In Mexico, citizens of Ukraine and Russia began to extend travel visas. Renew — This means issuing new FMM migration forms for the next 180 days. Apparently, the Mexico migration service began to provide such a chance in connection with the war in Ukraine and difficulties with returning to their homeland.
Previously, getting a new migration form for the next 180 days was completely prohibited. During the coronavirus epidemic, such an opportunity appeared, but it could not be used by those who, upon entering Mexico, were issued an FMM for a period of less than 180 days. Now, all citizens of Ukraine and Russia, regardless of how many days they were given a migration form upon entry, have two options at once:
- get a new migration form, which allows you to stay in Mexico for the next 180 days,
- acquire residency status for 4 years if you had entries to Mexico before 2021.
Both programs for resolving the migration situation were launched during the coronavirus epidemic. We have written about them more than once and published step-by-step instructions on how to use them. Both are temporary and will most likely be phased out when Mexican health authorities officially declare the end of the epidemic in the country.
You can apply for a new migration form or residence permit when 180 days have already passed since the date of your last entry into Mexico. But no more than 240 days when it comes to receiving a new FMM. To purchase Residence, it doesn’t matter how long ago your FMM ended, but this program has other subtleties.
If the last migration form was issued for an incomplete, short period, not 2, but 3 visits to the migration service office are required. The form must have a mark indicating that it has been extended to 180 days, but such a mark is now not placed in every migration service office. They don’t put it because they think that you are able to legally continue to stay in Mexico without the tag until the situation in your homeland normalizes. But if you need subsequent applications to the migration authority and other government services, the from mark on the form must be indicated.
Purchasing new migration documents does not come without payment. State fees for obtaining a new FMM for 180 days are 4,100 MXN, Mexico temporary resident cards for a period of 4 years — 14,100 MXN. Under current requirements, obtaining these papers can take several months, but during all this time you will be able to stay in Mexico completely legally.
Let us add that according to the second program — Residence design — All family members have the right to obtain resident status in Mexico if one of them meets the program criteria.
We assist with the preparation of documentation and submission to the migration service office for both programs.
We do not yet know whether the new opportunities apply to citizens of Belarus, since we have not yet seen the full picture. Most likely, citizens of Belarus can also take advantage of the chance to renew their migration documents.