I do it all the time. Don't encourage everyone V. They might ruin it for us. Green booklets?? Didn't they do away with those 4-5 years ago?
I do it all the time. Don't encourage everyone V. They might ruin it for us. Green booklets?? Didn't they do away with those 4-5 years ago? Opatije - in this case I think it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I think you're correct... I'm however, going to try my luck with new (Residencia) plastic cards and right up front say (in Spanish) how sorry I'm...what is the worst they can do? ask you to join the tourist line? (I think the best way to approach this is to start a conversation - just need to prepare a list of topics )
Let's not forget guys we are trying to take advantage here, we are not Mexican citizens and that's who the line is for. In our case (two young kids and wife all with Mexican passports, me without) it makes sense for us all to go through together as a family and we've never had any rebuff. When we arrive in England though we all go through the non British/non EU line since my wife doesn't have a British passport although the rest of us do. I'm sure if my wife tried to go through the British line by virtue of her Permanent UK Visa she'd get sent to the other queue too.
That's a way to interpret what's intended, but not the only possible one. When we go to that line with evidence that we live here, and there are no Mexicans in the line, it can easily become discretionary whether to deal with us. Under these circumstances, and having no other Mexican connection than my FM2, not only was I dealt with from the line for Mexicans, my wife was too, by another agent, in a most friendly manner. I thought I was back in the U.S. when they welcomed me home, just as they do at the border of the U.S., when dealing with U.S. citizens. Tracey may have just hit an unfortunately cranky agent; and, as T.J. pointed out, her experience had to be a number of years ago, given that she had a FM2/3 booklet, at the time. Those of us who have migratory documents are few in number, as the recent stats published on this forum show, and it doesn't burden them much to give us a little consideration in return for our commitment to the country. T.J. enters and leaves the country far more than my wife and I, and he reports that he uses that line. T.J., care to add anything about the response on the other side, when you show up in the line for Mexicans, with your FM2?
Oh, I don't know. Doesn't the sign say 'Mexicanos' not 'Residentes'? It's a bit like parking in the disabled spots at a supermarket. One might get away with it, but shouldn't consider it a right.
Something that will comfort you, Steve, if they bump you from that line for being a non Mexican, sometime in the future. _________________ It appears you're arguing that it's not OK for resident non Mexicans to use that line, but it is OK for resident non Mexicans who have a Mexican wife and child, and is traveling with them, to use that line. It appears to me on the otherhand, that if the Mexican authorities allow resident non Mexicans to use the Mexican line it's for our convenience, and theirs, and may be considered a courtesy. _________________ It may have felt good to breeze through passport control while tourists were languishing in long lines, but it doesn't diminish the convenience to you that other residents of Mexico are given that courtesy, too.
No V, Steve is saying it is not right for any of us including him to use the line. It's very clear, the line is for Mexican citizens, as residents we are bending the rules a bit by using it. Hey, this is Mexico, land of rule bending - so why not give it a try When I went to Gatwick last I didn't even have an immigration agent, I just put my biometric passport in a machine and a computer read my features and let me through - slightly unnerving, but the future I guess! (less jobs for people, more unpaid work for computers)
This strikes me as a misconception. It is not our line. How it is used is determined and regulated by passport control, not us. The decision to allow residents of Mexico to use the Mexican line is theirs.
Back in the days of the FM3 booklet, I had experiences where showing it allowed entrance into THE line and other times when it didn't. It seemed to depend on the mood of the 'guard' standing there directing the lines. Now because of illness, I can't walk the walk in the airport(s) so am using wheelchair service and that seems to have an express ticket through the Mexican line.
