Once you have received your resident visa from the Mexican consulate, you are required to travel to Mexico and exchange that visa for a resident card. Then the process of obtaining a residence permit will be completed and you will become a full resident of Mexico. The process of exchanging a visa for a resident card is called canje («kanje», exchange). You have the opportunity to carry it out at any migration service office in Mexico, regardless of which airport you entered the country at.
The canje process is always the same and does not depend on the basis on which the resident visa was obtained — by economic viability, by invitation to work or by family ties.
The validity period of the visa you received — 180 days, single entry allowed into Mexico. You should fly to Mexico within these 180 days and have the right to do this even on the last day. Do not use automated checkpoints to enter Mexico! Go through passport control as usual.
When going through passport control, clearly indicate your visa to the immigration officer. A visa must be the only reason for entry, even if your citizenship allows entry into Mexico without a visa. The officer will issue you entry for the stages canje — will make the necessary notes in the migration database and determine the permitted period of stay of 30 days. Your passport will be stamped with an entry stamp that says canje. If you do not see a stamp with this inscription in your passport, return to the passport control point and ask the officer to correctly process your entry visa.
Now you have 30 calendar days to contact the migration service to exchange your visa for a resident card. This requires an electronic «situ» (date of submission of papers). In some offices of the migration service, the sieve may be present for the next few days, but in most — in a few weeks. The main thing is that you received the card in advance, before entry, or within 30 days after entry, even if you are issued a card later.
Immediately upon arrivaldownloadand print out your FMMD migration form. Without it, you will not be able to perform the canje procedure.
On the day on which you are scheduled to sit, you submit the following package of documentation to the migration service office:
- passport with visa,
- application («tramite») for carrying out stages of canje,
- a letter requesting to exchange a visa for a card (required by individual migration service offices),
- printed migration form FMMD,
- receipt of payment of state duty if you pay in cash through a bank. But it is more convenient to pay with a bank card at the migration service office.
There is no need to re-submit all the confirmations that you submitted to the consulate when receiving your visa. However, we suggest you still have them on hand.
Usually, a resident card is issued on the day of application to the migration service office. But there are situations when you will be asked to come later. Let's say the printer for printing cards in the office is broken, there are no plastic blanks, or cards are printed and delivered from another office.
How to independently carry out the procedure for exchanging a resident card for a resident visa is described in other publications on our website dedicated to obtaining a residence permit in Mexico on each specific basis.
We provide assistance in carrying out the canje stages after entering Mexico.We know which migration service offices allow you to obtain a card faster, and we will try to optimize the dates of your visit to the migration service and the time of your stay in the country. We will do all the paperwork for you quickly and accurately, and you will be able to devote more time to your vacation in Mexico.
Our tasks include:
- obtain an appointment (situ) at the migration service office to submit documentation,
- download and print the FMMD migration form,
- fill out and print the necessary forms,
- help pay the fee, especially if your cards in Mexico do not work,
- accompany you to the migration service office to submit documents and purchase a resident card.
All applications to migration service offices require personal presence with a passport. Our support is especially relevant if you do not speak Spanish and are not confident in filling out the forms correctly.
Cost of the service for exchanging a visa for a resident card:from 300 USD. State fees are paid separately.
To get started, we will need a scan of the double page of your passport with a photo, a photo of the visa page, and after entry — photo of the entry stamp into Mexico.
If you do not plan to stay in Mexico for a long time, you can fly out immediately after receiving your resident card. However, you will have to return to the country to renew your card for a new period. However, the period during which you can be absent from Mexico within the validity period of your resident card is not regulated.
