Mexican Auto Insurance

[RVGRINGO]

OK, this is off topic but very important. I suspect some confusion on visas. The FMT is a single entry visa and need not be cancelled. I've never heard of anyone having their passport stamped in and out of Mexico; however, you must have your FM3 or FM2 stamped in and out. As for the importada, temporal, no matter what you hear, or can get away with, you are required to have it removed from your vehicle by 'aduana' whenever you leave Mexico. Should you fail to do so and have the unfortunate experience of not being able to present the car at the border (fire, theft, wreck) later, you will not be able to bring in another car and may be subject to fines and fees for which you have posted a bond. Read your documents. It is also illegal to leave a car in Mexico if you only have an FMT and wish to fly out and return. One may not sell or salvage a temporarily imported vehicle in Mexico. And, yes, your vehicle registration must be maintained current somewhere, according to Mexican law, to be used on the roads. Your 'importada temporal' sticker is only an importation sticker, not registration of any kind in any Mexican state. Foreigners with FM3 or FM2 status may purchase and register a Mexican vehicle in Mexico with proof of address and a current driver's license. They may also obtain a driver's license in the Mexican state where they live. Note that many Mexican insurance policies, in the fine print, require that you maintain insurance on the vehicle in the USA.

[HolyMole]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

OK, this is off topic but very important. I suspect some confusion on visas. The FMT is a single entry visa and need not be cancelled. I've never heard of anyone having their passport stamped in and out of Mexico; however, you must have your FM3 or FM2 stamped in and out.........

I've checked our passports and discovered we have not had them stamped when we leave Mexico, but Mexican Immigration has always stamped them, without our request to do so, every time we have entered Mexico.

As far as "cancelling" an FM-T, your post suggests that the very act of re-entering Mexico under a new FM-T implies an automatic cancellation of the previous FM-T. In that case, how would Mexican Immigration know if you overstayed the original FM-T?

Our experience has been that you must surrender your FM-T on leaving Mexico by air....and we've always assumed the same is required when leaving Mexico by car.

[G.Bledsoe]

Originally Posted by HolyMole

I've checked our passports and discovered we have not had them stamped when we leave Mexico, but Mexican Immigration has always stamped them, without our request to do so, every time we have entered Mexico.

As far as "cancelling" an FM-T, your post suggests that the very act of re-entering Mexico under a new FM-T implies an automatic cancellation of the previous FM-T. In that case, how would Mexican Immigration know if you overstayed the original FM-T?

Our experience has been that you must surrender your FM-T on leaving Mexico by air....and we've always assumed the same is required when leaving Mexico by car.

Yes, my passport is always stamped when I enter Mexico by air. And the airline clerks always collects the FM-T visa (the tourist card or stub) when we leave. When we arrived, we always must file out the application for the FM-T and present it to Imigracion and have your passport stamped before picking up our luggage.

Entering Mexico by car apparently is a different matter. Normally, our passports are not stamped at the border (a passport is not required to enter Mexico). However, when we hit the 30 KM check point, they want to see our visas, ID or passport, and car permit, even if the sticker in on the windshield.

The regulation about surrending your FM-T when you drive out of the country is relatively new, I believe, within the last couple of years. I have personally observed Migracion officers asking gringos to pay the $5 a day fine for not canceling their FM-T from a prior visit to the country.

If you get a temporary import sticker for your car, it lasts as long as your FM-T visa. The two items are linked together in the Banjercito's computer.

If you have a temporary import permit and sticker on your windshield, you may drive in and out of the country, and into the interior, during that period of time. I have done it for years, and have never had a problem. Sometime there will be a gap of four months between visits, too.

So the idea of a single-use FM-T visa seems not to apply when you drive into the county, but it it seems to apply to arrving by plane.

I do not understand how they can enforce the $5 per day fine for not canceling your FM-T when leaving the country, unless they stamp your passport. Maybe I am missing something here.

As I tell my rookies, it is always an adventure!

