The new immigration law

[SteveGinGto]

I don't see any mention of it here, so I will begin the discussion. I've been following the discussion at the Civil_SMA list.

The other day the Mexican government released the text of the new immigration law. It is available in Spanish at New Mexican Immigration Law

Articles 107 and the ones following seem to be about things we want to know about. I did a tweaked version of a Google translation for Article 107, as that was the one that affected me at this time.

Over at the Civil list they are talking about fees and minimum incomes, but so far there has been no one pointing at where they are getting their numbers.

It does seem that the FM3 and FM2 are being rolled into one "temporary resident" category between the still 6-month tourist visa and the permanent resident visa/card. And that the time from beginning to end of the temporary visa will be four years, though shorter ones will be available (the cost being less).

As to cars (especially) and other possessions, that doesn't seem to be spelled out yet.

Disclaimer: Don't take any of this as gospel yet, since the law as written says some things, yet people supposedly in the know over in SMA are adding stuff from where I don't know. For the moment I am assuming their sources are basically correct, but this is an unfolding event, and it seems that some of what is out there may not be the final word.

For those who are wondering about a minimum income level, here is what Article 107 says in plain language:

El solicitante debera demostrar alguno de los siguientes supuestos:

I. Que cuenta soon solvencia economica suficiente para cubrir el monto de Ios gastos de alojamiento y manutencion clurante su estancia en el territorio nacional;

Translated, I make that out to say:

The applicant must demonstrate one of the following assumptions:

I. That he/she has sufficient economic solvency to cover the amount of the board and lodging expenses during their stay in the country;

If someone can provide a better translation, please do.
[/quote]
Steve Garcia

[Mykul]

My wife and I will be applying to move to Mexico in the new year.
I am interested to see how these changes will apply to us.
She is a Mexican citizen and I am Canadian. We will be driving down with our vehicle and household stuff so I will soon see what all is involved.

I will post here once the process begins.

[SteveGinGto]

The English version of the new immigration law can be found via http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codig...28/09/2012. Go to the <Translate> button. It will at first come up in Spanish, then translate. Be patient.

It behooves every ex-pat in Mexico to read this.

I am pasting in here comments from Michoacan_net:

