(The following appeared in the thread, "Why do you live in Cancun?") As promised, here is the step-by-step for applying for INAPAM's, official Mexican Government discount card, for all you holders of an FM2/3 who are at least 60 years of age. This is one of the quickest and easiest of the many bureaucratic processes you will go through during your stay in Mexico, if you want to fully take advantage of all that is offered, here. To apply for your INAPAM card, you'll need the following, originals: your passport (you may or may not be asked for this, to prove you're at least 60 years of age); your FM2/3; your C.U.R.P. (Clave Unica de Registro de Poblacion, a unique personal I.D. number assigned you by the Mexican Government), and your proof of residence address. Your proof of residence address must be of the same quality as that used to secure your FM2/3; that is, proof of your actual residence in Mexico, which can be a paid utility bill, bearing your actual address, for a utility service which is billed in your name; or, if the utility account is in the name of another, then, in addition- a letter from that person, 1) signed under a declaration they are telling the truth; which 2) shows the address of the property; and, 3) names you as living there, with 4) the date on which you began living there- together with a copy of their personal identification. You take these, and go to the offices of D.I.F., Desarollo Integral de la Familia, just below Av. Miguel Hidalgo, Ruta 5, in SM94. When you enter, on the west side of the territory, you will immediately encounter an information/guard booth, where you will be directed to the back of the property, a distance of about 70 meters. If you look around, after your walk, you will find signs for INAPAM. There are two small offices in which enrollments are taking place, one to the right, easily found; and, one to the left, more or less straight across the garden, also marked with an INAPAM sign, but in a short hallway which opens into the garden. Again taking advantage of what I think I've discovered about these big agencies- that they are not so busy later in the day, after the rush of business caused earlier in the day by those wishing to beat the rush- I went at 2:30 PM. There was no one in line, but a case was being processed in each of the two offices, so I took a seat in the open air, and waited for my turn: the process involved takes about 25 minutes, so I didn't have to wait very long. You will need to take a Spanish speaker with you, unless you have confidence in your Spanish, as the whole interview will occur in Spanish. You will be asked to produce all the originals I mentioned earlier, which will be scanned, eliminating the need for you to bring any copies. You will also be fingerprinted, all ten prints, and photographed. At the interview you will be asked many questions relating to the type of dwelling you live in, its furnishings, and equipment. You will be asked, with particularity, about who else lives with you, and who is to be contacted in the event of an emergency. At the end of the process, your originals will be returned to you, and you will be presented with a wonderfully official looking, Government of Mexico I.D. card with, not just one, but two photos of you, your C.U.R.P. number, your signature, your thumbprint, your full name, date of birth, address and phone number; and, the name and phone number of the person to contact in case you're found wandering the streets, unsure of who that person on the card is! After all this, you're now ready to get out there and spend, using your new INAPAM card, which has no expiration date, meaning you only have to go through this process, once! (I asked if it was possible to get a new card, if you change address and phone number, for example: I was told it was possible, but not considered necessary, so far as INAPAM was concerned, establishing your eligibility for the card being a one time affair.) __________________ For those who may, as yet, not have a C.U.R.P. number, here's how you get one. GETTING A C.U.R.P. NUMBER To get your C.U.R.P., go to the Registro Civil, in Cancun, on a street which flows into the Parque de las Palapas, at the northwest corner of the park. The office which dispenses the CURPs is at the back of the building, on an alley, and is easy to find, once you've found the office of the Registro Civil. There is a window with a small sign above it, reading, "CURP." To get your number you present your FM2/3, and wait....... for about thirty seconds! The numbers are generated by a computer and, if there is no one ahead of you, it just takes as long as is required to type in your name on the computer. The office hours are 8 AM to 8:30 PM! As with many things, there can be a catch: you must have an INM case number labelled, "Expediente Num," followed by a number starting with, "CUN"! Ask, at INM information desk for assistance with this number, if you can't locate it in any of the documents they gave you. (Don't forget that they gave you a one page sheet showing all the action they took on your immigration application at the time you picked up your FM2/3. You were made to sign a copy of this, so I know you got it!) Good luck! ________________ It wouldn't be fair to the people I met, and who assisted me in the process, not to comment on- the taxi driver who took me to the offices of D.I.F., amused that a foreigner would ask to go there; the guard at D.I.F., who so politely gave me directions to the proper office without asking any questions; and, the young man, Gerardo, who interviewed me, prepared all the formalities and, ultimately, presented me with the INAPAM card- and say what a thoroughly pleasant task they all made of it for me.
I recall back when you wrote this. I love a senior's discount as much as the next guy, and at the time of reading this, I had my eye on getting an INAPAM card when I became 60. Well, the time is now - except the bloody world is gonna end before I get down there to get a chance....lol
Tomorrow, I am going to get my INAPAM card - hopefully. I'm crossing my fingers that this new "Mexicanadian" can handle the "interview" in Spanish.
Davisod, Just have all of your docs in order, the proper copies and all you need to say in esp is SI and GRACIAS. Common errors: Not having the physical CURP card, and Not having copies of two sided documents, like the CURP and the FM Whatever, for example, with the front and back on the same side of the page when copied. If you get booted out and need a copy, walk out to the street, turn left, and at the first corner, make right and there is a copy joint in that first block. I had to run out and make copies for my buds W & B K a few months ago. But they were still out the door in about 30 minutes max.
Having CURP number on the FM Whatever ain't good enough. Don't ask me why but it's not. No biggie really as the card is free and only takes a few minutes to get, just not at INM or the INAPAM "store".
In case you already have a CURP number, but don't for any reason have it printed in official form, here is the website you'll need.... http://consultas.curp.gob.mx/CurpSP/
Thanks TJ. And V. you're now in the special book of mine where TJ has long resided..........lol. I'll pass on your thanks, V, to the guard and Gerardo.
The office now closes at pm, which was when I got there, and they require 2 "infantile" pics that I don't have. But I said I could let them use my camera and take 2 pics of me doing something infantile, like mooning them, but they said come back at 9am, take a number, and wait till it's called. The woman in charge who replaced Gerardo obviously worked at INM last year. Como se dise in espagnol, female dog?
OK, sounds like things are moving ahead for you. T.J. was the last poster I know of who applied for these, and that may have been more than two years ago, so things will have changed. It was more automated when I applied than when T.J. applied (they used some fairly high tech equipment to produce the photos, fingerprints and signatures, with a hard card incorporating all of these). By the time T.J. applied, they had dropped the hard card and the equipment which produced it: that may have included the making of the photos, as I was not required to produce any- they took them there, much like they do when you get a driver's license. Let us know how it goes, and what it's like now to go through this process. _____________________
