Moving to Mexico..Which Visa is right for you?

As we prepared for our move to Mexico, the first question to answer was what type of visa or permit to apply for. Having read numerous horror stories about the trials and tribulations associated with this process, we wanted to make sure we both made the right choice the first time, and made the process as painless as possible. Having now waded through the entire process from beginning to end, I will attempt to put together a guide to help simplify the process for those of you who may wish to follow us! I will start with the types of visas and permits that are available so that you may decide how to proceed.

There are two types of visas and one type of travel permit available to US Citizens who wish to either travel or reside in Mexico. The immigration process was significantly revised in 2013, so some of the information you will find online may be outdated. The information I am providing is current as of January 2017, but should be confirmed prior to making application, as requirements can vary from one Consulate office to another, and are sometimes subject to change without notice! No matter which type of visa or permit you apply for, you will need a current Passport or Passport Card.

The first and most painless type of permit is issued to tourists entering the country for stays of 180 days or less. These tourist permits are usually included in the price of your airfare, and you simply fill out the form on the plane if available, or at Customs when you arrive. (If you are entering the country by automobile, you will need to get your tourist permit at the border crossing. I suggest you check online for the latest instructions). As this post will deal primarily with applying for residency visas, I will not elaborate on tourist permit, but needless to say they are easy to obtain but are only good for 180 days. However, many people who reside in Mexico part time, some of them who have been doing so for many years, rely on the tourist permit as a simple way to gain entry to the country. If they are not planning to stay more than 180 days anyway, this can work well for them. In addition, if you do wish to stay for longer periods but do not want to apply for a Temporary or Permanent visa, generally, all that is required to renew the tourist permit is to simply leave the country and then reenter on a new permit. This can be done at a border crossing or by flying back to the US and returning. As many people will be returning home periodically anyway, this is often not an inconvenience. Be aware however that this method is one that could be subject to restrictions at any time, so make sure you pay attention to the current rules and do not overstay your permit!

Next, you may wish to apply for a Temporary Residency Visa. This works well for people who are perhaps still testing the waters as to living full time in Mexico, or who may not qualify financially as a Permanent resident. Both types of visas have nearly the same application process, but different financial requirements. Temporary visas are issued for periods of one year, and can be renewed without leaving the country for up to four years. At that time, you must decide to either apply for a Permanent visa, or return to the US. The main disadvantage to this type of visa is you will have to reapply each year, and pay a higher fee over the four year period than you would for a Permanent visa. If you qualify, and believe that you will be living in Mexico on a full time basis permanently, you may wish to do as we did and apply for a Permanent visa immediately.

When applying for either Temporary Residency or Permanent Residency you will need the following:

The requirements for a Temporary Residency Visa as of this writing are as follows:

You will need to provide Proof of Solvency. There are two ways you can do this:

Investments (401K, Retirement accounts, etc.) or bank accounts equal to 5,000 times the current daily minimum wage in Mexico City.  Current 2017 rate is 80.04 MXN per day. This is adjusted annually by the Government. At the current exchange rate, this amounts to approximately $20,000 USD, but will fluctuate depending on the Government set minimum wage, current exchange rates and individual Consulate requirements.

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You will need to provide two copies (one must be an original provided by your bank or investment company) showing a monthly balance equal to or greater than the requirements for the last 12 months.

OR

One original and a copy of documents showing a Pension and/or Social Security income with a monthly amount free of liens amounting to 300 times the current daily minimum wage for the previous six months. At the 2017 rates this is approximately $1200 USD monthly.

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*Note-Each consulate office has leeway and may have different requirements. Check with your local Consulate before you apply.

