Residente temporal

It all depends on what the consulate you talk to has to say, what proof and bank records you show. They want a verification of entitlement copy, and 12 months bank records. After they look at those they will tell you what you are qualified for, and for how long.  Nothing is fixed, it all depends on your proof. So you will have to ask them.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

In my understanding before the recent inm changes the resedente temporal or fm2 as it was known was a visa which was valid for one year with a monthly income requirement of $1200 dollars or so,or savings of $25000.After the changes in the law this visa is now valid for four years with the monthly income requirement more or less the same but the savings requirement has been bumped up to $100 000 dollars to reflect the three additional years i guess. Does this sound correct?

Residente Temporal is temporary resident.
Residente Permanente is permanent resident  Permanent means the only dealings you will continue to have with INM is changes of address, if any.

You may apply for and pay fees for 1 to 4 years.  If you apply for less than 4, you may renew your Residente Temporal status until you complete 4 years.  There is some overall savings if you pay for a longer term.  After 4 years, you must apply for Residente Permanente status or return to your home country and either do 180 day Tourist Cards or start the Residente Temporal process all over again at a consulate.

If you have the resources to qualify for Residente Permanente before 4 years, you can apply for it at any renewal date.  Past practice has been that if you complete 4 years as Temporal, you do not have to meet any additional income requirements.

I don't think there's any change in the value of asking for specifics at the INM office where you will apply.

I got this off one of the consulate websites:

"a) Original y copia de comprobante de inversiones o cuentas bancarias con saldo promedio mensual equivalente a veinte mil días de salario mínimo general vigente en el Distrito Federal, durante los últimos doce meses; o

b) Original y copia de los documentos que demuestren que cuenta con  empleo o pensión con ingresos mensuales libres de gravámenes mayores al equivalente de cuatrocientos días de salario mínimo general vigente en el Distrito Federal, durante los últimos seis meses."

Translation:
A monthly average in investments for the last 12 months worth 20,000 days of minimum wage.  There's only one now.  It's 70 pesos a day.  At 18.4 pesos per dollar that's 20,000 times 70 divided by 18.4 or $76,100 USD approx.  As the rate of exchange changes, so does the the dollar amount.

Or an average monthly salary, investment and/or pension income after taxes and fees of 400 days of minimum wage for the past 12 months.  That's 400 times 70 divided by 18.4 or $1520 a month approx.  Again, as the rate of exchange changes, so does the dollar amount.  Of course any salary has to be earned from employers outside Mexico.

I didn't see anything that says the investment amount in pesos changes year by year if you apply for less that 4 years and renew.  The rate of exchange at the time you renew will apply to your investments or monthly income.  Sure, if the country changes its laws, these amounts could change while you are a Residente Temporal and you'll most like have to meet the new requirements.

I guess I shall gather up some documents and visit the consulate next time Im back in Birmingham.these 180 days are rolling around faster and faster it seems.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

I guess I shall gather up some documents and visit the consulate next time Im back in Birmingham.these 180 days are rolling around faster and faster it seems.

I was in no real hurry.  It took me almost 6 months to get the visa from the consulate and schedule my move.  The Las Vegas Consulate didn't do anything on purpose to slow things down.  Let's put it this way.  They overlooked a couple of details required by Mexico City that delayed things a couple of weeks.  That was back in 2008.  BTW, for the consulate, I only had a couple of months of proof of retirement income.  I had 6 months by the time I arrived in Mexico and that was OK.  I can't remember if 6 was the requirement back then.

I have a trip to the border coming up shortly,I will get that out of the way and perhaps head home to take care of business in march.Thinking of the long term i might aswell go and see about the temporary resident visa.

gudgrief
Yesterday 22:40:02 
#3

Even though the INM law states a first timer applying for a Residente Temporal visa can get it for up to 4 years the policy is to only give one year and then when it expires [maximum 30 days before expiration]  you can renew for 1 to 3 years more with no financial proof inside Mexico.

