Work visa — the easiest legal way to obtain resident status in Mexico, even if in fact you buy a job offer from a Mexican company. However, having received such a residence permit, you become dependent on the employer or the one who prepared the visa papers for you. The fact is that a Mexican temporary resident card upon invitation to work for the first time is always issued for 1 year. Then such a card needs to be renewed, and this can only be doneproviding proof of employmentfrom the employer. The employer has the right to be the same one who helped you obtain a work visa and brought you to purchase a resident card, or any other. The main thing is that at the time of card renewal you have confirmation that you are employed.
If you have changed your place of work, you should first notify the migration service about the change of employer, then apply for a card renewal with confirmation from the new employer. Since you are not required to notify about dismissal, but only about starting a new job, it is difficult to violate the 90-day notification period established by migration legislation. But if you bring a letter from your new employer for renewal, in which he writes that you have been working for him for 4 months, and you have not previously notified the migration service about the change of job, you risk getting a fine.
The employer you work for must have a valid permit to hire foreigners. It is reconfirmed annually. The employer is tied to a specific migration service office, and for this reason, if your previous employer is registered in one state (and your card was received there), and the new — in another, you also have to resolve this issue with the migration service.
Many people move to Mexico with their families. The head of the family receives resident status by invitation to work, family members receive their resident cards based on their relationship with him. Their cards are tied to his card, and first the head of the family must renew his card for work, only then they are able to renew theirs. In this regard, the absence of a job for the head of the family at the time of card renewal means the risk of losing residence in Mexico for the entire family.
It is possible to begin the procedure for renewing a resident card no earlier than 30 days before its expiration date. You are allowed to contact the migration service within 60 days after the card expires, but then you will have to pay a fine. After 60 days, the card cannot be renewed, meaning you will lose both the card and your Mexican residency.
To renew your resident card upon invitation to work, you should offer the migration service approximately the following set of documentation:
- temporary resident card;
- documents from the employer: a letter confirming your employment indicating the duration of the contract. It is important that the migration service will not issue a card for a period longer than the duration of the contract with the employer. Previously, the employer has already received permission to hire you, he has an extract from the register of employers in Mexico, for the registration of which he has already provided the migration service with information about the company (charter, tax report, authority of the representative), and therefore you usually should not provide these papers additionally;
- request for a migration procedure (the so-called «tramite» for the purpose of Expedición de Tarjeta de Residente por Renovación). The form should be filled out on the migration service website, printed in duplicate and signed;
- a letter in which you confirm that the basis on which the resident card was obtained remains valid;
- receipts for payment of state fees (original and 2 copies each), unless payment is made at the migration service office by bank card.
A new resident card is issued on the day the documents are reviewed. It will indicate the date of issue (beginning of validity) the day after the expiration date of the old card, even if in fact the card was issued before or after this date.
We help to renew your resident card upon invitation to work. To achieve this, we collaborate with employers from Mexico City and Cancun. Extension of a temporary resident card upon invitation to work is permitted for 1, 2 or 3 years (maximum period).
Renewal (issuance of a new card) can take from one day to several weeks, and this period depends on the queue at a particular migration service office. We will organize the registration of the queue for submitting documents, fill out all the forms, help you pay state fees and accompany you to submit documents and purchase a new card at the migration service office.
We can also help you purchase a work permit for a resident card that does not provide such permission. For example, for cards received under the settlement program. The work permit will be valid until the expiration date of the resident card.