**Note-You are not allowed to work in Mexico on a Temporary Visa without a work permit.

***Note-You are allowed to drive a US licensed vehicle in Mexico on a Temporary Visa with the proper permits

Finally, if you can qualify, you may apply for a Permanent visa. Generally speaking, a Permanent Residency Visa is only available to applicants that qualify as retired or are making a substantial business investment in Mexico. The Consulate may require further documentation of your retirement status. This type of visa allows you to reside in Mexico full-time without major restrictions, and grants you most of the rights and benefits of a Mexican citizen other than the right to vote. These rights and benefits include access to low-cost health care and senior discounts on a variety of services.  This type of visa has the strictest financial requirements and is most frequently used by those who are retiring. It is relatively easy to figure out if you will qualify, and if you believe you will be moving to Mexico on a full-time basis permanently, this type of visa will probably make the most sense. Once you have received it, you will not need to deal with immigration again other then to notify them of your new address in the case of a move. You will also be issued a card that will allow you to enter the country without going through the more stringent customs and entry procedures a tourist will encounter. As most of you reading this are probably looking at retiring in Mexico, most of this information is related to retirement. For more information on other qualifying circumstances, please read this guide.

The requirements for a Permanent Residency Visa as of this writing are as follows:

You will need to provide Proof of Solvency. There are two ways you can do this.

Investments (401K, Retirement accounts, etc.) or bank accounts equal to 20,000 times the current daily minimum wage in Mexico City.  Current 2017 rate is 80.04 MXN per day. This is adjusted annually by the Government. At the current exchange rate, this amounts to approximately $80,000 USD, but will fluctuate depending on the Government set minimum wage, current exchange rates, and individual Consulate requirements.

 * 

**

You will need to provide two copies (one must be an original provided by your bank or investment company) showing a monthly balance equal to or greater than the requirements for the last 12 months.

OR

One original and a copy of documents showing a Pension and/or Social Security income with a monthly amount free of liens amounting to 500 times the current daily minimum wage for the previous six months. At the 2017 rates this is approximately $2000 USD monthly.

* 

**

*Note-Each consulate office has leeway and may have different requirements. Check with your local Consulate before you apply.

**Note-You are not allowed to drive a US licensed vehicle on a Permanent Visa without first nationalizing the car. This is costly, and not all vehicles will qualify.

By reviewing the types of visas and their requirements, you should be able to determine the visa that will work best for you. Once you have decided on what you will apply for, it is time to begin the application process. In my next post, I will discuss the entire process and how to avoid the pitfalls and delays that some people have experienced.

A Housewarming Party for the Guerrero Family, and the Special Gift of La Mesa!

We have been doing some volunteer work for Casita Linda, a non-profit organization that builds homes for local families. We were recently invited to attend a housewarming party for the Guerrero family hosted by the organization at a new bright blue house situated on a hill overlooking San Miguel. Along with a number of members of the board and a few other volunteers, we arrived by carpool and were greeted by the matriarch of the family, a shy smiling woman named Guadalupe and her three beautiful children, Caren, Ariana, and Juan Diego. 

A number of other children, dogs, and adults from the neighborhood joined the festivities as well. Jose, the man of the house and a deeply religious man who I had met on a previous visit, was not able to attend as he was involved with an important religious event taking place that weekend.

Upon arrival, the first order of business was to unload some furniture that had been made for the house by the students at the San Miguel School for Special Education. The school works primarily with the deaf, but also assists students with other disabilities. The students have been building furniture for the Casita Linda homes and it is a special relationship that gives the students’ purpose and the families a better life. Today we were delivering a table and two benches, along with a small bookcase. It is hard to imagine the joy that a table and a place to sit can bring until you see it with your own eyes. As we carried the table in and set up the benches, the family quickly gathered around and smiles broke out everywhere. It is easy to take for granted that your family has a place to gather and a place to sit. Family and food are very important to the Mexican people and the table or la mesa is an important place to celebrate it.

Along with desserts that some of us had brought, the neighbors soon arrived bearing exquisite bowls of a delicious chicken and rice dish, and we were all treated to the first meal at the new table. 

The children (and some of the adults!) seemed more interested in the cake that we brought, but hey, it’s a fiesta! 

After a cute ribbon cutting ceremony, we bid the family farewell and let them go back to their lives in a safe, dry, and comfortable new house. Thanks to everyone at Casita Linda and the San Miguel School for Special Education for their tireless work and the opportunity to share this special occasion with the Guerrero family!

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Driving in Mexico. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your... license plate?

