Need Mexican Address for Visa Permanente?

We will be traveling to Mexico, finding a long term rental, and then return to the USA to start the process for a permanent visa. Is it necessary to have an address in Mexico before starting the visa process?

Thanks!

Check the MX consulate site it's all spelled out there.  I don't think an address is required.  But, I have also heard different consulates seem to have different rules.  I would find the one closest to you, visit, and ask.

Buenos dias, yes, you need an address it's better to have the most accurate and permanent one so you don't have to inform Mexican immigration of changes (90 days to advise INM of a change in residency.

Also, your address is required for driver's licence, IMSS medical insurance, INAPAM.

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

You do need an address and you are required to file a change with INM when you move. Sounds like you will have an address as you plan to rent before applying. DO file a change with INM if you move as failing to do so could jeopardize your immigration status. It is not a difficult process and I find the people staffing the INM offices to be helpful and courteous.

What sort of address documentation do they want?  We are under deposit/contact for a condo that is being built.  I have the purchase agreement/contract that shows the address, but obviously we don't actually live there yet as it's just a steel skelton. 

I was going to apply before we actually moved just to make it easier when going back and forth to check on construction and meet with the builder.

jamesr3939 wrote:

What sort of address documentation do they want?  We are under deposit/contact for a condo that is being built.  I have the purchase agreement/contract that shows the address, but obviously we don't actually live there yet as it's just a steel skelton. 

I was going to apply before we actually moved just to make it easier when going back and forth to check on construction and meet with the builder.


So you need to rent somewhere because they require a physical address where you can be reached.

Sounds like I'll have to wait until our condo is done.

They will accept the address of a hotel, AirBnB or a friends when you apply at your local INM office
You do not need to have a long term rental. They understand you just arrived.

NO, you do not have to have a Mexican address when you apply for residency at a Mexican consulate in the US.  We were not even asked where in Mexico we were going to live. 

However, you DO need to have a Mexican address (and it can be a temporary one, like an Airbnb, hotel, etc.) when you continue the residency application process at INM in Mexico.  And, as someone points out above, you do need to notify INM when you change addresses. 

In our case, we have already applied and been approved for permanent residency at a Mexican consulate in the US.  We are heading to Mexico next month and have a six-month Airbnb rental.  This is the address we will give INM when we continue the application process there in Mexico.

Thank you! That is most helpful.

I did a little more research on some other sites and the MX consulate site.  While you don't need a permanent address you do have to remain in MX  once you get there and start the process.  They say it can weeks or even months to finally get approved and when you do you have to report to IMM.  As near as I can tell you can apply to leave the country for an emergency, but they don't like it.  I also found a couple of attorneys in San Diego who will handle the process for you.  They mainly make sure you have all your paperwork in order.  Fee was pretty small.

Is there a time limit to start the process in MX once you're approved in the US?

As I understand it, after applying for the visa in the USA, you have 180 days before you need to go to Mexico otherwise you need to go through the process all over again. Once in Mexico you have 30 days to get the process started there.

We will definitely get help on the Mexico side as we are not fluent and want to be certain that all the paperwork is in order.

I had all kinds of fun, being sarcastic here, getting through to our local Mexican consulate. One must apply online for an appointment. There are no walk-ins. However the website page for signing up for an appointment is always down, lol.

Eventually I did receive a call back saying to try again. I did! Still nada. In the email I was given two phone numbers to use to try to schedule an appointment, but decided to go to the next closest consulate, a little over two hours away--not bad really. That location has four lines to get in touch with a real human being. The fellow I spoke with was very helpful so I hope tomorrow when we drive there that all goes well. He recommended getting there early instead of making an appointment, Fingers crossed.

jamesr3939 wrote:

What sort of address documentation do they want?  We are under deposit/contact for a condo that is being built.  I have the purchase agreement/contract that shows the address, but obviously we don't actually live there yet as it's just a steel skelton. 

I was going to apply before we actually moved just to make it easier when going back and forth to check on construction and meet with the builder.


They do not ask for any documentation for the address. It's asked for on the application you fill out in Mexico.

We are already living in MX. Do we have to start the process in the US or can we do it all here?

It has to be started in the US

We are retirees having lived in Mexico for 17 years.  I am a U.S. Citizen by birth and my wife is a French citizen by birth.  Since 2014, we are also both Mexican citizens  having lived here , starting in 2001 initially as temporary residents with no Spanish langiage skills whatsoever, We went through the process of temporary residency to permananent residency and emigrants from California and France to Mexican  citizenship. We remain  dual citizens. She, French/Mexican and I U.S./Mexican.  This dual citizenship between the U.S/France and Mexico is a non-issue.  I cannot speak for other nationalities but will tell you achieving Mexican nationalities over a few years   while retaining fully our birth nationalities was a breeze. I am not making this up. We carry U.S. or French passports and Mexican passports.  Both are fully valid and we both vote in our hometowns in Mexico or, if we wish California or France.witth no legal impediments.  If your goal is to retire to, perhaps, the most splendid place on Earth, your legal and with minor technical obstacles in wheher you jntend to become a citizen or not, Mexico would half fill up an empty garbage bag of desires  and the climate  in the highlands here  is to die for.  You could not pay me to move back  to Alabama or my wife to Europe.