Russian travelers began to be denied entry into Mexico en masse due to suspicions that they intended to illegally emigrate to the United States. This was reported by The Moscow Times with reference to the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (RST). 14 Russian tour operators sent a collective appeal on this issue to the Mexican Ambassador to Russia Eduardo Villegas Megías. According to PCT data, the number of cases of refusals of Russians to enter Mexico has reached 10% of the flow.
«Instances have become more frequent when people arriving with paid tours, confirmed hotel reservations, return tickets and other necessary documents are not allowed into Mexico. We cannot be sure that our applicants will cross the border,” said the tourism director of the Caribbean Club company. Lada Popelo.
As a result, responsibility is shifted to Russian tour operators. According to her, Mexican border guards can simply call the hotel indicated on the voucher and ask the first officer they come across if there is a reservation. But he may not know this, or the surname of the guest of the state may be difficult to pronounce; as a result, the person may be turned away at passport control back home. According to Popelo, such cases occur regularly, and for several years now, the case has more than once gone to court, and visitors usually win. But the most unpleasant thing is that both the embassy and Mexican host companies say that they are not responsible for the actions of migration services.
A few days ago, a family with a child was not allowed in, says the head of the specialized department of the tour operator «Vand» Irina Ovchinnikova. “We even had a letter of guarantee that the guest of the state would return to Russia, but it didn’t help,” she said, clarifying that the situation began to escalate six months ago. «It seems that border guards are randomly selecting tourists who will be denied entry. There is an opinion that a visa stamped in the passport guarantees entry without problems, but in practice they can be deployed with both an electronic permit and a visa in the passport. In addition, the interview is conducted in English, most often through Google translator, in this regard, elementary misunderstandings are allowed», — Ovchinnikova clarified.
Moreover, if tourists are not allowed into the country, the tour operator is not responsible for the decision of the border services, says ITM group representative Irina Yurina. However, according to Milan Mitkin, Latin America consultant for ClickVoyage tour operator, her company was faced with a refusal to allow travelers to enter Mexico about a year ago, and then the court sided with the clients.
«We were required to pay money for a Turkish Airlines flight. The customers sued us on the grounds that they called the hotel from the border, but their reservation was not confirmed and they were not allowed entry. In court, we provided all vouchers and confirmation of payment, documents from partners, but the court did not take this into account. Now we immediately warn guests of countries that they risk not crossing the border. And, basically, we just sell ground service without tickets», — she explained.
The appeal was signed by the heads of the companies «Art-Tour», «Russian Express», «Caribbean Club», ITM group, «Intourist», ICS Travel, «Quinta Tour», ClickVoyage, Latina Travel, PAC Group, «Miracle», «Cheerful Wind», «Vand», «Our People».
This spring, the Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR) reported that three Russian women were not allowed on a Turkish Airlines flight to Mexico. They were refused on the grounds that they had never been to America, Canada or England. Turkish Airlines later suspended the sale of single tickets for planes from Russia to Mexico. However, you can buy a Turkish Airlines ticket to Mexico from Istanbul.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it insists on taking “exhaustive measures” to eliminate cases of unfounded refusals of entry into Mexico. However, as official representative of the department Maria Zakharova noted, the Mexican authorities refused to guarantee entry into the country even if you have a properly issued visa, a return ticket, a confirmed hotel reservation and a sufficient amount of funds.
After the start of the war in Ukraine and mobilization, the number of Russians who entered Mexico through Turkey, and from there traveled to the United States and asked for asylum there, increased sharply. From October 1, 2022 to August 2023, the American judicial system received 41,465 cases from Russian-speaking asylum seekers. Only since the beginning of 2023, the number of such requests from immigrants from the Russian Federation has increased by more than 1,500% compared to 2021. Moreover, before the start of the war, their number ranged from 2.4 thousand to 3.4 thousand per year.