Like most adventures in Mexico, yesterdays began with something a little humorous. I had arranged to borrow a friend’s car for the day to take some visitors to the nearby (about 50 minutes) town of Mineral de Pozos. This is a small colonial mining town that we have fallen in love with and are actually in the process of buying a house. More on that soon!  At any rate, the evening before I was supposed to pick up the car from the garage where it is stored, he called to let me know there was a slight problem. 

As we had found out earlier from our observations, when you get a parking ticket in San Miguel, the local traffic police remove your front license plate. This is pretty clever. It insures that you will pay your parking fines and get your license plate back as it is obvious that a car without a front plate has an unpaid fine! Driving around without a plate makes you a target for further harassment and is not recommended. It seems my friend had paid his fine and retrieved his plate, but had neglected to install it, so we had arranged to pick up the plate prior to leaving town.

Through the shop

The only catch was our friend was leaving town before we could come by, and we needed to get with his maid to pick it up. Simple enough it would seem, except in order to get to his apartment, one must go through a small curio shop that caters to tourists, but does not open until after we wanted to leave. “No problema” he exclaimed! “There is a door bell switch on the window frame of the first floor window directly under my balcony. Ring the bell and my maid will get the plate down to you. “Perfecto” I replied and finished planning for the day ahead.

The next morning was a beautiful day, and we met our traveling companions for breakfast at one of our local haunts. After a delightful and leisurely breakfast, we wandered down the cobblestone streets to my friends’ humble abode.

The switch

I found the switch for the bell crudely wired to the frame of the window and gave it a push. Very shortly the balcony door  opened and out popped a smiling Mexican woman clutching a small basket attached to a rope.

She quickly lowered this over the edge and in just a few moments I had retrieved the front license from the basket, given a big smile and a gracias to the helpful maid, and was headed off to the garage.

Luckily, I had remembered to bring a screwdriver, and was able to throw the front plate back on the car. I was just a little nervous, as this was not only the first time I had driven a car in five months, it was the first time I had driven in Mexico in many, many years and driving in Mexico can be a bit like recreating the Speeder Bike Chase in Star Wars. 

The roads can be narrow and rough, the traffic moves at a variety of speeds, farm animals appear out of nowhere, the Mexican speed bumps or “topes” seem to pop out of the pavement without warning and threaten to brutally tear the suspension out from under your car, turn signals are used as a warning for seemingly unrelated behavior, and passing is both a sport and a national pastime! Vigilance is a must at all times.  Somehow I managed to settle in to the drive, enjoy the scenery, and arrive safely at our destination without incurring the notice of the Policía!

Next up…Our new home in Mineral de Pozos!

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More Daily Life in Mexico-Taxi!

For the first time in my adult life, I do not own a car. Since the time I left home at 18, I have always had a car and it has been an integral part of my life for the last 45 years. But owning a car in Mexico is difficult and expensive. While San Miguel is situated at 6500 feet and nestled in a small valley with plenty of challenging hills, our daily walking ritual has whipped me into pretty good shape. 

A roof top bar

I love walking the quaint cobblestone streets as we make our way about the town visiting the various mercados and tiendas where we purchase our daily needs. In the evening we sometimes perambulate to one of the local cantinas or roof top bars where there is plenty of cerveza and tequila for about half the price at our old home.

In addition to walking, taxis are readily available and remarkably cheap. Walk out on the street, and within minutes you are trundling your way anywhere in town for 35 pesos, or about $1.85 at the current exchange rate. The last ride we took in Oregon was to the airport and cost $35.00! The cab drivers are generally courteous and polite, if not frequently amused at my Spanish. Although any kind of suspension is often long gone in these vehicles, and one can only hope that the brakes are working when they careen down one of the steep and narrow callejons (alleys) they use for shortcuts to avoid traffic. However, one usually arrives safely at your destination, and hey, the price is right!

Do I miss my car? I guess so, but I certainly don’t miss the car payment, insurance, gas, or maintenance. Those costs alone add up to more than our rent, or provide for a very comfortable drinking budget!

