If you've lost your Mexican temporary or permanent resident card, it's been stolen, or it's been badly damaged, it's fairly easy to get it back. Basic condition — The card has not yet expired.
You can only renew your resident card while in Mexico. If you lost your resident card out of state, you will need to first enter Mexico as a resident and not as a visitor to the country — more about this below.
Mandatory papers
- Passport.
- If the card was stolen — act (report) from the police received after filing a complaint about theft (original and copy) — Now not all migration service offices require it.
- When a resident card is damaged — what's left of her.
- FMMor a stamp in your passport confirming the fact and date of your entry into Mexico (original and copy).
- Bid(«tram») on the restoration of the resident card. The application must be completed electronically, printed and brought in original.
You can apply for reinstatement of your resident card only at the INM office (branch) to which your home address is linked, or more precisely, only in the locality where you live in Mexico.
For the coordinates of the offices of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in different states and cities of Mexico, seelink.
You can sign up to submit documentation to the selected migration service office online by following thisinstructions. Registration times (queue) vary depending on the state, but in most cases do not exceed several weeks.
Price
See current rates for restoring a Mexican resident cardHere. You don't have to pay for the card itself. The restored card will be issued for the same period for which the lost one was issued.
Confirmation of payment for card restoration — another document that you are required to submit to INM. In addition, you have the right to pay the restoration fee at the migration service office with a bank card.
If your residence card is lost abroad
If you are abroad, your main task — draw up a document allowing you to enter Mexico as a resident and not as a guest of the country. About dangerlosseswe wrote earlier about resident status when crossing the Mexican border incorrectly. Only once you get to Mexico do you have the opportunity to restore your resident card.
Contact the United Mexican States embassy or consulate abroad to apply for a visa to enter Mexico as a resident. You must have the following documents with you:
- Passport, original and copy of page with photo and personal data.
- FMM or stamp in your passport confirming the fact and date of your departure from Mexico (original and copy).
- One color photograph 3.9 cm x 3.1 cm on a white background, full face, face open, without glasses.
- If your resident card has been stolen — act (report) from the police of your country of residence, received after filing a theft report (original and copy).
- If the resident card is damaged — what's left of her.
- Receipt of payment of the consular fee for issuing a Mexico visa (US$56, 2026).
Within up to 10 days, you will be issued a visa for a single entry into Mexico with a special mark «reposición» in the migration database. The validity period of such a visa is — 30 days (not 180!), during which you must arrive in Mexico.
When entering Mexico, make sure you are not classified as a tourist by the immigration officer. Its mark on the migration card (FMM, in the Uso oficial block) or on the stamp must only be Reposición (not Canje, as for other resident visas!), otherwise the migration office will send you back to the airport for correction. The stated number of allowed days of stay should be 30, not 180 days as for the traveler.
During these 30 days after entering Mexico, you should contact INM and apply for reinstatement of your resident card instead of all the documents listed at the beginning of this article. There is no way you can extend these 30 days.
Another option: upon arrival in Mexico, contact the migration service at the airport, obtain the Acta de Internacion Aerea, and then go with it to the migration service office in the city. But we do not recommend this option.
Deadlines
If there is little time left before your resident card expires, you may feel that there is no point in renewing it. However, the migration service requires that you carry out two separate processes: first, receive a new card to replace the lost one, and then renew the card for a new period.
You must apply for a new Mexican resident card within 55 days of the expiration date of your old one. If you do not do this, you will lose your Mexican residency status.
If your resident card expired while you were outside of Mexico, you must return to Mexico no later than the 55th day after the card expires to purchase a new card. You are better off entering the country with your old resident card. After this, within 5 days you must submit an application to INM to extend the validity of your resident status. Total — 60 days from the date of expiration of the card.
If you lose your Mexican resident card abroad and it has expired, other procedures and deadlines do not change. Before the end of the 60-day period, you must obtain a Mexico visa, enter the country, and apply to INM for a new resident card.
Days are considered calendar days, not working days.