Ok moving to cancun in a few weeks, do I need to apply for a work visa, and if so where?, I plan on starting some business ventures but will also do some side work, til things get going. any info would be great? thank you
If you want a job (legally anyway) you'll need to get a job offer first, then apply for a visa and pick it up in your own country. I'm not the most up to date on this but that is my current understanding. If you want to start your own business or have funds to live on without working then I think the process is different and not so awkward.
je007.. I would recommend that you pop by the Mexican Embassy that is closest to you.. and I would do it asap. If you show up in Cancun without a return ticket (which shows that you are in Cancun for a vacation) or a work visa, then you will likely be turned away.
for a vacation...without a return ticket home its possible it will be inferred that you arent here for a vacation and are trying to get around the rules regarding the requirements to work. do as the previous poster suggested and get to the mexican embassy closest to you FAST. you dont want to risk getting here only to be turned away at the airport do you?
je.. the length of time is not the issue. It is the purpose of why you are entering Mexico that will be a concern. Here is an exempt from DFAID, which is our Foreign Affiars Canada. This applies to Canadian citizens entering Mexico, but I would venture a guess that the same rules applies to US folks. Visas Persons seeking to enter Mexico for purposes other than tourism must have a proper visa. Foreigners involved in unauthorized activities will be expelled. Special and diplomatic passport holders require a visa to visit Mexico. Consult the Embassy of Mexico in Canada for more information.
Here is the coordinates for the embassy nearest you. Good luck Mexican Consulate / Embassy - Utah Salt Lake City 1380 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 Tel: (801) 521-8502 * Fax: (801) 521-0534
Just to add, perhaps, a little more detail to what has already been said- to work here you must have permission to work. Getting that permission starts with having a written job offer from an employer empowered by the immigration authorities to hire foreigners. The employer initiates a process in which they request that a visa be issued for you, abroad, which will allow you to enter the country to work. Once you have entered Mexico on that visa you have just 30 days in which to apply for a migratory document giving you permission to work and establishing your residency in Mexico. Frankly this is hard to accomplish without making two trips to Mexico, the first to find work, the second to return- visa in hand- to perform that work. There is nothing which limits your looking for work while you are lawfully in the country; for example, if you had come with no visa at all, and entered visa free, as most Canadians or U.S.A. persons do. Self employment is possible, but would also require two trips, as I see it, the only difference is it would be you asking that a visa be issued abroad, giving you permission to reenter Mexico to engage in that self-employment.
it does not go by the rules of your passport as the passport comes from your home country. the rules are made by the host country in this case Mexico and without a visa the max stay is 6 months not 8
180 days actually but the INM agent has the discretion to make it less. The law is "up to 180 days" but they typically enter 180 days on your form. In the old days you had to ask for the 180 days, or 90 or whatever was sufficient for your needs.
