Where I am right now in my life plan is that I want to go Mexico full-time next winter (although I am prepared to defer that one additional year if need be). So that gives me a year to get everything sorted out, including navigating all the new visa rules. It’s really hard to get advice right now because so many ‘old timers’ are used to the old system and really don’t know anything about the reformed immigration system. Another thing is that Mexico is getting more and more computerized, so a lot of these people just aren’t cognizant of just how strictly you need to follow the rules now compared to the old days.
This is going to be the first in what will likely be a series of posts as I figure out what I need to know to get to myself to Mexico permanently.
Here are a few of the things I need to consider:
Visas
The most pressing thing I need to figure out is how do I get to stay in Mexico for longer than 180 days and begin the path to citizenship? I’ve been getting a lot of conflicting info on that and false hope that I can get citizenship within about five years. Last night, I finally managed to sort it all out.
I read in several places that if I am self-employed with clients outside Mexico and can prove that I make a minimum amount per month, I can apply to be residente permanente (permanent resident), just as a retiree would, and be eligible after four years to apply for citizenship. This is false.
The visa I need to apply for is residente temporal (temporary resident). This isn’t as scary as it sounds. If you get it, you are allowed to stay in Mexico for a full year and then reapply for up to an additional three years. At the end of the three years (four total), you either leave Mexico or convert to a residente permanente visa, and then begin to the path to naturalization.
While the residente temporal path will take me a lot longer to get through, it will actually make it easier for me to get my foot in the door because the income requirements are so much lower and you only need to prove them for the past six months, not a full year. I am now making more than the minimum for both schemes, and, in fact, average at least twice the minimum for the residente temporal requirements. If I can show them a year’s worth of statements, not just the six months they ask for, I’m sure that will give me an edge.
I am also planning to do my interview in Spanish since I can answer the questions easily even without having researched certain terms ahead of time. Some of the questions I need to answer could be why do I want to move to Mexico and how will I support myself?
These visas can only be applied from at your home consulate, which, in my case, is in Calgary. So I need to plan to go there next fall. All this visit gives you is permission to apply for temporary residence when you get to the border. You can still get turned away.
Financial and Tax Matters
I really need to find myself a tax accountant who deals with people in my situation. Google is being surprisingly non-helpful in this regard. If anyone reading this has a tax account who deals with Canadians who move to Mexico, please send me their info!
It’s really unclear at this point what my tax obligation will be when I move to Mexico permanently beyond the fact that I won’t have to pay Mexican taxes. I may be able to be deemed a non-resident for tax purposes in Canada if I cut all my ties here, but I plan to keep my property, so I may not be able to. Needless to say, my next step really is to find an accountant.
I have some debts here that I need to pay off. It’s not realistic to think that I can pay them all off within the next year, but I can make a big enough dent to make a difference. So that’s going to be a priority for me as soon as I get to the lower Mexican cost of living in November.
Vehicle
I need to see if I can keep a legal vehicle here and my SK driver’s license while on residente temporal status or if I should get my Mexican driver’s license and have it be good here.
It is really difficult to bring a non-Mexican plated vehicle into Mexico and nearly impossible right now to have it converted into a Mexican vehicle. I wanted to buy myself a ‘new’ car next spring, but am revising that plan. You can’t have a non-Mexican vehicle on a residente permanente visa anyway, so I think I’m better off not even bothering bringing a vehicle into Mexico and buying one when I get there.
Housing
I’m planning to fly to Mérida this winter to check it out as my possible initial home base for my new life in Mexico, if only to have a comparison point to Mazatlán. I really like the idea of being down in the Yucatán with all the history, Mérida is a colonial city like Maz, it is easier to get to from Montreal, it is one of the lower cost ex-pat destinations (compared to, say, San Miguel de Allende or Lake Chapala), and it has enough of an ex-pat population that immigration services are nearby (no having to drive two hours to get a visa stamped).