Mexico's New Migration Law
The regulations for the new (2011) Migration Law for Mexico were published on 2012-Sept-28. This will affect all foreign residents, and soon-to-be residents, in Mexico.
Quick Summary
* * [b]No more FM3 or FM2. Just a 1 to 4 year temporary resident visas (working or non-working). After 4 years this leads to a permanent resident visa with the right to work.
* * Should be possible to apply direct for permanent resident in some cases, without a temporary resident visa beforehand.
* * Ownership of real estate above a certain value can qualify for a temporary visa, without requiring specific income, which can then be converted to permanent residence after four years.[/b]
Sources
You can download pdf's of the full texts in Spanish and in English (unformatted, poorly translated), for the regulations and the immigration law to which they apply, from the links under "attachments" on the side column of this article at San Felipe Life.
Purpose of the law
The main purpose of the law is to protect the rights of migrants, especially women and children, and to allow for more humanitarian family reunion. If you have a partner or child who is Mexican, or if you are a refugee there is a lot in the law that addresses your rights.
For clarity, I've limited the discussion below to those who do not have Mexican family, and who are not refugees, and who are not students. I've also not gone into detail about how working visas will work as a lot of that, such as points system, is still to be defined.
The law consolidates and simplifies rules that were scattered around other laws (and repeals those). It certainly seems like it's going to be much simpler. It does remain to be seen if it will be implemented like this, or if local rules will be added!
The article numbers below are those from the regulations (and law), so you should check my summary with the real documents (downloadable alongside) if you need to know the exact wording.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor have anything to do with immigration, so there are likely to be errors in this summary.Plus, of course, the actual way these rules and laws are interpreted may vary depending on which immigration office, which person, and what phase of the moon it is.
Article 93
The article 93 in the regulations describes the procedure at land borders. It requires passports (and visas, where applicable) to be checked on entry, including for pedestrians and people in private cars. Maybe this won't be implemented immediately, but when it does it might add delays at the border.
Article 101-106
The issuing of visas at consulates is described. Ten year multiple entry 180-days per entry visitors visas are also mentioned, but unless something has changed, visas are not required for visitors from major Western countries, so this doesn't really apply.
There is no mention of any changes to the FMM or FMT, which were often called "tourist visas" but were actually entry permits (issued without visas for people from low-risk countries). So for most tourists from the US and Canada it is likely the existing FMM will continue as at present for trips up to 180 days.
Article 107
Article 107 in the regulations refer to how article 40 (IV) of the law will be implemented. This is for the temporary residence visas that are available for those who want to stay for 180 days to 4 years, without the right to work. It roughly replaces the FM-3 or "non immigrant" rentista permit.
To get a Temporary Resident visa, you have to meet only one of the conditions listed. They include, among others,
---(I) enough money for "accommodation and meals during stay",
---(V) ownership of Mexican real estate above a certain value,
---(VI) investments including Mexican stocks and commercial property, or job creation. The amounts for the real estate and investments are to be announced later (presumably during October 2012).
Article 138
Article 138 is for temporary residents who may work, whether for pay or not (article 52 VII in the law). As well as the conditions listed above, other options are (II) have a job offer from a genuine employer or (III) have registered with the tax office for work that doesn't involve pay (I can't quite see the logic in that, but that's what it states).
Proof of knowledge and experience for the job is required if applying under II or III. It appears from reading this that ownership of property is an option that actually allows work with no job offer, experience, or existing business needed, but maybe there's some other condition somewhere.
Article 109
This article covers Permanent Resident visas from article 52 VII of the law, which are without the right to work. Conditions for granting this include one of (among others):
---(II) pensioned or retired with sufficient income to live in the country (amount not stated yet, but likely similar to the existing FM3 or FM2 rules), or
---(III) qualify under a points system to be defined (this will be mainly for highly qualified skilled workers, similar to the points-based immigration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand etc).
This is worth repeating: with a sufficient retirement income, the rules state that a permanent resident visa is immediately available. No requirement for temporary visas first.
Article 139
This covers the law article 52 IX, which is Permanent Resident visas with the right to work. Like article 109, a pension income is enough (III). So it probably makes sense to apply under this category rather than article 109, to have the right to work and keep your options open. There is also a points-based qualification option for skilled workers (IV).
In addition (V), anybody who has been a temporary resident for four years, working or not, is eligible for this permanent resident visa with the right to work (two years if you have a Mexican spouse/partner).
Article 141
Article 141 VI reiterates the conditions under which a temporary resident can change to permanent resident. These are a) qualify under the points system (for work), b) retired or receive a pension with sufficient income (amount not stated), or c) have been a temporary resident for four consecutive years.
It's unclear whether an existing FM3 or FM2 counts towards the temporary resident time, this is probably the most important question for many people! If anybody can point me to some written statements on how existing temporary visas will be treated it would be very helpful.
Article 156
The temporary resident card can be issued for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years. If you're under 3 years of age (well done for reading this far!) you can only get a one year visa, which implies that 4 year visas should be available to others. Hopefully no more annual renewals! For a working visa, it is restricted to one employer and also to the length of the contract, which may be where the other lengths come in.
Article 157
The permanent resident card is valid indefinitely. Again if you meet one of the conditions for granting it, such as having retirement income, you should be able to get this straight away, no stepping through FM3 then FM2, which is a really major change.
There doesn't appear to be any requirement to spend any specific amount of time in the country each year before or after you have this (there are separate rules if you plan to become a citizen later).
Article 167
If you have either the temporary or permanent resident card you must notify a change of residence (in Mexico), workplace (for work visas), marital status or nationality within 90 days.
Article 111
Temporary and permanent residents can apply to bring in their parents, spouse or partner, and minor children.

Transition rules
The new regulations are intended to come into force 30 days after they were published (29 Sept), so this will be on Monday, 29th Oct 2012. 30 working days, so around Nov 12th (thanks Solomon for the update).
Any applications submitted before that date will continue to be processed under the old rules. Existing cards remain valid until their expiry dates.
Updates
I'll update this post when the monetary amounts have been announced (such as how much real estate is needed, as one of the ways to qualify for the temporary visa). I'll also post general updates and news about how the law works out in practice at my other site, San Felipe News.

This post can be freely copied to your blog or publication (CC-BY-SA). All I ask is that you show that it has been written by Robert Hoare, and include a working link back to San Felipe Life http://www.sanfelipelife.com/ .

POSTED BY
Rob on Saturday, September 29 2012, 17:00

Highlights added by me.

Steve G

[Kay Curtis]

As one who has lived on other countries besides USA and MX I would like to point out that there can be a vast difference between the law and the policies of implementation. In 13 years of living in Mx I have dealt with the INM offices in Rosarito Beach, San Miguel and Leon. The policies have varied greatly in the past and I have no reason to suspect that that will change much, except that at THIS moment all offices are in chaos forming their own policies to conform (mainly) to the sweeping new Mexican immigration law. Don't make yourselves crazy trying to establish how you believe the new law should be implemented and then fighting the bureaucrats who disagree with a foreigner's logic. If you are in the middle of it (as I am) just wait. If you aren't due for bureaucratic review -- just wait until you are and need more information.

[raquelita]

"Existing cards remain valid until their expiry date."

Is the expiry date four years from issue or the end of the current year period?