Im an american citizen how do i become a mexican resident and what?

surfacefolds

the easiest way is getting married, unless you have a lot of money anything is possible haha. I'm going through the same thing I'm leaving this country and heading out there hopefully it wont be too hard. wish you luck!

Hunter G

go there and stay

drewhack

Mexico has 3 different status for foreigners
you can get an FM3 which is a non-immigrant resident
an FM2 which is an immigrant resident
or a citizen (at which point you have to take an oath which nullifies your US citizenship)

There are different paths depending on why you are going to Mexico. That is what you need to decide first and then your next step is to go to INM (instituto Nacional de Migracion) go to http://www.inami.gob.mx to find the local office. I've delt with this multiple years and can help you if you wanna talk just email me. If you are in Mexico City I can recommend a great immigration attorney.

The process himself is lengthy and rather painful especially if its your first time. if you do it by yourself expect to spend about 200 bucks on the process.

Regarding advantages of each with an FM3 or FM2 you may not vote or work for any form of Mexican Governement. With an FM3 most banks will not extend you credit (some such as HSBC often will and certain branches of Santander will as well as it was not standardized)

FM3's are valid for a year at a time and typically you need to have it for 5 years before you are eligible for an FM2 which is valid for 5 additional years after that. after 5 years on an FM2 you can apply for citizenship.

Another limitation is that you may not own land as a non-citizen appx 100 km from any boarder or coastline

The FM2/FM3 process typically goes that you
1. Go to mexico on an FMT (as a tourist)
2. Receive support from a corp or qualify under other methods to apply for FM3/FM2
3. Download the massive amount of forms fill them out go to a bank and pay the fees and go to inami and turn in paperwork (inami is open from 9am to 1pm if i remember correctly however expect to be there until 5pm, they are very slow and ineffecient)
4. Expect to wait a month or two then they will give you an approval. Then you go pay more money fill out an FM-1 and go back to inami and give them pictures for your actual FM2/FM3 document (little green or grey book) that will take a month or so to get processed then you go back and pick it up.

In regards to not being able to own choice property I'm assuming they are referring to beachfront property which non-citizens can't own as I referred to earlier however as a non-citizen you cannot directly own it however you can set up a trust with a bank where the bank owns it technically for you. I recommend HSBC, Banamex (Owned by Citi financial), and Santander. Once you become a citizen those limitations are gone.

I'll edit and update as I think of other things

yes_its_me

You can apply for a Mexican Residency card fairly simply. However you need to prove that you have the means to support yourself. Finding a job in Mexico is almost impossible for an American Citizen. when I lived there an worked for a Mexican Resort as a Graphic Artist, I was required to renew my work permit every six months, and part of that was to advertise my job to the Mexican employment market. If someone applied who could do the job, I was to be sent down the road.
Most retirees have bank accounts and Social security/ Retirement benefits that qualify them to live there.
Mexico is a radically different culture when it comes to employment. There is a huge surplus of available labor, and if you have certain skills you can get a job, but you will always be looking over your shoulder for the Mexican Citizen who is going to replace you.

Jake Rather

You can become a citizen of Mexico, but you can never vote or own choice property in Mexico. You cannot draw welfare, or any other entitlements as a American born citizen of Mexico. And you will always be a second class citizen in Mexico.

Makes you wonder why we don't apply the same rules to illegals don't it?

Lil' Agitator aka Lola

I know you love him but please dont move to mexico, it is a third world country....let him move here

Pierre d'Argent

Mexico is NOT a third world country. If you've been paying any attention what so ever, Mexico Will become one of the top 10 richest countries in the world in a couple of years, so stop talking crap that you dont know anything about.

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