Expatriation to Mexico: border updates

Cheryl wrote:

Hello everyone,

in Mexico as elsewhere, the current pandemic has changed our way of life but also our mobility, due to the state of borders of nearby countries or countries we wanted to visit.

Today we would like to take stock of the current border situation in Mexico and collect your testimonies, whether you are already an expat there or still preparing your move.

Is the country currently accessible to newcomers?

Have quarantine measures been put in place? If so, what are they?

What about leaving the territory as an expat resident? Will you be able to easily reach Mexico if you leave it temporarily?

How does the current borders state impact you, whether you are already an expatriate in Mexico or are planning to move there soon?

Do you have some visibility about the future of borders in your country of expatriation, in the longer or shorter term?

Thank you in advance for your contribution

Cheryl,
Expat.com team

This is not a question that can be easily answered because the situation is in constant flux depending on what state you are in or planning to go to. The restrictions are all state-based. Campeche has different regulations than Merida does and they are side by side. Merida can be visited more easily this month than last month but they have a curfew. Campeche just mandates masks and the handwashing ritual. I can go to the mall in Campeche but not so easily in Merida depending on the security person and the entry. Sears in Merida wouldn't allow me in with a bag. The bank area in the same mall wouldn't let me in because I didn't meet apparent limitations ( an appointment with a bank or store or being an employee). The main entry had no problems with me coming in.

A friend recently had all sorts of problems with air travel. The airlines seem to be taking an arbitrary stance with their passengers, so he had the usual rules plus route, timing, and departures and arrival changes.
That forced him to sleep in a chair overnight in Mexico because you can't just get a hotel room. To get a hotel room requires advanced notice and making sure they can accommodate your request and still function with a reduced capacity.

I don't feel comfortable leaving the country because I am aware of what is going on in places like the U.S. I am trying different states using my car.

Hi Cheryl,

Hope you are good. I've been living in Mexico for the last 5 years and at the moment I am in Europe, hoping to come back. So I will give you the information from the other side. While I can not confirm that the country is currently accessible to newcomers, based on the info that I have, foreigners are still very welcome, while for state Jalisco I can confirm that you can not be on the street without a mask (Puerto Vallarta, and as far as I know, Guadalajara).

Many businesses have been closed. I did leave the country few months after the outbreak, and there were no problems. This probably has change a little bit since I've been gone for 4 months. I am planning to go back and Mexican embassy in my country confirmed me that there is no problem for that. The biggest difficulty are the flights that include the transits, since there are not guarantees that one of the flights will not be cancelled, due to lack of passengers. That's the case at least around specific areas of Europe. My flight for 9 of September was canceled, for example.
It's too early for the predictions what we can expect. We did learn something really important at one point, beside individual tragedies and messed up economy - apocalypse is boring.
Hope this was helpful .

Cheers..

Cheryl wrote:

Hello everyone,

in Mexico as elsewhere, the current pandemic has changed our way of life but also our mobility, due to the state of borders of nearby countries or countries we wanted to visit.

Today we would like to take stock of the current border situation in Mexico and collect your testimonies, whether you are already an expat there or still preparing your move.

Is the country currently accessible to newcomers?

Have quarantine measures been put in place? If so, what are they?

What about leaving the territory as an expat resident? Will you be able to easily reach Mexico if you leave it temporarily?

How does the current borders state impact you, whether you are already an expatriate in Mexico or are planning to move there soon?

Do you have some visibility about the future of borders in your country of expatriation, in the longer or shorter term?

Thank you in advance for your contribution

Cheryl,
Expat.com team

I went back to Mexico last August 08 leaving the Philippines. I emailed the Mexican Embassy and they replied that my US Visa can be used to enter Mexico but I also had an exit permit that expired since flights were cancelled on my supposed earlier return. I had to jump through hoops to leave my country but entering Mexico was quite easy, I showed them my expired exit permit, explained that I could not return on time because flights were cancelled and they allowed me in. They allowed me in however for immigration purposes it's best to email the embassy in your country of origin to confirm if you can enter as a visitor. I flew to the U.S first, transited for 4 hours then flew straight from LAX to GDL.

Of course there are always rumors of what is going on at the border. I came to Mexico in Apr '19 and other than walking across the border in Lukeville, Arizona to check my P.O. Box I have stayed put pretty much. I live in Puerto Penasco, Sonora a smallish coastal town often referred to as Arizona's beach! We were completely shut down from April to September with roadblocks, policia, guardia nacional,etc... If you lived outside of city limits, which we did, you had to have a special permit on your car, could only go into town once a day and only one person could be in the car. Its lightened up a bit but we still have a curfew, mandatory mask, tempurature and disinfectent gel at all the store and children under 12 cant enter.