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the FM3 visa for Mexico

Written byTed TCon 17 August 2011

I went through the application for my FM3 visa in 2010 and renewed it a few months ago. The requirements for the renewal were exactly the same as the first application, just with a few less copies. I went to the office in Toluca, the capital of Estado de Mexico. As a nationwide system, it shouldn’t be much different where you are, but you never know.



Here is their website: www.inami.gob.mx

With the FM3 you will receive an official-looking letter stating which field you can work in. As a teacher, my field is education. There are many fields, like engineering. This means you can have as many jobs as you want, as long as they are in your field.

The FM3 visa is a card, not a little book like before. With it you are a non-immigrant temporary resident of Mexico. You can work anywhere in the country, not just the state you were originally hired in. It must be renewed every year for a maximum of five years.

First you need a letter from the company that wants to hire you. With the letter they must provide either a tax statement or some kind of permission from the government to hire foreign workers. Unless you will be their first foreign worker, they will know exactly what to give you.

What you provide for the FM3 are:

1. Copies of every page of your passport and the original tourist paper from customs that was stamped when you arrived in Mexico. You don't want to lose this anyway because you need it to leave the country, although once you get the FM3 you won't need it anymore.

2. All the documents you brought from your home that you needed to get your job ' your resume, original birth certificate, a rent receipt from your apartment in Mexico, and all your credentials (university degree, certificates, licenses)- in originals to show and copies for them to keep.

3. The letter and documents from your future company.

4. 5 photos (three front and two sides) ' check the website for sizes, or get the form from the office. You will make multiple trips there anyway.

5. Two payments ' 500 pesos with the application and 2,000 when it's ready.

6. The application dated from only a day or two before. The website is www.inami.gob.mx

Bring originals and copies of everything. Make sure you have backups at home, or better yet take digital photos or scans, in case something gets lost. They may ask for certified copies of your degrees ' apostillados ' which means some company will evaluate them for a fee. I was asked to do this and then got out of it by showing off the originals.

The most important thing of all is to just be patient. You will have to go way more times than you want. They will tell you different information each time. Just smile, write it down, and do what you can. If you can't provide something, just come back without it and don't mention it. In the friendliest way possible keep mentioning the letter from your future company. If you get angry and show it, you will get nowhere.

With the FM3 you can work. You will receive social insurance, including health care, and you need to go to another office to get the number. Also, you don't have to pay to enter Mexico anymore, so when you buy plane tickets make sure they know, because they put it on the price of the ticket automatically for foreigners.

Good luck!

For more free legal advice and stories of Latin American craziness visit my blog http://nohaybronca.wordpress.com

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.

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Comments

  • Ted TC
    Ted TC11 years ago(Modified)
    The FM3 is gone, and although the information in this article is still somewhat relevant, here are some articles that I wrote more recently that have more complete information: How to Work Legally in Mexico: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/articles/working-legally-in-mexico.shtml Renewing the work visa: http://nohaybronca.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/how-to-renew-your-mexican-residency-with-permission-to-work-formerly-the-fm3/ Good luck!
  • FelipeZapata
    FelipeZapata11 years ago(Modified)
    There is no more FM3 visa, so this article needs updating.
  • Kiane8
    Kiane812 years ago(Modified)
    Hi! Thanks for your comments which are very helpfull! However, I would like to know how will be the visa process in case I would like to open a business in Mexico as a foreigner? Which kind of visa will I need to ask? I checked on the immigration website but I didn\'t find any helpful information. Thanks. Sandrine
  • sparksmex
    sparksmex12 years ago(Modified)
    I agree that each office is different. This year in Manzanillo I only needed a copy of the first page of my passport, 5 fotos and the form that I printed from the INM website. So much easier
  • joaquinx
    joaquinx13 years ago(Modified)
    I have found that the first step on getting a new visa or renewing an existing one is to make a trip to Migration and ask them what they want. The requirements seem to vary from office to office. It's not difficult, but it can be time consuming. If you can get the agent to write everything down on paper, then the agent can not change the requirements on the next visit - you hope.

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