If you have a high enough income you can apply for permanent instead of Temporal. I just did that in Arizona this past October.
They do require 12 months of bank records, and copies of the original entitlements. Trust me I just did this. It took me two days at the consulate and then I had a visa on my passport, with that and the standard visa you get on the plane marked CAJA or change.

They stamped my paper visa wrote 30 days and sent me on my way. Then it got hard. Multiple trips to INM , an overpayment  which I have still not had returned, I have a permanent visa, they owe me over 4000 pesos which due to new computer programs and new laws is very slow in coming.
Of course by coming I mean I return to SAT repeatedly and Mexico still hasn't fixed the problem. But I am permanent, so I have plenty of time, and this is Mexico so I don't expect immediate anything. I can apparently also work if I choose to now, which I am not considering , but it's nice to know.

Wow,thats great,no more border runs for you.I will just gather some papers together and visit the consulate when i go home,See what We can work out.

Congrats!
You're done with INM unless you change your address which was quick and painless in Xalapa.

I had been confused about one point in regard to the residente temporal, which might have been due to my own way of reading things, but I had thought that I would have to have been collecting pension income for 6 months before I could apply for the visa. But then I re-read the following today: "Proof of investments or bank account with a monthly average balance equivalent to 5000 days of minimum wage in Mexico City (73.04) for the past 12 months (about $21,000).

OR

Proof of INCOME or pension greater than 300 days the minimum wage in Mexico City (about $1250) for the past six months.


That "INCOME" bit suddenly hit me. Does that mean that I can apply for my residente temporal on the basis of my current employment income BEFORE i retire, assuming I plan to retire as soon as the visa is granted, after which time I would then be getting pension income (which would also meet the criterion)?

Good evening, that show that you are retired living on their own resources , can come to live in Mexico , if you have good monthly income can apply for permanent residence in the consulate of Mexico closest to the city you live in your country.**

When I applied for my visa,I had only 3 months of income to show.  By the time arrived in Mexico to report to INM for the Residente Temporal process I did have 6 months of record to show..

Before doing anything else, check with the consulate to which you'll apply.  A phone call can't hurt.

Yes, when I first started planning to get at least a temporal I read it required 6 months income verification. By the time I actually went there 6 months later ,the requirement was a year of verification. Just ask the counsel, don't assume what you heard, or read is correct.

Well, I contacted the consulate in Raleigh today, and they sent me back to the webpage to inquire by email. lol. Well, let's see if they answer soon. 

I do worry about having to have the 6 months of retirement income first before applying because that will make those months rather expensive ones, given the cost of living in the US. Of course, I guess I could just go to Mexico on a tourist visa for six months during that count down time, then go back to the States, do the visa application business, and then return to Mexico with the new visa in hand. Any of you done that combo?

That sounds like a plan.  Locate close to the border temporarily so you can use the consulates in Laredo or McAllen.

Well Nikolas, that is what I did for 2 years. Living in Mexico. cross the border renew the visa and return to Mexico. There is no urgent need to get a temporal. In fact I think they prefer to see that you have experience in Mexico.

I heard something similar to apply for a temp resident you have to show a monthly income as 2500 or come in with 100000. Which seems high to me. Why not just apply for the FMM visitor permit no visa and renew it every 6 months? Can that be done? Legally??

Closer to 1500 plus 500 for each dependent.
Really, best to talk to a consulate.  They do speak English.

Right, the current figures are 1500 a month for 6 months or 22000 in the bank for a year for the temporal.

The high figures Troy mentioned, 2500 a month or 100,000 in the bank for a year are the figtures for an initial application for the residente permanente.

Thanks Nikolas that sounds more doable. So all I need to apply for a residence temporal is at least 22k in a bank account in Mexico upon entering

What you need to do is talk to the Consulate. Things change, and then change again. The only people who know the exact amount is the Consulate at the time you apply.  In the 6 months before I applied, they required 6 months of bank statements. By the time I applied they required 12 months of bank statements.  If you do not talk with them directly you will likely be sorry.