Part of the trip will be to look at the rental market and possibly pick out my landing place for the next winter so I have a Mexican address for my visa application. This would involve a much more formal arrangement than what I have in Maz, with a 12-month rental contract and deposit. It will be a gamble to take if I don’t get my temporary resident status approved, but, worst case, I’d still get to use most of the 180 days I’d have as a visitor, so it wouldn’t be a total loss. If I go ahead and sign a contract, I’d probably aim to have it start January 1st of 2017. If I manage to get to Mérida sooner, I could take a short-term rental.
Household Goods
I’m allowed to import so much ‘stuff’ when I move to Mexico permanently, but that amount will be seriously limited if I decide to fly rather than drive in. The truth is that at this point, I can pretty much carry with me everything that I need to start over in life and the rest is just stuff that can easily be purchased anywhere. Yes, some things are more expensive in Mexico, but it’s really not worth the effort to me to pack up a U-Haul with my dishwasher, tools, and washing machine, especially when I would still need them while here. I’m convinced that I can get it all on a plane by paying for excess luggage, a much cheaper option than having anything shipped.
Healthcare
Under a temporary resident visa, I would be eligible for Mexican government healthcare, just like I am eligible in SK. This is basic emergency care and I would also have the option of paying out of pocket for access to private clinics. I will have better access to both regular and emergency care in Mexico than I have ever had in Canada, so I’m not too worried about this part of the moving to Mexico plan.
Name
I’ve been thinking of changing my first name name legally to Rae for several years now and the more I dig into the Mexican bureaucracy and see how much paperwork I’d have to fill out, the more I’m convinced that changing my name before I apply for anything would be really helpful since my legal name on my passport and birth certificate is about a billion miles long and I don’t want to have to keep needing to spell it. Its accent and hyphen also keep causing me grief. This would, of course, delay applying for the visa.
I’m absolutely serious about going to Bulgaria next summer and think that I could start the name change process upon coming back and then apply for my new birth certificate and passport, which I’d need anyway since my current one expires in early spring 2017. This would mean delaying my visa request into the winter, so moving to a short-term rental in Calgary while I sort out everything could be the neatest solution to covering this gap.
A name change request for someone born anywhere in Canada but Quebec is easy. For a Quebecer, it is very difficult and just about impossible if you’re a resident of the province. I’ve spent a lot of time researching this and believe I may have found the path of least resistance in the red tape, so this might not be the impossible plan it seemed a few years ago.
Conclusion
My ‘I want to move to Mexico!’ plan is firming up as I collect more information. It’s no longer something I’m just talking about and researching, but rather actually making concrete steps in implementing. The idea of taking nine or ten years to become a citizen is a bit daunting, but I have to live somewhere, so why not there? It’s not like I’d be a prisoner of Mexico and unable to leave for holidays elsewhere (I’d just need to pay attention to the rules of how much I can be out of Mexico in a certain period of time to not lose my residency status). I’d also have a whole big country to explore and could plan to move to a different city every couple of years!
I look forward to your research on Merida. We have spent a few weeks there over the years and really like it. There is so much history! You are also close to many places worth a visit: Progreso (nearby Gulf beach resort), Chichen Itza ruins, the flamingos at Celestun, Isla Mujeres (as Cancun was 20-40 years ago), local cenotes, the list goes on! You could also think of a trip to Cuba sometime as it is only a half hour flight from Cancun.
This is going to be fun!
You’re really making me glad that I’ve narrowed down my choices to Mérida! 🙂
One thing I have been warned about is that I’m spoiled in Maz when it comes to public transportation and that I really need to plan to have a vehicle in Mérida.
I think public transportation in Merida is at least as good as in Maz. There is a bus to the beach every hour or so and there appeared to be many city buses running. There was a bus stop right outside the RV park and other residents used it, We did not but then we seldom do. Merida also seemed to be a hub for ultra modern highway buses. Downtown is very walk-able.
What I’m told we’re spoiled with in Maz is the pulmonías, which are cheaper than a regular taxi, as well as the aurigas (pickup trucks). They’re what make it so easy and cheap to zip around town and not have a vehicle.
That is true. Much easier to pick up groceries or whatever, However I think you may find regular taxis cheaper in Merida.