Tomorrow we will walk down to get our new Mexican based cell phone. The service includes unlimited text and calling in Mexico, the US, and Canada, as well as 3GB of data. For this we will pay the exorbitant fee of about $14.95 a month USD. Cancelling our $150.00 a month plan with Verizon really breaks my heart, but the extra $135.00 a month will come in handy. 

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Day 2-The Beauty and Intrigue of Mineral de Pozos!

As the town of Pozos continues to rise from the ashes, it has a lot going for it. Dramatic mountain vistas, remarkable ruins, charming cobblestone streets, and a growing art community are breathing life back to this once thriving town. Recently, over 30 km of well marked mountain bike trails cut through the cactus and sagebrush surrounding the town and allow bikers to visit the ruins while enjoying the incredible scenery. We were lucky to spend our second day here soaking up the past and the future of Pozos!

After a filling breakfast of eggs (cooked to your liking!), beans, orange juice, and coffee, all included in our modestly priced and beautiful room at the Posada de Las Minas we headed out for another day of exploration.

One of our first stops was a street that houses some of the small artists’ studios, several of which offer a fascinating array of Pre-Hispanic musical instruments. We spent some time with Luis Cruz, whose shop was lined with an incredible selection of drums, flutes, and stringed instruments. Luis was happy to play them for us, and the melodic sounds of instruments long forgotten, individually crafted from local woods and materials including mesquite, cactus, and cow bone, were a joy.  

The growing mountain biking scene in Pozos has blossomed recently, thanks to the completion of over 30 km of well-marked trails. There are trails for all skill levels, and a well equipped bike shop near the trail head offers rentals and other services for visiting mountain bikers. The scenery here is breathtaking, and you can visit some of the abandoned mining sites as you make your way through the rugged countryside on your bike. Part of the trail is even illuminated at night with solar powered lighting! There is a great deal of hiking available as well, but make sure you wear sturdy shoes and watch out for mine shafts!

As we wandered about town the first day, one of the many local dogs that wandered the streets decided we looked good, and followed us around for part of the day. On our second day, we encountered him again, and although he seemed to ignore everyone else that passed by, he wagged his tail with joy when he saw us and once again accompanied us on our walk for awhile. Not sure what the attraction was as we never feed the dogs, but I guess he just sensed we were dog people!

There are spectacular ruins everywhere you go in Pozos, and we covered a lot of ground exploring them. Once again we were struck by the thought of what it must have looked like here during its hay day.

All too soon, it was time to meet our driver for the ride back to San Miguel. We are looking forward to returning to Pozos when the street projects are completed to spend a little more time getting to know this lovely town!

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The Cobblestone Diaries gets a lesson...How to make a cobblestone street!

We arrived in the quaint mountain village of Mineral de Pozos a little after 10 am. Our driver finally managed to navigate a series of roadblocks created by workers who are in the process of laying cables and pipes under the cobblestone streets. This is a massive undertaking and is mostly done by hand. While the work meant that we would have to make numerous detours to get around town during our visit, it was extremely fascinating to watch the workers first dismantle, then rebuild the cobblestone streets. I had never thought about the process of building a cobblestone street. I guess I thought of all the streets were old, as they look old immediately even after being rebuilt. I kind of assumed the process might be a bit of a lost art, but it is very much alive and well!

The process of chiseling out the stones by hand, digging up the channels for the wiring and pipes by shovel, and replacing the stones one by one, is extremely labor intensive, but the amount of progress made during our two day visit was impressive to say the least!  I made a point of checking on the work and was able to photograph the process. The workers came to recognize me and would smile and wave while I took my pictures.

The process itself is relatively simple. First, a bed of concrete is laid onto the soil and tamped into place. Next a crew of workers begins to lay the stones out, carefully checking them for level. Finally a layer of cement is pushed into the cracks between the stones to stabilize the roadbed. A little wash with some water and a sweep with a broom, and viola, a cobblestone street!

The project to put the wiring underground in Pozos is significant. Wiring in Mexico is interesting to say the least, and a number of beautiful views are often spoiled by a rats nest of wires and cables. How an electrician can even decipher some of the connections is beyond me! Burying the wires is part of the progress being made here under the Pueblo Magico program, and will help restore the village to some of its colonial glory. We look forward to visiting in the future to see the results!

