border at Nogales. Empalme is just south of Guaymas

In some locations the permits are issued at the Immigration Office right at the border on the Mexican side while in other locations they are offered some distance from the border (i.e., Kilometer 25-50). At or beyond that point you may encounter check points where Tourist and Vehicle Permits may be inspected.

Each adult person in your party must obtain a Tourist Permit. To obtain the permit you will be required to present proof of citizenship, which may be in the form of a passport, birth certificate, or voter registration. Beginning June 2009 a passport is required for re-entry to the U.S., so that is really the best document to use to obtain your Mexican Tourist Permit.

The application form you will complete is very short and takes only a couple of minutes to complete.

Tourist Permits are issued for periods of 1 day up to six months, depending upon your length of stay. If you plan to stay in Mexico as a tourist more than six months, you are required to depart the country every six months and obtain a new Tourist Permit upon re-entry.

To avoid problems in the event your departure from Mexico is delayed beyond your planned departure, we recommend requesting a Tourist Permit for a slightly longer period than your planned stay. If you regularly cross into Mexico a six month Permit is more convenient and economical.

Once the Tourist Permit is issued, you must go to a bank and pay the applicable fee. Do not pay anything where the permit is issued. The current cost of the Tourist Permit is approximately US$20 – $22 US depending on the exchange rate and regardless of the length of your stay.

The bank teller will stamp the permit “Pagado” or “paid" in two places: your part, the top of the form, and the bottom part that the bank returns to the government Immigration Department. The teller will tear off the bottom part of the permit and give you the top portion.

Double check to make sure your copy is stamped “Paid” before you leave the teller window.

If you live in Mexico or frequently travel to Mexico for business purposes a longer term immigration permit, called the FM3) is available beginning with a period of one year. The FM3 is more convenient but also more expensive (a little more than US $200).

Once you obtain your Tourist Permit, you will obtain your Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit. This is usually done on the same premises where the Tourist Permit is issued or at a nearby location.

A permit is required for each vehicle, including trailers and other vehicles you have in tow. Permits are issued for from one to 180 days.

Note 1: Only one permit per person is allowed for self propelled vehicles, while in Mexico. However, in 2006 a “tourist friendly” exception to this rule allows a permit for a second power unit being pulled behind a motor home to be issued to the same name as the permit for the motor home.

For convenience we recommend the validity dates for the Vehicle Permit correspond with the dates of your Tourist Permit.

You can get a jump-start on the paper work by completing the pre-registration application online. Or, you can (usually) get your Mexican car permit online and delivered to your home at a cost of about $49.50 for cars, SUVs, and pickups. RVs cost more but the permit is for a much longer period. You can apply online up to 180 days in advance but be sure to plan at least three weeks in advance for this convenient service, especially in the run-up to Christmas travel.

We have found that the links to this service do not consistently work. The website advises using Internet Explorer for your web browser, so if you have difficulty using another browser, try switching to Internet Explorer. We have successfully used Internet Explorer on this site when other browsers did not work.

The English language version of the website address to pre-register or obtain your vehicle online is:

http://www.banjercito.com.mx/site/imagenes/iitv/instruccionesIITV_ing.htm

To pre-register you must complete the online application at least 24 hours prior to appearing in person to obtain the permit. It will be stored in the data base for 30 days after you complete the application online. The online application is a highly recommended and convenient time-saver.

To get started, click on .

NOTE: You will be asked to select the country you are from . . . but you will not find the United States. That is because they use the Spanish language name for the U.S. Scroll down and ESTADOS UNIDOS if you are from the United States.

The English translation of the website has been significantly improved but at times may not be easy to follow.

Also, if you put a “period”, i.e. “.” In your street address, for example after the “N” for north (N.) it will not allow you to proceed but it does not tell you why.

When you input your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) the program will automatically default the Year and Make of the vehicle.

When you complete the online application, you will be shown a confirmation number, referred to by the website in English as a “leaf” number. Print this page and write down the “leaf” number because you will give it to the Customs representative to allow them to retrieve your information from their data base.

