Typically, when going through passport control upon arrival in Mexico, everyone wants to purchase the maximum allowed stay — 180 days. But there are situations when a guest of the country, on the contrary, is interested in being allowed to stay in Mexico for as few days as possible, and so that these days end quickly. A guest of the state came to Mexico specifically to acquire resident status under the program for resolving the migration situation.
Although the program has been running for 3 years, many people only recently learned about it. Let us remind you that the program allows those who have already visited Mexico in 2023 or in previous years to legally acquire a temporary residence permit in Mexico for a maximum period of 4 years. To do this, you should come to Mexico again, wait until the permitted period of stay expires, that is, become an illegal immigrant, and contact the migration service to resolve the migration situation and obtain a residence permit. The shorter the period of entry they give and the faster you become an illegal immigrant, the faster you can get a resident card. Many were specifically waiting for the beginning of 2025 so that entries in 2023 would be added to the criteria for participation in the program.
Important note.The materials in this publication apply to citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus — under the settlement program they are given a residence permit at the end of any permitted period of stay. Citizens of other countries, especially the United States and Canada, may be denied entry if their authorized stay at last entry was less than 180 days. The refusal depends on the migration service office to which you will apply.
There is no way to find out in advance what permitted period of stay you will be given upon entering Mexico. This is a complete lottery, since the decision on the number of days you will be allowed to stay in Mexico is made by the migration officer at passport control. You have the right to indicate 30 days in the electronic permit, but they will still give you 180. You have the right to buy a return ticket in 30 days, but they will still give you 180. However, the opposite situation is just as likely to happen — return ticket in 180 days, but was allowed to stay in Mexico for 30.
The only way to influence the decision of the migration officer — enter into a dialogue with him and ask for the permitted period of stay that you need. Some are afraid of dialogue and requests, believing that in this case there is a risk of being denied entry. Completely in vain! If the decision to refuse entry is made, it will be based on completely different criteria, and not on your request for length of stay.
You must start a dialogue and ask for as short a period of stay as possible before the officer at passport control begins to examine your papers. Standard question «How many days do you plan to stay in Mexico?» has the opportunity not to sound. The officer silently takes the papers, silently examines them, slaps an entry stamp into your passport, in which he enters the number «180», and you no longer have the opportunity to change anything.
As if by chance, you have the right to say that you came to Mexico for a short time and in 10 days you plan to fly to Costa Rica. You can specifically ask for the least number of days possible because you came to Mexico specifically to obtain residency status under the settlement program. There is nothing reprehensible in your actions! If you have the right to obtain a residence permit under this program, then why should you be ashamed or hide it? Any justification for the desire to issue a short permitted period of stay may take place.
What is the minimum permitted length of stay to request? Whatever you want! The minimum period for which entry is generally issued — 7 days. Consider that most tours to Mexico are designed for a maximum of 2 weeks, and it is normal practice that most organized tourists spend no more than 14 days in Mexico. You can ask for 10, 15, 30 days… — at your discretion. That said, we see no logical reason why asking for 30 days could be preferable to, say, 10.
As soon as the migration officer returns your passport, do not leave, open your passport, find the entry stamp and see how many days are written in it by hand. Very often the inscription does not allow you to make out what quantity you received upon entry — This is another reason to clarify. If the figure does not suit you, contact the migration officer again with a request to correct the allowed period. He is capable of correction, and this will be your last chance to change his decision in your favor.
In the end, you have nothing to lose. They will give you 180 days — If you live in Mexico for these six months as a traveler, then you can still apply for a residence permit under the program.
If you want to learn more about obtaining a residence permit in Mexico for 4 years under the program for resolving the migration situation, read thispublication, and at the same time the stories of readers under it.
Don’t forget to download the FMM migration form (now called FMMD) a couple of days after entry. It is useful for checking how many days of the permitted period of stay have been entered into the migration database. It happens that the passport indicates one permitted period of stay, and the FMMD — 180 days. This is not a problem, but most often, in order to contact the migration service, you will have to wait until the permitted period of stay indicated in the FMMD, and not on the stamp in the passport, expires. Each such case requires an individual action plan.