Enrolling in IMSS For those of you who have thought you'd like to enroll in IMSS sometime in the very near future, it would be possible to plan a time in which we could go to the administrative offices of IMSS, together, for that purpose, if you'd like to have someone to go with you, rather than go alone. Two posters, so far, have expressed interest to me, personally, in getting enrolled, now. My present understanding, with regard to foreigners who enroll for the first time in the program, and who are self-sponsored, is that pre-existing conditions will not be covered, ever; and coverage in the first year is limited to primary care, only. After the first year, should you have an accident, or a health problem unrelated to a pre-existing condition, it would be covered 100%. This can be particularly useful for someone who has no insurance; those for whom insurance options have become unavailable or too expensive; and, for those who fear that insurance options- while available and affordable now- will not be so, in the future. I consider one of the biggest incentives for enrollment at the first opportunity is the possibility of developing significant health problems in the future, adding yet another "pre-existing condition" to the list of things that will be excluded, should you decide to enroll later. It really makes sense, if you're going to enroll at all, to enroll while still in relatively good health, and obtain, thereby, the maximum possible benefit available through the system. One thing to bear in mind, for so long as you can afford it, and choose to do so, you can have elective medical treatment anywhere, at your own expense, leaving your IMSS coverage as a backup, should you decide to use it. _______________ If you'd simply like to get together to talk this over, further, with others who are interested, I don't see why we couldn't plan a day and time for that, too. Post here, or PM me, if you'd like to express your interest.
REQUISITES GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ENROLLMENT IN IMSS To apply for a contractual, self-sponsored relationship with IMSS, it appears you will need the following: 1) your FM2/3, and a copy of it; 2) your birth certificate, with an official translation, and a copy of both; 3) your marriage certificate, if married, an official translation, and copy of both; 4) birth certificates of each of your other family members to be enrolled, with official translations, and copies of all; 3) proof of your residence address in Mexico (same quality of evidence as required for an FM2/3), and a copy; 4) two photos of the type used for an FM2/3; 5) a letter, in Spanish, addressed to the Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social, requesting that you be enrolled, at your own expense, and signed by you, and a copy for your records. Although not specifically required, I'm planning to bring my passport, and a copy of the "photo" page with my personal details, as well. [Edit: please see my post, below, for additional details regarding requisites, as this list may not be complete, as you will see, and is subject to revision, as more is learned about the process. For example, as of 19 November, I don't know if the birth certificates/marriage certificates must be apostilled, if not from Mexico.]
My roommate was only required to present originals and copies of FM3, phots, utility bill (not in her name), and the letter. She did not have to present her birth certificate. I am assuming she did not because she is here on a retirement visa.
Hi, Mellow, that's interesting. I wonder if you could tell us at which office your roommate applied for IMSS?
MY FIRST ATTEMPT TO ENROLL Thanks, Mellow. Please feel free to add more detail, if you'd like to. It sounds to me like you must be talking about the IMSS administrative offices that lie between Coba and Ixcaret, just west of Tulum Avenue. _______________ Yesterday, I went for the first time to try to enroll. I was hoping to learn as much as possible, as soon as possible, with the aim of saving others the agony of uncertainty that comes from attempting a highly bureaucratic process without adequate information, obtained in advance. The area in which enrollment takes place is large, modern, and very busy- especially early in the morning, when many people come hoping to "beat the rush," and end up creating one. With this in mind, I went there at 1:30 PM. A number of different types of transactions are processed there, including the one for contractual, IMSS membership, such as we're talking about. There are a total of 31 windows at which people are being served, continuously, from the moment the office opens in the morning. Shown here, is a small section of the windows and operations I'm describing. I took all of the documents I mentioned in the "Requirements" post (this thread, above) including my letter requesting enrollment. The first stop was a desk in the middle of the room where I told the person at the desk what I wanted to do, and showed him my letter. I was given a number and asked to wait. My number was 211. I quickly noticed numbers very different from mine were being displayed. After a time, I began to realize my number was in a different sequence, being a different type of transaction. Soon the number 210 was displayed on the three electronic displays in the room, and knew I was not going to have to wait long. About 15 minutes from the time I took a number, I was called. At the window, I presented all my documents, and stated my business. The gentleman behind the window reviewed them, then explained I'd need an official translation of my birth certificate; and, that I'd need to make some changes in the letter I'd written. He explained that enrollment must be of all family members on the territory of Mexico. I told him I was married, and he said I must include my wife in the enrollment, then, and state in the letter that she and I were all of our family members, and that there were no others. Since I was married, our marriage certificate would also be required (officially translated, I presume, if in a language other than Spanish). [On the issue of the requirement of a birth certificate, it is officially included in the list of requirements that was given to me, there, at the window. That being the case, we'll have to treat Mellow's partner's experience as an example of a case in which it wasn't required.] Additionally, I was told that the entire process of enrollment, including payment of the annual assessment, must be concluded on the same day you submit your request for enrollment, with supporting documents. Just below Ixcaret, on Tulum, is the HSBC Bank, main branch, which is open weekdays until 7 P.M. This