When you go to obtain your Vehicle Importation Permit you will need a photo copy and the original of the following documents:

• Tourist Permit or other Mexican immigration document
• Passport or Birth Certificate or Sworn Statement of Nationality or Naturalization Certificate or Voter Registration
• Current Vehicle Registration or Vehicle Title and, if leased or rented, the Lease/Rental Contract see Notes (3.) (4.) below.
• Letter of Authorization: If your vehicle is financed, leased, or rented, frequently, a Letter of Authorization is required from the lien holder or leasing company which gives you permission to take the vehicle into Mexico. If you get to the border without this letter and find it is necessary to obtain the permit, it will not only be a major inconvenience, it could prevent your entry into the country.
• Drivers license of the person how holds the Tourist Permit and whose name is shown on the Vehicle Registration, Title, or Lease/Rental Contract

NOTE 3: You have a choice of presenting either the Vehicle Registration or Title to obtain your Vehicle Permit. Obviously, it is risky to travel with the Title and very problematic if you lose it. If you do travel with your vehicle Title, do not, under any circumstances, leave it in your vehicle. The Vehicle Registration is a much smarter and safer choice.

NOTE 4: If the vehicle is leased or rented, or if the vehicle belongs to someone else, you will be asked to present a notarized statement from the leasing or rental company or the legal owner that authorizes you to take the vehicle to Mexico.

The cost of the Vehicle Importation Permit is about US$29.70 (April 2010) and will vary with the currency exchange rate.

The process also includes the purchase of a bond that guarantees you will remove your vehicle from Mexico on or before the expiration of the Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit. The bond can be paid by MasterCard, Visa, and American Express credit or debit card. If you do not have a credit or debit card, you may leave a cash deposit as follows:

Optional cash deposit:

Automobile model years 1999 and newer: US$400

Automobile model years 1994-1998: US$300

Automobile model years 1993 and older: US$200

NOTE 5: It is much easier to process the Vehicle Permit with a credit or debit card than it is with a cash deposit.

When the paperwork is complete, a Customs official may accompany you to your vehicle where he will place the import decal on the inside on the windshield, usually top, center, above the review mirror.

In some locations they will simply give you the decal paper work and you put the decal on your windshield.

In addition to the decal you will also be given a paper copy of the import permit. Keep the paper copy in a safe place because you may be asked to show it a checkpoint down the road.

VERY IMPORTANT:

When you complete your trip in Mexico or the Vehicle Permit has expired you must return the permit to Mexican Customs to be cancelled.

To cancel the Permit and the bond or to receive the cash deposit back, you must stop at the Customs office before you leave Mexico. On most highways leading to the U.S. there is a location roughly 15 miles south of the border where you can turn in your permit. These locations are well marked with signs in both English and Spanish. They are usually convenient drive-up kiosks. The official will remove the decal from the inside of your windshield, cancel the permit in their systems, and give you a receipt confirming the permit has been cancelled.

If the location is not a drive-up, go inside and tell the official you wish to cancel your vehicle permit. The official may accompany you to your vehicle and remove the permit from the windshield, or they may tell you to remove and bring the decal back to the Customs office window.

When the permit has been cancelled, you will be given a document confirming cancellation.

NOTE 6: If you do not cancel your Vehicle Permit and paid cash for the bond you will forfeit the cash deposit. Equally or much more important, you will not be allowed to obtain a permit for any vehicle in the future.

NOTE 7: EXCEPT FOR RVs, tourists are not allowed to bring vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of 7,500 pounds or greater. At some border crossing they do not pay attention to vehicle size, but others, most notably across from El Paso, Texas area, this rule is pretty strictly enforced. Again, RVs 7,500 and greater are not a problem.

NOTE 8: Beginning in 2008 and continuing to the present (April 2010) we have heard of tourists having a great deal of difficulty with vehicle permits at the crossings in and around Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, for which reason, if you plan to cross at these crosses it is highly recommended that obtain your vehicle permit online.

Mexico’s currency is the Peso. You can make your visit to Mexico infinitely more convenient by exchanging your dollars for pesos, thus enabling you to make all of your Mexican purchases in pesos.

Nothing is more confusing than buying gasoline with dollars and wonder how the purchase compares to the cost at home. Not only are you trying to convert dollars to pesos, you are also converting liters to gallons!

When you pay for your Mexican purchases in dollars, you are basically leaving it up to the other party to establish the exchange rate . . . and you will almost inevitably end up paying more for your Mexican purchase.

Where to get pesos:

For a couple of reasons we recommend using ATM machines inside Mexican banks. The exchange rate is generally much better and it is also safer inside a bank. We avoid ATM machines in super markets, convenience stores, and hotel lobbies due to the incidence of credit card cloning.

On both sides of the border at most border crossings you will see money exchanges/Casas de Cambio businesses very near the border. They advertise their price to Buy and Sell pesos and dollars. Remember, for your entry into Mexico you are buying pesos and selling dollars. On the U.S. side these exchanges are often located at a window inside a convenience store or gas station and are found to be secure.

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