(Post 138 of 263. Thanks again to those who participated in the Fundrazr. As I mentioned in the post announcing Bast’s passing from COVID, I thank everyone for your generous donations to the original Fundrazr campaign, which resulted in sponsored 263 posts. I will continue to honour the commitment to write those 263 posts, but I will not commit to more. The link above is to a new campaign to help Bast’s family.)

The Mexico of old where entitled tourists could come and go as they please is gone.

With reopening have come immigration crackdowns, with deportations and entry denials happening daily for those who have been gaming the system for years, applying for back–to-back 180-day tourist entries by doing a quick overnight border jump.

Sonia Diaz, a trusted “fixer” in the San Miguel area, has her finger on the pulse of all the immigration reforms. Her Facebook page has updates and clarifications straight from INM and should be a daily visit to anyone planning to come to Mexico in the next few months. The fact is that Mexico is defining the line between tourist and resident. One post in particular summarizes recent statements by a senior INM official about the clarification of rules and expectations.

INM’s new computer infrastructure is making it easy for Mexico to now track entries and exits. If you are a snowbird who has repeatedly flaunted the rules, overstaying your 180 days, you can expect to meet friction upon your arrival this year. Be prepared, like you would for any other country, to show a return ticket and proof of where you will be staying while enjoying your winter in Mexico or you may find yourself granted only a 10-day entry.

The most incredible thing that is coming out of this is that Mexico has officially recognised digital nomads and is offering them temporary residency! Coming from a country that is incredibly hostile to this lifestyle, I am so grateful to have been a pioneer in this new economic reality. I was granted my residency visa in 2017 as a digital nomad, even if the term had not been formalized yet. If you’re planning to come here to work remotely, Mexico expects you to have a temporary residency visa for the duration of your stay. It’s only to your advantage — you can stay up to four years with unlimited entries and exits, and as long as you are not earning money in pesos here in Mexico, then you have no tax obligations (something that I’ve now had confirmed at least four times by different branches of government).

I have to say that being a resident is not without its frustrations as there is seemingly no concept of being an “immigrant”, but I suspect that these new rules are going to smooth out that process. I mean, you can’t command a whole group of people to become residents of a country and continue to treat them like tourists, which is how I’ve felt when banking in this country. I suspect that my ease at opening my new bank account had as much to do with the new INM rules as it did with my conversion to permanent resident status.

All this to say, stay current. Be careful who you take advice from – I’m still hearing folks spouting regulations that date back to the old F-type visa days that haven’t been relevant since I’ve been coming to Mexico, and that’s been seven years. Be respectful and accept that you’re coming to a foreign country that does not owe you anything.

I remain so grateful to Mexico for all the opportunities it has afforded me. Come on down — the locals are friendly, the weather is wonderful, and the food is probably the best in the world. 🙂