[RVGRINGO]

Yes, there are differences in practice between driving and flying. This is the first I've heard of a $5 fine and it may just be a new scam. Of course, one would be foolish to present an old FMT on re-entering Mexico; especially one that had expired. Regardless of what you are told by customs officers, who are notoriously ignorant of the actual laws, you are very foolish to ever drive out of Mexico without having aduana remove your car sticker; there are horror stories of those who have had a car stolen, etc. and tried to bring in another. It gets very complicated and very expensive. True, it 'can be done' but it isn't legal and it isn't wise. Read the law yourself.

[G.Bledsoe]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

Yes, there are differences in practice between driving and flying. This is the first I've heard of a $5 fine and it may just be a new scam. Of course, one would be foolish to present an old FMT on re-entering Mexico; especially one that had expired. Regardless of what you are told by customs officers, who are notoriously ignorant of the actual laws, you are very foolish to ever drive out of Mexico without having aduana remove your car sticker; there are horror stories of those who have had a car stolen, etc. and tried to bring in another. It gets very complicated and very expensive. True, it 'can be done' but it isn't legal and it isn't wise. Read the law yourself.

If you have a copy of the law in Spanish or English, I will happily to read it. I am constantly researching this topic, given my role as the North American Coordinator of La Carrera Panamericana.

It's a shame the Mexican customs officials, as you say, don't know their own laws. Maybe they can sign up for this eb site and rely on our insights?

I have been crossing the border two or three times a year by SUV, towing a race car, for 12 years now, and have never had a problem with multiple (2) entries on my FM-T or import permit.

Yes, if you cross back into the US without having the permit canceled and you car burns up, it will be difficult to clear the permit out of the Banjercito's computer, but that's a risk I am willing to take.

I do have good news, however. I just learned that there is a process for canceling a temporary import sticker from the USA, if you forget to stop at the border and have it removed properly. Now you can apply for a form from the Banjercito, take it to you local police dept. to be signed, attesting that the car is back in the States, and then return the form, with the sticker, to Mexico City. This is great, because the last time this happened to me, the Mexican consulate in Sacramento told me that I had to go back to Tijuana to clear the permit--which I did. (Someone else was driving my truck and did not know he was suppose to stop at the border.)

I presume this new process would also work with flaming wrecks.

[RVGRINGO]

I don't have a copy, but I think the law regarding 'importada temporal' is #106 in the traffic laws or immigration laws.
That's good news about the Bancercito form; do you have a link?

[G.Bledsoe]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

I don't have a copy, but I think the law regarding 'importada temporal' is #106 in the traffic laws or immigration laws.
That's good news about the Bancercito form; do you have a link?

Also, I just had it confirmed by the Banjercito in Mexico City: the temporary import permit -- the tourist sticker or tramite -- is a multiple use permit. Thus it can be used for as many border crossings as you want during the period that the permit is valid.

[RVGRINGO]

Originally Posted by G.Bledsoe

Also, I just had it confirmed by the Banjercito in Mexico City: the temporary import permit -- the tourist sticker or tramite -- is a multiple use permit. Thus it can be used for as many border crossings as you want during the period that the permit is valid.

As long as your immigration status is maintained. Therefore, you must have an FM3 or better. I'm sure they didn't tell you of the problems you will face if your car is wrecked, stolen or burned and you can't get it to Mexican Customs to have them verify the VIN and remove the sticker. That's where the problem lies and it has happened to some. They will never, ever, leave Mexico with a sticker still on the windshield. Note that the sticker itself is an invitation for an illegal in the USA to steal your car and drive it back to Mexico. I have an aquaintance who had that happen when he left his new Jeep for service at a dealer in the USA. It vanished from the dealer's lot, complete with keys and a presumed illegal immigrant employee. He went through pure hell for months. When that happens, you can't bring another car to Mexico and may be subject to fines and duty on the original car. It just isn't worth it.

