On the calendar for today was to check the status of my request to extend my Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for my truck. I did all the paperwork for that in May, but was told it could take three to four months to process.
I went to this site to check the status:
http://www.sat.gob.mx/aduanas/vehiculos/importacion_temporal/
(The address was in the footer of the letter they gave me confirming they had received my request for an extension.)
On this page, scroll down to the Verifica el estado de tu permiso section and click on aplicación:
On the next page, you need two numbers, which you will have in the letter you were given confirming that you made the application for the extension. You don’t need that letter to get that information since you can find it elsewhere, but it’s convenient to have it right there, plus you might not remember what was used for the second number.
The first number is your permit number OR the VIN of the vehicle whose permit is being extended.
The second number is the number of the ID document used. In my case, they used my passport for ID and so my passport number is what I put in that field.
Fill in the CAPTCHA and click Buscar (search).
As long as the information is filled in correctly, you will get a search result at the bottom of this same screen:
If it says PRORROGA (extension), your request was duly processed and your vehicle is still legally in Mexico. However, this does not tell you if your deposit with Banjercito is safe and I was not given a way to check that.
What next? If, like in my case, you are planning to renew your residente temporal status after the first year, you will renew your TIP a second time, just like you did the first. However, if you are at the point of getting permanente status, you need to start thinking about an exit plan for your vehicle. That will be the subject of another post when I get closer to that moment.
“an exit plan for your vehicle” That caught my attention. I look forward to you explaining that one.
Mexican citizens and permanent residents are not allowed to own foreign-plated vehicles. So when you approach that status, you have to come up with a plan to legally remove the vehicle from Mexico. In some cases, that means driving it back to the US or Canada. In my case, it’ll likely mean euthanising Moya (ie. taking her to a scrapyard).
Be sure to get the proper documentation when you turn it over to the junkyard. They are very sticky on that point!
Even more important — pick the right junkyard. There’s only a tiny handful in all of Mexico that can scrap your vehicle and give you the right paperwork. I’m going to have to go all the way to the outskirts of CDMX to get Moya scrapped. I just looked for the link with the information, but it’s changed. Which is why I don’t want to get into any of this now because the info might not be relevant when I get to that point. And, according to a lawyer I’ve spoken to, it is not unlikely that it would be just as easy and cheap to nationalise Moya when I get to permanente as there has been improvements made to the process of nationalising older cars…
The problem is the junkyard could take possession of the vehicle and then resell it in violation of the law. But then it would be you in trouble and not the junkyard. You would almost have to stand there and watch her be crushed and that would be a little heartbreaking.
That’s why there are only a couple of scrapyards in all of Mexico that are allowed to do this. They know the process and will do it correctly, or else they will get in major trouble. This isn’t like the laughable out of province inspection racket we have in Canada with zero government oversight.
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