Tourist visa fmm

[pianoheat]

I'm looking on the internet and seeing lots of sites saying a tourist visa is not needed for stays up to 180 days in Mexico. Is this new or am I reading old sites or wrong info

[sparksmex]

An FMM is a Tourist Permit and is required. It's usually good for 180 days

[sailsequoyah]

I think that "fmm" may be obsolete. When you come in by plane, you fill out a form. They give you the bottom half and you turn it back in when you leave. It is good for 180 days. To renew it, you must leave they country. That is commonly called a tourist visa.

If you come in by boat or land, you are supposed to check in at your point of entry and fill out the same form, as well as make sure your boat/car has an import permit.

I think that all of this is waived in BCN, but nowhere else.

[sparksmex]

An FMM - Forma Migratoria Múltiple is still in use. You get one when you enter with an "in process" Resident Visa but It's only good for 30 days. Because have 30 days to get to Immigration. Coming and going with any Resident Visa requires one as well. And it also acts as a Tourist Permit

[sailsequoyah]

Ok, is that the one that is pasted into my passport?

[peddler665]

Not sure about the debate/confusion but it is basically the same form I have been filling out each year for 30 years now.
Arrived on Enero 7 with the document in hand.
It states
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Forma Migratoria Multiple (FMM)
With a couple of more lines
Nothing pasted into my Passport or any place else.
One thing that has changed is I lost mine on my very first trip having it replace at no cost or difficulty.
Last I heard it now is a bigger deal & cost 400 pesos for a replacement. Maybe more now as that was a few years ago when it happened to a friend of mine
PS One thing that has changed it was once a bit of a hassle to get the full 180 but no longer as the last 15 years or so that has been automatic.

[sailsequoyah]

You are right.

The form they give to you on the airplane is the FMM.

However, we recently met a couple who were only given 90 days, so the 180 is not automatic. They did not have return tickets and felt that the migracion officer was being arbitrary and having a bad day.

Anyway, the answer to the original question is, yes, you have to get the FMM when you come in and return it when you leave.

[peddler665]

Interesting sailsequ as while I did buy a round trip ticket this year it was the first time since I retired in 2004 that I have done so but always got a 180 day tourist card.
Also in 1997 I was Crewing on a friend's sailboat when we hit a severe storm off Baja leaving us basically adrift for 6 days finally making land a Bahia de Tortuga in Baja Sur. As it was Sunday all government offices were closed. We took a car than a bus to La Paz flying Aeromexico to Puerto Vallarta via Mazatlan.
On arrival in PV when talking to local friends they suggested just keeping our filled out but non stamped FMM surrendering it that way when we departed on New years Day via Mexicana to OAK.
Worked like a charm with no hitches.

[sailsequoyah]

Having been through the arrival by sea method, I think there may be much more leeway. It seems that in many ports, inn offices are non-existent or open only intermittently.

I read your report about your trip to Tortuga. Sounds like an absolute nightmare.

My sailing days are over because those kinds of adventures have just lost their appeal for me, lol.