What happens or what can happen if your tourist visa expires while you are still in Mexico? When will you have the most trouble, when trying to leave the country or when you try to re-enter?
I remember when I came to Cancun in '95, I came in on a 1 month visa, not realizing that I had to ask the Immigration people for 2 months. After 34 days, someone had mentioned it and, being the naive traveler I WAS, I looked at my visa and realized I was over by 4 days. Off we went to Immigration, I was charged a multa and given a new visa for another month. i think if you try to leave the country on an already expired visa, you might have a problem at the airport. My suggestion is to address it with Immigration asap so your fines don't accumulate and you are not running through the airport trying to straighten things out before your flight leaves....that's too stressful for me!
I found out the fine is around $59 pesos per day since the tourist card expired. Another option os to go to Belize. Has anyone made this trip before? Can I just cross the border, turn around and re-enter Mexico right away? Do I need to pay to leave Mexico or when I return How long is the trip? Any recomendations for a clean hotel to stay at on the way back? Thank you.
I believe that even with going to Belize you will have to pay the multa for the expired visa, they'll get you as you exit. I did the trip years ago, I believe that technically you are supposed to be out of Mexico for 48 hours, but I don't know how much they enforce it. The first time I went, I fell in love with Caye Caulker and stayed for a week, the second time we had troubles getting into Belize so just turned around and walked back in. For a "fee" INM gave me a new tourist visa though they said they knew I hadn't been gone long enough.
I suggest that you call mauricio mendoza, a lawyer with a specialty in immigration, and experience working as a clerk at the cancun immigration office. Tell him donovan from canada`sent you. yOU CAN Call him at 9981591599.
Here's how it played out. After calling around to a bunch of officials and going to the immigration office on Nader and at the airport we come to find out that if you ask 20 people the same question, you get 20 different answers. Nobody really knew what the penalty would be, everyone quoted a different fine (from $5,000 pesos to $500). Anyway, I did not go to Belize and am glad about that as it is not that easy to just go over the border, turn around and come back. You need to spend some time there. Anyway, I had to fly back to the "States" and would you believe it, I just handed my passport and expired tourist visa to the person checking me in and she did not even look at the expiration date. So all that stress for nothing. Maybe I just got lucky but, I was observing the people at the ticket counter and noticed that they did not look at any of the forms that people handed to them. They are mostly concerned with the passport. If you lose the tourist card, that's another story. Then they tell you to go to the immigration office to get another one. Upon my return to Cancun, I did not have any problem getting a new tourist card.
fmm as for losing your fmm-from I have observed, its really no big deal these days-you go over to the immigration office-fill out a new form-the agent stamps it and you are on your way. I know in the past when they were called fmt's, many times you would get a long lecture, a threat of a fine and an annoyed agent, if you lost your fmm.
Don't mean to contradict Grandma but there is a fine of either $525 or $550 MXN if you don't have your FMM when you try to leave the country. At Terminal 2 you go to Banamex which is next to INM. An INM guy told me not long ago that if you are leaving from Terminal 3, there is no bank there so you have to go to T2, get a stamped receipt, then return to T3. Having an FM3 and traveling often, I am in and out of INM each time I leave Mexico. There was a couple a few months ago and they were freaking out. They had no pesos, only $100 US and their flight was dangerously close to the end of check in time. I let them go ahead of me in the line, helped them communicate with the INM guy, who was very helpful, even telling the hubby to do the paperwork and the wife to go stand in line at the bank. Just my two pesos worth of input. As to poco, it is often cheaper and quicker to get a Spirit cheapo flight to FLL and return the next day. They no longer have a PM flight that allows you to come and got the same day. But at least you don't have to drive to Belize.
Thanks for the input. I havent went out of terminal 2 since they opened 3. I also travel every other month out of cancun and seems like every trip there are four to five who have lost their fmm. I have not seen one being told to go to the bank to get a new one. The agent has them fill a new one out and they are on their way. However I did notice the sign in the immigration office stating no money accepted there and always wondered how a fine or new one could be purchased. I had no idea that there was a bank in terminal 2. I have an fm3 so this doesnt concern me but something i will pass along.
