You do not need a permit to study at certain types of schools under the new rules (mainly little schools, like language schools). You did under the old rules. If you need to leave Mexico while your paperwork is in process then you must go to the INM office in centro before your trip and get a letter that gives you permission to leave and reenter Mexico. Without that letter you cannot leave. It's going to be ridiculous to interview 20,000 tourists a day who are just going to say "I'm here for the boobs and the beer" or whatever tourists are going to say. On the other hand it is absolutely reasonable for Mexico to want to interview people who enter. Do you think foreigners entering Canada, or the US or England or any other country in the world can get in without being asked questions? Of course not! And they shouldn't. Mexico should interview people entering the country, but in the case of tourists it needs to be a pretty streamlined interview so they can keep them moving. CancunCanuck - I would advise using Mauricio this time, your renewal date is too close to the predicted chaos period. V - Following your directions got me no results. The old document is here: http://www.inm.gob.mx/marcojuridico/circular1/CIRCULAR_Manual_Tramites_Migratorios.pdf I cannot find that the new manual is up yet.
I expect the "interview" will consist of; Agent: Vacation? Tourist: Yes! As anything else would create problems as RiverGirl mentioned.. unless they intend to triple the airport staff. Seems to me even in the US, the standard "interview" (for persons from countries that don't require special visas) are kept very short, and only those people who get the agent's attention go for a more thorough Q&A session. I do think the cards are a good upgrade from the 17th century style booklets they have now. They don't look machine readable from the pics that RG posted, so I guess manual entering of data will still clog things up, unless the final cards will have bar-codes, chips, or magnetic strips in/on them. I wonder if the old inmigrado card will get a facelift too... or will all fm2s get the same card with varying expire dates? In any event as with all changes in Mexico time will tell which of them stick and which are simply ignored.
I think you are right. Agents can already spot someone from 10 feet away who is holding a fake passport, so they certainly can tell if someone is a tourist before the person opens their mouth. The interviews will just be a quick formality. I'm certain that the new FM2/3 cards will be machine readable somehow. INM has the scanners already, they just need the cards to scan. They are not stupid enough to keep relying on people hand-entering data. INM is dumb sometimes, but not that dumb. I was able to ask a regional boss in INM about the rumor that FMM holders will only be allowed to stay in Mexico for 180 days out of a year. Here was the official response to that question:
Mole, I seem to always travel abroad while my FM3 is in the hands of INM and have to get that letter. I pay $500 for the fee to INM and my lawyer. Not sure who makes what nor do I care. All I know is that it is near zero hassle for me.
I'm pretty sure the letter is free, I think that money goes to the lawyer. I'm not 100% sure on this, I've never needed the letter.
Text of new immigration rules OK, RG, here's what you do. Go to dof.gob.mx; then, in "buscar en el sitio", type, "criterios migratorios"; then, click on "Acuerdo por el que se expide el Manual de Criterios y Trámites Migratorios del Instituto Nacional de Migración" This is dated January 29, 2010, and I think it's what you've been refering to: it certainly seems so to me. I would paste it, but it's a long document, and Steve has indicated he doesn't like long paste jobs, here. Enjoy. ___________________ By the way, I know how much effort it takes to dig out details like you're doing, and I appreciate it, too. This document should help you along your way. I think, when we understand this all more fully, that we'll see that at least some of the changes are not merely cosmetic, like getting a plastic card, instead of a booklet. It appears to me there may be a chance they are trying to harmonize the tax law, with the immigration law: we'll see.
All those instructions and no link? Our friend from Alma Libre bookstore forwarded me the link that I could not find. Here is the link to the new version of the manual: DOF - Diario Oficial de la Federación
Read it, and you'll find it's the same one I referred you to. What have you been relying on, up to now, for the details you've provided? There are perhaps no errors in anything you've posted, but it would have been better to have the rules in front of you, just to verify the info. One of the good things about a forum is, if something erroneous does show up, someone is bound to point it out. I have no suggestions to offer on anything you've posted on this subject, to this point, and I'm glad someone is taking the trouble to try to put it all down in one spot for us.
I get that you'd found it already, it's just that your instructions for how to find it didn't produce it. Rob sent me the link. I've been relying on information conveyed to INM agents directly via training sessions. It's very good to finally see the document that goes behind that training. And it is absolutely nuts that no one in INM has provided that link to agents by now. The link Rob sent is now finding its way though cyberspace to local INM agents. Thank you to a Canadian for helping INM train its agents.
Given that it could have been printed off the internet, at anytime since January, it's surprising that it hasn't been.