Indeed about taxis. It’ll be good for me to go and get the lay of the land. I suspect that I won’t be able to rent an apartment a year from wanting to move in and that I’ll probably have to go back when I return from Bulgaria to secure accommodation. Rent in Mérida is super cheap, as long as you’re not going through the Gringo services, like serentamexico.com.
Would the Canadian Snowbird Association be able to help you with info re a tax lawyer or anything else? I really admire the way you make decisions about what you want to do in your life and then follow through with them. I am like so many people who say “I would like to do this, I would like to do that” but don’t follow through. I think all you really have to do in life is make a decision.
What’s interesting is that I’ve been saying I want to do stuff like this for 20+ years and have never followed through because I didn’t know how. So a lot of people who have known me that long are just rolling their eyes at yet another funny pie in the sky dream of mine. They don’t get that there is no expiration on a dream. It’s taken me a long time to figure all this out, but I’m doing it!
As for the CSA, thank you for the suggestion!!!!!!
I think the more you achieve your dreams/goals, the more they seem achievable. (If I can do this, I can do that!) You just have to start. Some people have the confidence of their covictions and they just do it. Others, have an idea of what they would like to do but just continue with life as is. As an example because I think this is amazing. A boy who used to sit behind me in elementary school and pull my hair is now an editor, screenwriter and director in Hollywood! Whereas myself, I love movies and the behind the scenes aspect of them. I always thought it would be interesting to work in the movies as a Production Assistant, etc, even an extra but didn’t know how and never found out.
You’re absolutely right. For me, the watershed moment was getting into the RV. It was there that I knew that I was no longer encumbered by my ‘stuff.’ With that realisation came others, like that freedom comes from working for yourself and that the only way I can afford to travel is actually the way I want to travel, ie. by living in a place for a while.
I’m curious to know who that Hollywood director is. 😉
It’s not Steven Spielberg! His name is Patrick Lussier. You can check him out on IMDB. The genre of movies he is mostly involved in are not ones I would watch. He was the Film Editor on eight Wes Craven directed movies (Scream, etc). He co-wrote and directed Drive Angry starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard and co- wrote Terminator Genysis starring Arnold Schwarnegger.
So exciting! I am thrilled to be allowed go along on your journey as you learn to research, make decisions, and follow through. SO EXCITING!
Glad to have you along for the ride, Linda!
Don’t know where you’re getting your information – you can do everything you need to do re immigration in San Miguel – there’s no “two hours” driving to do it. Also cost of living in Merida is no less – as anywhere it’s where/what you want to rent/buy.
Re the name change. Bad idea. We’ve been there done that, as have a few we know , and no – not before you apply for any kind of visa with hopes to live there. You would be opening a huge can of worms, but do what you will.
You couldn’t take a U-Haul. They don’t allow you to cross the border in one. You could take your truck down, loaded and/or pulling a trailer full of stuff, and have at least 3 copies of a spreadsheet (in English and Spanish) of what’s in each box and probably be waved through. If you’re stopped they might open a couple random boxes to see if the contents match what’s on your list. If they do and you don’t have enough of anything to look as if you’re opening a business then you’re good to go. You can take your truck down initially and take what you want, then drive your truck back across the border and sell it and take a bus back to your casita. For U.S. plated cars anyway (don’t know about Canadian) – you can have them if you’re on a temporal. They must meet the age, etc. requirements but it’s not either/or.
I don’t know if it’s different in Canada but in the U.S. if you meet income requirements you can apply for permanente status at some consulates (the problem is it isn’t consistent across the board) from the get-go. If they don’t grant it and you end up with temporal you do not have to wait out the four years on temporal status to convert to permanente. Lots of people who start as temporal get permanente in one or two years.
Things change all the time – and as I said requirements – in foreign consulates and in Mexico – are not consistent. What they ask for/require is vastly different from one city to another. That is why there’s so much confusion re the information that’s out there. An immigration specialist told me once anything you’re told prior to six months before you’re ready to leave cannot be counted on as valid information and to check six months in advance for what you need to know/do and do it – then be prepared for some of that to change before you actually leave for Mexico. That was the best advice I ever got and true as it comes.