[G.Bledsoe]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

As long as your immigration status is maintained. Therefore, you must have an FM3 or better. I'm sure they didn't tell you of the problems you will face if your car is wrecked, stolen or burned and you can't get it to Mexican Customs to have them verify the VIN and remove the sticker. That's where the problem lies and it has happened to some. They will never, ever, leave Mexico with a sticker still on the windshield. Note that the sticker itself is an invitation for an illegal in the USA to steal your car and drive it back to Mexico. I have an aquaintance who had that happen when he left his new Jeep for service at a dealer in the USA. It vanished from the dealer's lot, complete with keys and a presumed illegal immigrant employee. He went through pure hell for months. When that happens, you can't bring another car to Mexico and may be subject to fines and duty on the original car. It just isn't worth it.

As long as your FM-T (tourist visa) is valid, you may cross the border multiple times with a temporary import permit for your car or light truck. The option is standing in line each time and paying the $36 USD fee. The lines are usually long on the weekends, too. We stood in line for 2 hours on a Friday night at 11:00 PM in October in Nuevo Laredo last year. (It is possible to obtain the permit and sticker by email, too.)

Yes, if your car--with the Mexican tourist sticker still on the windshield-- is destroyed while you are in the U.S., you must clear the sticker with the Banjercito. You may obtain a form from the Banjercito, take it to your local police to be signed--atesting to the fact--that your car has been destroyed, and return
the form to Mexico. (I am trying to get more information about this process.)

And, yes, having a tourist sticker on your car, while parked on a street in Laredo, might encourage someone to hotwire it and drive it into Mexico, but the ladron would still need identification to make the vehicle's permit at the 30K checkpoint.

Regardless, there may be gringos who live on the US side of the border who need to make frequent trips into the interior of Mexico and want to avoid waiting in line and the expense each time. These people should know that the temporary import permit may be used multiple times, as long as their tourist visa ihas not expired.

Clearly, if an American tourist does not plan to return to Mexico for an extended time, it is probably best that he/she stop at the border and have the sticker removed-----and their FM-T canceled.

[G.Bledsoe]

Originally Posted by G.Bledsoe

As long as your FM-T (tourist visa) is valid, you may cross the border multiple times with a temporary import permit for your car or light truck. The option is standing in line each time and paying the $36 USD fee. The lines are usually long on the weekends, too. We stood in line for 2 hours on a Friday night at 11:00 PM in October in Nuevo Laredo last year. (It is possible to obtain the permit and sticker by email, too.)

Yes, if your car--with the Mexican tourist sticker still on the windshield-- is destroyed while you are in the U.S., you must clear the sticker with the Banjercito. You may obtain a form from the Banjercito, take it to your local police to be signed--atesting to the fact--that your car has been destroyed, and return
the form to Mexico. (I am trying to get more information about this process.)

And, yes, having a tourist sticker on your car, while parked on a street in Laredo, might encourage someone to hotwire it and drive it into Mexico, but the ladron would still need identification to make the vehicle's permit at the 30K checkpoint.

Regardless, there may be gringos who live on the US side of the border who need to make frequent trips into the interior of Mexico and want to avoid waiting in line and the expense each time. These people should know that the temporary import permit may be used multiple times, as long as their tourist visa ihas not expired.

Clearly, if an American tourist does not plan to return to Mexico for an extended time, it is probably best that he/she stop at the border and have the sticker removed-----and their FM-T canceled.

I now have copies of the forms to clear the temporary import permit and need to clarify what I said above. This process was followed by a friend of mine who did not have the permit and sticker on his Jaguar canceled when he left Mexico last October.

The necessary form is actually obtained from the Mexican Customs (Aduanas) offices in Mexico City. You then take the form down to your local police or state trooper office, and have them inspect your car, or attest to the fact that the car has been stolen or destroyed. Then you return the form and your documents, including the permit and sticker itself, to the Mexican Customs official in Mexico City. They will authorize the Banjercito to clear your vehicle out of their computer.

The only other option is to return to a Banjercito office at the border.