means you can go quickly to pay, once you reach the point in the enrollment process where you must pay, without having to worry about bank closing hours. For those 60, and above, the annual assessment is 3,211 pesos. After making the payment, you will need to return with the receipt, and a copy of it. [One additional thing I'd observe, at this point, is that you probably can't rely on their English Language skills and, in that the subject matter is highly bureaucratic, with lots of jargon associated with it, you will need to take an interpreter with you, unless you are very confident of your Spanish.] In that my documents were not complete, for the reasons stated above, I was not able to proceed further with the application, and will have to try again, later, adding my wife to the process, among other things. There also appears to be one additional requirement, not mentioned up to this point in this thread, but stated to me during the application process I went through. Before you can enroll, you must obtain a CURP, a unique identifying number issued to you by the Registro Civil, for each person to be enrolled. I'll be reporting on how to go about getting a CURP, at a later date. (You can do a search on this website for "CURP," if you'd like to read something about it, now, because it's been commented on here, before, in different contexts.) ____________________ ADDENDUM a) Although a letter requesting enrollment is required, there doesn't seem to be a specific form for this letter; but, there are specific requirements for what the letter must contain, which I'm learning as I go along. With the exception of not having included my wife in the request, and not specifying that I have no other family members living on the territory of Mexico, my original letter was sufficient, it seems. I'll discuss the general content of it in a future post. b) One area of uncertainty about the requisites for application is whether the birth certificates, and marriage certificates, if from foreign countries, must be "apostilled." My birth certificate, and that of my wife, are apostilled, so the issue doesn't arise in our case, leaving only the necessity of obtaining a translation of the apostilles and certificates; and, because we married in Mexico, these questions don't arise in regard to our marriage certificate. c) It is my impression that the process for those who are employed, in Mexico, is somewhat different. More importantly, I'm also under the impression that the limitations of coverage mentioned earlier in this thread may not apply to those who are enrolled in IMSS through their employer, as opposed to those who are "contractual" members of IMSS, such as is being discussed in this thread. Those differences can be significant, making the coverage received through employment preferable, if available. [I've tried to keep this thread factual, mainly based on first hand experience, and investigation, but I'm going to offer a speculation, for those to whom it may make a difference. In Mexico, you can create a wholly foreign owned corporation. If you do so, and you carry yourself as an employee of your corporation, you may then be able to apply for IMSS coverage as an employee, and not on a contractual basis, thereby obtaining coverage without the limitations discussed in this thread which apply to contractual coverage. If this concept sounds like something you'd like to explore, further, I'd suggest discussing it with a Mexican attorney.]
Can you post the requirements for the letter? I spoke to my roommate about the birth certificate. I assumed (my bad) that they did noy ask for it because I kew she did not have one here. She did however present them with a family record issued by Germany (in German) but was not required to have it translated.
Mellow, I haven't had a chance to get into a discussion, with people who know, about how to put together the best letter, so I'm going to post this, now, just to respond to your question. The letter is written in Spanish, and addressed to the "Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social, Delegacion para Afiliacion y Cobranza". It identifies the parties who wish to be covered, it states that these are all the family members residing on the territory of Mexico, and that there are no others. (If it is a single person who is applying, then they need to state that they are unmarried.) It requests, "contratacion del Seguro Familiar". It is signed, and dated. That is all I can say about it, at this time. I hope to learn more, in the future, about what would constitute not just an adequate letter but a good one.
My thinking on how my wife and I will proceed, based on what we know now, is get each of us a CURP number from Registro Civil, then try again, using the documentation we currently have available, without adding translations of the birth certificates. The reasons for this are, first, to try to avoid the expense of official translations (which in our case, could run 2,000 pesos, as our documents are several pages long, each); second, the fact that the person I presented my documents to the first time seemed to relent a little when I pointed out to him that our U.S. passports showed our place of birth, in English, French and Spanish (we didn't get far enough to know if he was truly satisfied on that point, or not, but I consider it worth the trouble to try again); and, third, the experience of Mellow's partner, in which they accepted an untranslated, "non-birth-certificate" document as proof of place of birth, in her case. Usually, I try to present what I think is an impeccable package of documentation to big agencies when I have business before them, but it was so quick and easy to get in and out, there, that I'll risk adding one extra trip in an effort to save the translation expense.
Obtaining a "c.u.r.p." number I got a CURP number, today. Would that everything were as simple! CURP stands for, Clave Unica de Registro de Poblacion, and you'll need this number to enroll at IMSS. To get your CURP, 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 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 "Expediente Numero", or they cannot give you a CURP. If you don't have this number, you can accomplish this by returning to immigration, Cancun, and asking at the desk, to the right, after you enter. When I got mine, it required they make a phone call, and wait for a response from another office. It took about 45 minutes, in a busy INM office, for this to be accomplished, while I waited. [For those who are planning to work, all this effort is important for another reason: it appears you can't get your tax number, the "RFC", until you've obtained these other two numbers.]