Dean, my comment about San Miguel had only to do with cost of living, not with distance to immigration services.
Thanks for the input on the name change. I’ll do more research. The thing is, I’d be changing for the name I actually use and that you’d find if you Google me, however, it’s not the name on any previous paperwork at the border. Big conundrum. I’m definitely going to reconsider this.
The U-Haul comment was tongue-in-cheek, just for the image. I know you can’t take a rental vehicle across one, much less tow, international borders. I know of a few people who have driven their stuff in and taken the vehicle back out. I really don’t have enough ‘stuff’ to make the exercise worthwhile. And I need to replace my vehicle anyway, so I don’t want to bother with the TIP. Have you read the procedures for the TIP on a temporal? It’s a mess and people are losing their deposits.
The permanente visa is just if your income is from investments or a pension, plan, etc., not for a self-employed person. I will ask about getting the permanente since I really exceed the minimum income for the temporal, but I’m not counting on it.
I agree about the info changing constantly, especially since the laws are all new and Mexico keeps tweaking them.
Thanks for your thoughts!
What the legal process in Mexico is and what the actual practice is are usually two different things. One year everyone crosses at Lukeville because it is hassle free and the next year people are getting their food seized there and are crossing at Nogales. You have to keep track.
Leanne, the name sounds so familiar, but, then, again, it’s a fairly common one in Quebec. I just checked his IMDB page and he was involved in MacGyver!!!!
I forgot you are a MacGyver fan. I have to admit I never watched it. It was filmed in Vancouver, which is where I am from and he was at the time so it makes sense he started there.
I grew up watching MacGyver. I still put on episodes for nostalgia’s sake. 🙂
My husband wants you to know he stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) watching a stunt for MacGyver being filmed. (It was a stuntman falling into an airbag from the fouth floor of our office building in downtown Vancouver)
Tell your husband I am suitably jealous! 😀
Your reply, literally made me laugh out loud!
Like Dean said, there is an office in SMA behind the Bodega Aurrera, very easy to find. With your 180 day tourist card, you can begin your “tramite” towards “residente”. The idea is to get started right away as it can take time and once you start the process you cannot leave the country until it’s completed. Requires sacrifice but it’s doable. You can also hire a facilitator although I am not a fan. I believe you can do it on your own. Be sure to have all the required documents with you in hard copy as well as three copies of each document. Also, you will have to have your birth certificate translated officially in Canada into Spanish. It is called apostille.
Like I replied to Dean, my comment about SMA had nothing to do with distance to immigration services. I know it has immigration services. 🙂
Chris, what you’re saying about the tramite makes it sound like you still think that you can start to get the resident permit from within Mexico, which is no longer the case and one of the biggest immigration reforms that happened recently in Mexico. The new process is what I describe — you go to your nearest Mexican consulate in your home country with the required paperwork, get the initial permission, then cross into Mexico with a 30-day visa that gives you time to go to immigration and get the rest of the paperwork sorted out. You can’t go from the 180 visa to the residente visa under the new process. This is why everyone moving to Mexico right now really needs to double check everyone’s advice because everything is so new.
I still believe it can be done within the country. I’ve checked the reform. So that would mean if someone came to Mexico on a tourist card they would have to go back to their country of origin before starting the resident paperwork?
No, you can’t go from the 180-day tourist visa to a temporal or permanente. You have to start the process from home and the income requirements are much higher than they used to be. Mexico is buckling down on immigration. I think this is smart of them. The process is still much easier than for someone trying to come into Canada or the US, but still requires enough thought and preparation so that the person will likely have figured out a way to not be a burden to Mexico.
Hola Rae!
I’m new to this blog, but I thought I’d throw out my two cents, on location at least. I haven’t read much, so please forgive me if you’ve already addressed this. But until you’ve spent a summer in Mérida or Mazatlán, I’d be hesitant to commit to either city. They are both hellishly hot in the summer (much of the time, really), and air conditioning is expensive and relatively scarce. However, there are plenty of inexpensive, charming central highlands towns to choose from, where the climate is pleasant all year ’round. I personally am partial to Zacatecas, Zac, but also have soft spots for San Luis Potosí, and Querétaro. Zacatecas could be dead cheap to live in, and the other two probably offer low-cost places too. But none of them have an expat community that I know of, and Zacatecas in particular has very few foreigners. But if you are committed to learning Spanish, the lack of foreigners shouldn’t be much of a deterrent.
