If you do not already have an FM3, then at the first point of entry in Mexico do fill in the FMT tourist card. The FMT is the form that the airline gets you to fill out.

If you already have an FM3 then hopefully you had the “Salida” section stamped when you left Mexico. Failure to do this will guarantee you a fine. To avoid the fine, you can risk filling out an FMT and then hope you don’t get caught. They are getting smarter and more computerized all the time! Best to do it right the first time.

Virtually all non-Mexicans need a Green Card (or FM3 as they are called) if you plan on working or retiring here. There are various other types of documents too but the FM3 is the most popular. Tourists staying for up to 6 months use a simple 1 page FMT and obviously don’t need the Green Card. You will get an FMT form on the plane.

Even in you plan on applying for an FM3 you must start with the FMT and convert it later into an FM3 (whew, that was a mouthful). Notice the words Estados Unidos Mexicanos on the FM3. Yes, you guessed it, Mexico is really named “The United States of Mexico.” We thought you might like that. Your first piece of trivia today. Did you also know that Canadians and Mexicans are both Americans? So when you see the “Hospital Americano” it is not a U.S. hospital.

There are several ways to apply for the FM3. The easiest is to prove that you have income of an absolute minimum of USD $1,050 per month if single or USD $1,550 if married (or the equivalent in another currency). These amounts are cut in half if you own an apartment or house here - and the amounts are subject to constant change. You will need to bring original copies of bank or brokerage statements showing deposits for the past 3 months and some other paperwork.

Only one person in the family needs to prove income. A letter from a pension fund or some other similar item may also work. Email us for more information on this. Generally they are pretty flexible on your source of income, even if it stops when you move here.

On the other hand, when you renew your FM3 each year, you must show them the most recent 3 non-Mexican bank statements showing income.When you renew your FM3 the income can be shown by using Mexican or foreign bank statements.

If you are going to work down here, the FM3 will contain a paragraph that permits you to work at a particular job. So if you come down on the ‘retirement’ FM3 you need to convert it to the ‘working’ FM3.

Immigration charges you around 1,700 pesos to get that parapraph and authorization typed in. Likewise if you change jobs you need to again change the FM3. It’s a pain but it keeps you out of trouble.

There is a lot of paperwork to do when you find a job. The employer must be recognized by Immigration or they have to fill out a lot of forms and send letters saying why they want to hire a foreigner etc. We have mixed feelings about starting with a ‘retirement’ FM3 while job hunting. On one hand it shows the employer that you are definately planning to stay here. That moves your resume a lot higher on the pile and opens up the door to getting a bank account going, renting an apartment, etc. The downside is that you need to go back to immigration to convert it to a working FM3 when the job is found - but the employer may pay for that.