In our publications, we reported that citizens of Ukraine and Russia now have the right to stay on Mexican territory even after the end of the permitted period of stay. For those who call the migration form FMM guest a sovereign visa — after its expiration date. This is not our opinion, this is not an official ruling, this — established practice. We will explain point by point the options and risks of staying in Mexico on an expired travel visa.
The information in this publication also applies to citizens of Belarus.
1. If you go to the office of the National Institute of Migration (INM, Mexico Migration Service) and ask to extend the permitted period of stay, you are told that they do not extend the period — this applies to citizens of all countries of the world. But you have the opportunity to stay on Mexican territory «until the end of the war in Ukraine» — this applies to citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. This is the answer we convey to our readers. At the same time, the staff of the migration service office do not provide any official document to confirm their words, allowing stay in Mexico after the end of the permitted period of stay. We believe that the employees of the migration service act as they were instructed by the leadership of the migration service; it, in turn, relies on existing legislation, and not on a decision specifically made regarding the citizens of the three countries, which does not exist.
2. You should understand that without a valid document confirming your legal stay in Mexico, you remain an illegal immigrant with all the ensuing consequences. This is confirmed by the possible actions of the migration service itself and other government agencies. If you contact the migration service office to purchase a resident card, first you will be forced as an illegal immigrant to regulate the migration situation and pay a fine “for violating the migration regime,” and only then will they deal with your card. In some states of Mexico, the marriage of a foreigner without valid immigration status is impossible.
3. The Mexico Migration Service does not have the right to detain illegal immigrants in its offices; this is stipulated in the Migration Law. But this does not apply to detentions outside the office, especially during migration checks. As part of such checks, which have the right to be carried out throughout Mexico, after checking the passport, in most cases there are no complaints against Ukrainians and Russians, in other words, the migration service complies with what is written in paragraph 1 above. In the absence of a passport, he has the right to detain until the passport is presented. According to the experience of our readers and clients, airport checks never end in detention. However, we also know of more than a dozen cases of inspections with more serious consequences.
In the states of Puebla, Tabasco and Veracruz, it is possible, and in others, after a migration check, they can be placed in a migration station for several days, after which they are given an order to leave Mexico for 20 days. No references to «permission» The migration service does not apply to remain in the country after the expiration of the FMM. In two of the cases known to us of the delivery of an order in the migration system, a so-called “May alert” appeared, when it was impossible to resolve the migration situation on the basis of promptly found grounds for acquiring a resident card.
4. In at least two states of Mexico, Ukrainians and Russians with an expired tourist visa are offered to purchase a new FMM migration form for 180 days, that is, to extend their legal status in Mexico for another six months. The practice of extending FMM existed during the pandemic, then was changed. This is probably the only officially accepted way to resolve the migration situation, but it has a big disadvantage — the high cost of a new FMM due to the high fines that the migration service imposes for violating the migration regime.
5. When leaving Mexico and exceeding the permitted period of stay, you are required to pay a «fine» 687 pesos. This rule applies to citizens of all nationalities, and no one has changed it. In fact, this is a fee for issuing a one-time migration form with a validity of 1 day. The payment of the fine is now marked on the boarding pass. You have the opportunity to avoid paying this fine if you explain to the migration officer at the airport that you could not leave Mexico earlier due to the war in Ukraine. This explanation doesn't always work, but try it. Departure from Mexico after the end of the authorized period of stay, with or without payment of a fine, does not carry any consequences for subsequent entries.
In the text we use the wording «migration form FMM». You will say that the FMM no longer exists; it is no longer issued upon arrival. Yes, they don't issue it. But it is processed and entered into the migration database, where it can be checked and from where it can be downloaded. When entering Mexico through the land border, FMM continues to be issued in the same manner.
If you have exceeded the permitted period of stay, but are planning to apply for resident status in Mexico, read this publication.