Whatever you choose, buena suerte!
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we are (slowly, very slowly) plotting a similar escape ourselves.
Hola, Kim!
Thank you so much for chiming in! Zacatecas is 2nd on my list after Mérida!
I have thought about the summer climate issue and have decided that it won’t be an issue because I’m so mobile. I’ll either be able to come back to SK for the worst of the summer months or else travel somewhere cooler. To me a ‘commitment’ is just one year, not a lifetime. I hope to explore Mexico the way I have Canada and the US, one city at a time at a slow pace. Thank you for yet another vote for Zacatecas. I am even more curious about it now!
Hola Rae!
I’ve written a fair amount about Zacatecas on my blog, but I see that I need to write something with more pictures. In any case, here’s my overview of the place.
https://gringosuelto.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/zacatecas-the-most-magical-mexican-mountain-town/
I think that Zacatecas’ Centro Historico is the most beautiful city in North America.
Saludos,
KG
My biggest issue with Zacatecas is that it does get cold. I’m reading that you usually need a coat at night year round, for example, and there can be freezing temperatures in January and February. One of the reasons I’m moving to Mexico is so that I don’t have to be cold! 🙂
Hey, I think I’ve been to your blog before, reading about the place you bought or were thinking of buying in Zacatecas?
I certainly wrote such a piece, “The Ridiculous Real Estate Fantasy of Zacatecas” about a house I saw in August of 2014, and which has seen (now two) price increases and is thus still on the market.
I’m in love with Zacatecas, but wonder whether I could really live there. I’m currently focusing my real estate fantasies on Mexico City, a place which I also love, and where I’ve spent tons of time and know quite well.
And yes, Zacatecas is chilly at night, even in the summer. It’s at 8,100 feet of altitude, so the air is thin. But as far as I can tell, in January or February, there’s a bit of frost, but the days (supposedly) warm up nicely. But I’ve only been there in spring and summer, so I can’t attest to that fact. But if you look at the Wikipedia entry on Zacatecas, the climate looks quite tolerable. And if you’re used to northern winters, a Zacatecas winter will be a snap.
Saludos!
Aha, so I do sort of know you. 🙂
To be honest, Zacateca’s climate doesn’t appeal to me at all. I don’t want tolerable weather. I want to sweat and wear dresses year round. I want to live in a destination where people will actually want to come visit me, which is another big tick for Mérida. My family could fly directly to Cancun from Montreal and then take a bus to visit me. I’m tired of always being the one to visit. It would be nice to be the hostess for once.
Also, until I get the paperwork sorted, I’m going to want to be somewhere that has an immigration office. I’m not sure if Zacatecas will be as well equipped as Mérida in that regard.
Indeed. Well, Mérida has a lot going for it, and I wish you well. Zacatecas is not easy to get to, and that’d likely put off visitors. I hope you have a fabulous winter. I’m looking forward to reading your tales.
Saludos,
Kim G
My family and friends find Maz hard to get to, so can you imagine Zacatecas?! I am definitely getting there, though, and I look forward to reading through your blog!
As I said, Mérida might be just the first stop. We’ll see what kind of an impression it makes.
Hi Rae,
Did you make it to Mérida? I’m from Montreal and bought a house in Mérida 2 years ago for I fell in love with that city.
Next year, I plan to rent my house from mid-April 2017 to end of the year. It has 2 gardens (front & back) and a swimming pool, as well as a lovely screened patio, 2 bedrooms, a nice kitchen and dining room, a desk room and much more. Situated to walking distance to the Centro. Contact me if you’re interested.;-))
Hi Nadia!
I went to Mérida on a “scoping out” trip in February. I’m still planning on heading there, but, unfortunately, I don’t think your dates are going to work for me. I will keep you in mind if anything changes. Thanks!