There is no rush, you can renew the 180 day visa again and again currently. Of course that could also change in the near future. Get started with the 180 day visa and take it from there.

Yep I'm going next week to consulate in Austin. Thanks again. Nice to know this forum exists!

The consulate in Raleigh, with whom I finally spoke the other day said the figures at this moment are actually lower due to the exchange rate since the actual amount is based on pesos. The monthly pension income requirement was around 1250 right now and they said proof of six months of such income. The deposit amount was around 20,000 and that has to have been in there for 12 months. They said you do not have to have both. Just one or the other. It will be interesting to hear what Austin has to say.

gudgrief wrote:

I was in no real hurry.  It took me almost 6 months to get the visa from the consulate and schedule my move.  The Las Vegas Consulate didn't do anything on purpose to slow things down.  Let's put it this way.  They overlooked a couple of details required by Mexico City that delayed things a couple of weeks.  That was back in 2008.  BTW, for the consulate, I only had a couple of months of proof of retirement income.  I had 6 months by the time I arrived in Mexico and that was OK.  I can't remember if 6 was the requirement back then.

So barring a missed doc or  a consulate slip up, how long does it take at the consulate for the RT visa? Is it a same day thing? Or do you have to go back for a 2nd trip, or?

After 8 years, best ask someone who did it recently.
I think someone who was eligible for Residente Permanente to begin with wrote about a 5 day turnaround time from complete paperwork submitted to second visit to the consulate to get your passport back with the visa sticker in it.

If you have all of the needed paperwork it could be done in one day . I was at the consulate in the morning , went back to my timeshare to get a couple of documents on line (because they suggested permanent instead of temporary), got every thing done by 3 pm and they said to come back at 5. I returned at 5 and picked up my passport with visa. That was last October.

The INM leg work is more time consuming  when you get to Mexico. That has to be done with in a month and could take a week or two so don't delay applying for that thinking you have plenty of time, you don't

travellight wrote:

If you have all of the needed paperwork it could be done in one day . I was at the consulate in the morning , went back to my timeshare to get a couple of documents on line (because they suggested permanent instead of temporary), got every thing done by 3 pm and they said to come back at 5. I returned at 5 and picked up my passport with visa. That was last October.

The INM leg work is more time consuming  when you get to Mexico. That has to be done with in a month and could take a week or two so don't delay applying for that thinking you have plenty of time, you don't

It doesn´t have to be completed in a month. You only have 30 days to go into your local INM office after entering Mexico with your Mexican Consulate pre-approved 6 month visa when they stamp your passport in and you get a 30 day FMM card with the "canje" [swap or exchange] part filled out which you need to turn into your local INM office. When you start the process at your INM office they give you a form with your NUT # [numero unico de tramite] [unique prosessing number] [your actual Immigrant number in the end]  and this is your temporary immigration document until the process is completed [could take 3 weeks, a month or two or more -depends] and if you need to travel inside Mexico it is your proof you are in Mexico legally.

My point is you must go to INM within a month and it's best to do it fairly quickly because it can be a long process especially if it falls during any holiday as it did in my case.  It is not something where  you should just say well I have a month to do it. There are a lot of holidays and it can jam things up for weeks.

During holidays offices are closed, prior to the holiday office hours may change. Employees may not be the same one you saw before, which adds further to the confusion. I got charged twice, I explained I had already paid, but she wouldn't except that . So they had to refund the money, only they don't usually do that, and the program they developed to do that is new etc. bottom line is it took 3 weeks to get the visa, and another month to get the refund.

I hadn't heard of anyone being charged twice before.
I make a habit of taking a photo of all important documents.
In this case, the "help" sheet AND the receipt from the bank.

For what it's worth, if you have to leave Mexico for an emergency while your paperwork is in process, you might be able to get a pass to leave and come back one time. In Zacatecas, it was a 2 or 3 hour process.