Your pregnancy — this is the last thing Mexican border officials will look at when deciding to allow you into Mexico. Every year, hundreds of foreigners come to Mexico to give birth. At the same time, Mexico does not restrict the entry of pregnant women in any way, granting everyone born on their land the unconditional right to become a citizen of the state, and his parents and relatives — the right to acquire Mexican citizenship over time.
Fly to Mexico for childbirth, even just for the sake of papers — completely legal. Maternity tourism brings good income to many clinics and doctors in Mexico, and every self-respecting clinic necessarily has a package offer for expectant mothers. People who are not at all poor fly to Mexico to give birth, even from neighboring Latin American countries. Therefore, there is no reason for Mexico to refuse the money you leave in the country.
Usually they arrive for childbirth 2 months in advance, in other words, at about 28 weeks of pregnancy or even a little later. But recently, to optimize the time of stay, they arrive even a month in advance, after 32 weeks. At this time, the belly is already difficult to hide. The immigration officer at the Mexican airport will certainly notice the pregnancy. He will be interested in completely different questions before he decides whether to let you into the country or not. He will ask the same questions to any tourist coming to the country.
The opinion that expectant mothers should make special preparations to enter Mexico has no basis. No instructions from birth organizers in Mexico actually guarantee anything. On the Internet you will read advice such as wear loose clothes, cover your stomach with a backpack or stand behind your husband. Yes, follow these tips. But you will be allowed entry not because they didn’t notice your belly, but because the migration officer didn’t care about it.
There is no VIP clearance for border and customs control. The final decision whether to let you into the country always rests with the Mexican border guard, and this is a human factor. In 90% of cases, any instructions for passing passport control for pregnant women may not be needed, because there will be no special questions. But we will talk about issues that most likely have the right to be.
In addition, we have published questionsquestionnaires, which must be filled out by those who are sent for additional screening at a Mexican airport. Think through the answers to these questions — the best thing you can do before traveling to Mexico. No special preparation is needed!
Purpose of the trip
The purpose of coming to Mexico must be clearly confirmed. Therefore, the simpler it is, the better.
Tourism.Tourism involves vacationing or traveling around the country. Accordingly, you must have a hotel reservation or other accommodation, a guest government voucher, a travel plan around the country with confirmations along the route, etc. A hotel reservation can only be for the first time, and then you plan to move to another hotel or another resort.
«My husband knows the name of the hotel», — wrong answer. Appear to be excited about the trip and learn all the details about the hotel or itinerary. Tell us how you dream of visiting Chichen Itza, swimming in cenotes or sailing on a catamaran to Isla Mujeres.
Childbirth or treatment.If you answer that you flew to Mexico to give birth, there will be nothing wrong with that. After all, you are telling the truth. But there will be questions about the clinic where you will give birth, about your financial viability, etc., why Mexico (a very common question, and it is better to focus on the medical factor rather than on obtaining Mexican citizenship), etc.
No doctor or clinic will provide you with a contract to provide medical services until you come to Mexico and undergo an examination. But correspondence with the doctor will be enough. Some of our friends from Ukraine confirmed the purpose of coming to give birth to the immigration officer at the Mexico City airport with a simple printout of correspondence with the doctor. The important point was that the correspondence indicated the doctor’s consent to accept the couple for childbirth and contained his price offer. In addition, all the doctor’s details were indicated there, including the license number, and contact details of the clinic. In other words, the data from the correspondence could be verified. They didn’t check, they just wished her a successful birth.
Companies that organize births or medical tourism in Mexico may offer a copy of the so-called accreditation of the clinics. You should know that medical tourism in Mexico is licensed, and not a single Russian-speaking birth organizer has such a license. Accordingly, there is no official accreditation. However, companies may offer such a document after concluding a contract and prepaying for their services. In our experience, such a document is not considered a guarantee of entry into Mexico and rather serves to increase the status of the birth organizer in the eyes of the client.
We do not recommend calling the purpose of your visit to visit relatives, friends or business events. You have no relatives in Mexico!
Travel dates
If you're coming as a tourist, don't say you're here for 180 days (the maximum allowed stay in Mexico). Name a month or several months, it’s more plausible.
The period that the immigration officer will indicate on your FMM migration card is — it's always a lottery. Usually they set it to 180 days, even if they give a shorter period. If you received less — don't be upset, you have a different goal.
The permitted period of stay can be later extended to 180 days by contacting the local branch of the National Institute of Migration. Yes, you will have to spend time. And after giving birth, you will no longer need to renew anything — After obtaining citizenship for a newborn, you have the opportunity to apply for a residence permit.
Under any circumstances, Mexico has never sought or prosecuted those who violated their stay. Therefore, upon entry, tell the immigration officer any reasonable period of stay in Mexico according to the purpose of your trip and do not worry about what period he will indicate on your migration card.
The only thing you have the right to reduce — this is the duration of your pregnancy. If you are asked about it, of course.
Financial solvency
Sometimes paying for a hotel and other verifiable expenses during your stay in Mexico is not enough. They have the opportunity to ask to see cash. You have the opportunity to explain that this amount — for the first time, and the main amount — on these bank cards. To be more convincing, it is advisable to take an account statement from the bank — Many banks issue such statements immediately in English.
Your financial solvency should not be in doubt. We generally advise simply answering questions rather than reaching into your bag and showing money unless asked.
Return ticket
Return ticket from Mexico he should beAlways, regardless of anything else. His absence — this is an obvious clue for the immigration officer not to allow you entry.
The ticket can be used for any type of transport to any country. We devoted a lot of time to this issue.articleon our website.
It is logical that the date indicated on the return ticket should correspond to the period of stay in Mexico, which you tell the immigration officer.
So, there are three main questions that you need to clearly answer when entering Mexico:
- purpose of the trip and its confirmation,
- financial support,
- return ticket.
Various little things
If you come to Mexico as a married couple, this will be a big plus, and if you also come with children, then it’s absolutely wonderful.
Don't forget that you must have a Mexico visa, a US/Schengen visa, or an electronic permit (aka e-visa). Possession of any of these visas alone does not guarantee entry into Mexico. Americans, who only need to present a passport instead of a visa, are also being turned away. upon arrival.
Insurance is not required, but if you have it, it will be a big plus to confirm your financial solvency.
In addition to this, read the generalrecommendationsguest of the powers upon entry into Mexico.
Consulate phone numbersfor emergency calls:
- Ukraine: ,
- Russia: , .
In addition, you can call the consulates on any phone numbers and contact through any channels that you find on thispage.
They have the opportunity to ask you any other questions, be prepared for this. Questions can relate to work, family life, children, anything at all. They may ask you to tell your story. A very popular question is whether you have relatives or friends in Mexico. Always answer no.
Please note various inconsistencies. In particular, your passport does not have to expire while you are in Mexico (even if Mexican law allows it). You came for a month, and you have a return ticket in 3 months.
But most importantly — Be confident and act natural! They will ask you questions in a friendly manner, and the answers to them must be the same.