When asked what to do if a guest’s Mexico visa has expired, you can most often hear the answer: “You don’t need to do anything.” When flying, pay a fine of 600 pesos, that’s all. There is an opportunity to really do nothing and calmly wait until summer. But there are several “buts.”
1. Literally the next day after the expiration of the FMM migration form (Mexico travel visa), you become an illegal immigrant, in other words, a violator of the migration regime. Thousands of foreigners live in Mexico illegally until they run into immigration checks. Such a test can have rather dire consequences.
Migration checks are carried out suddenly. The places where migration checkpoints appear are quite predictable: these are busy intersections in the central part of the city, train stations, airports, and especially — exits and entrances to the city. In other words, you are more likely to run into a migration checkpoint in places where foreigners gather or move. At the exit from Cancúna and Pla del Carmen, they have the right to stop buses and collectives and check the papers of foreigners. Automobiles are checked much less frequently. During various incidents, in particular, showdowns in the club, everyone has the right to check the papers of everyone present.
We talked about immigration checks in Mexico in this publications. Their main goal — identify foreigners with an irregular migration status, that is, illegal immigrants. Mexico's migration legislation obliges all foreigners to confirm their identity and migration status upon request from a migration service officer. This means that you must always carry your passport and FMM migration form or resident card with you. Don't carry the originals, have photocopies or copies in your phone.
Agentes del @INAMI_mx, con el apoyo de @GN_MEXICO_ , retiran a migrantes del #Campamento de la #PlazaGiordanoBruno. Les han dicho que los llevarán a Tapachula. Justo un día después de las nuevas medidas antimigrantes de @POTUSpic.twitter.com/T4sEDc1fQb
— Emir Olivares (@emirkus) June 6, 2024
If during the migration check it turns out that you do not have papers or your tourist visa has expired, you will be taken to the department of the National Institute of Migration or the federal police. They will decide what to do with you there. According to the law, if less than 60 days have passed since the expiration of the migration document, you will be given the prospect of regulating the migration situation, that is, extending a visa or acquiring resident status. They will give you the opportunity, but you can only use it if you have reasons for doing so. Let’s say that during the coronavirus epidemic, a travel visa is allowed to be extended, although not in all states. And in order to purchase a Residence you should have a reason.
If more than 60 days have passed since the expiration of your tourist visa, the decision for you will be made individually. It is not always possible to help with money; in the worst case, deportation threatens.
2. You may be limited in access to a number of services by government agencies and transport companies. In Cancún, when purchasing tickets at the ADO bus station, foreigners are often asked to show their FMM immigration form. You have the right to refuse to register a marriage in Mexico for an expired FMM, and so on.
3. It is only at the Cancúna airport that when flying with an expired travel visa, they never issue a fine of more than 600 pesos. Moreover, these 600 pesos (more precisely, 594 for 2021) — This is not a fine, but a fee for re-issuing the migration form. The fine for violating the migration regime can range from 1,792 to 8,962 MXN, the amount depends on the decision of the migration officer. Quite often fines are applied at Mexico City airport.
By law, if you significantly exceed the permitted period of stay in Mexico, you may be temporarily prohibited from further entry. In practice, we have never encountered such bans unless they were related to deportation.
4. You imported a car to Mexico under the temporary import regime. The validity period of your Temporary Import Permit (TIP) is strictly linked to the validity period of your FMM. If you did not renew the FMM on time, and then the TIP before its expiration date, you have lost the deposit paid during the importation of the car.
To summarize, we note that in Mexico no one is happy with raids on foreigners with expired migration documents. Migration checks are carried out politely. And it’s not a fact that you will ever get tested like this. If you have strong nerves, you can continue to live in Mexico with an expired guest visa. But it is better if you take care of extending your visa or obtaining a residence permit in advance.