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Daily life in Mexico…The Garbageman Always Rings Twice!

One of the first things you learn as a newly minted expat in Mexico, is life is different here in more ways than you might have imagined. Sure, most people speak Spanish, and that in itself is a bit of a challenge, but it is adapting to the different way day to day life functions here where your new life really begins!

Garbage collection

Let’s start with a few of the easy things. At “home”, garbage service was usually just a matter of either ordering up service and dragging the cans out to the curb each week, or taking your trash down to the dumpster in your building. Here things are a bit different, and it took us a little time to figure it all out. While the garbage service here is somewhat less sophisticated it is, if nothing else, frequent. After moving in, we discovered that a garbage truck comes down our street on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday merrily ringing a bell that alerts you to their presence a block or so ahead of their arrival. There are however no garbage cans, you simply take your bags out and place them at the curb, or hand them directly to the garbage collectors, who in this case is a family of Mexicans ranging in age from Grandma to the older children. We wondered about recycling, as we did not see how we might accomplish that, only to find that once received, the family members quickly sort your bag out and remove the glass, plastic bottles, cans and anything else that looks interesting. This apparently is how they make their money as the garbage trucks are privately owned and operated under some kind of system that seems to work very well, but which we may never fully understand!

Checking the gas

Next there is the gas. Nearly every home here runs primarily on propane, and there is a large tank located somewhere on the property. These are filled on demand, and once we figured out how to read the gauge (climb up a steel ladder on the side of the house, flip open a cover and see what’s left) our housekeeper would order a filling for us. The truck usually appears out of nowhere fairly quickly, a couple of good natured gas guys jump out and fill the tank in short order, and smile as you pay them with a large wad of cash. Very simple, efficient, and a far cry from paying an online bill with PG&E!

Fortunately our current home includes most of our utilities as most residents pay their bills in cash (no online option yet), at the various offics at the end of the month. This can result in some rather long lines at both the bank and the utilities as the end of the month is also pay day for most residents. The long suffering Mexicans take this all in stride, and don’t really seem to mind the long lines and the wait. I think it is a bit of a social occasion for them rather than the nuisance we gringos would perceive. 

La Tienda

Most people are familiar with the admonishment “don’t drink the water” in Mexico, and while this is generally true, much of the water in San Miguel is considered “safe” with many homes having a filtration system installed. We do use bottled water for cooking and drinking, but tap water for everything else. I have been brushing my teeth daily with tap water and have had no deleterious effects. Bottled water is readily available, and we have been buying it from the little “tienda” across the street. The little woman there stocks an amazing array of fruits, vegetables, beer, and Mexican packaged sweets (very popular here), and she has taken a liking to the crazy gringos.

Don’t get me wrong, the quirky little things are half the fun, and living outside your normal routine is both challenging and stimulating. Daily life in Mexico takes a little getting used to, but like anywhere once you figure it out it, life goes on!

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Villa Alta Dos...A Paradise in Paradise!

As we prepared for our trip to San Miguel, one of the most important things for us was finding the right place to stay. As we were hoping to get more of the experience of "living" as opposed to "staying" in the city, we used airbnb to look for a private home to rent. In our search, we were lucky to come across the Villa Alta Dos, a delightful walled compound located near the top of a hill just about a 10-15 minute walk from the Centro. As with many of the homes in San Miguel, behind a somewhat nondescript exterior, lay a beautiful courtyard, lush vegetation, and a perfect casa for our stay.

There is only one residence on the property, along with an artists studio that you can also rent, so we had the entire compound to ourselves. From the moment we arrived, everything was perfect. Our flights had been delayed, so instead of arriving at 8 am, we arrived at 8 pm to find Veronica waiting for us with everything ready to go.

After a quick walk through, she left us alone to get a great night's sleep in the quiet neighborhood and on the good bed. The bedroom is on the upper level with a beautiful boveda brick ceiling, a nice fan to keep you cool, a large bathroom, and a huge closet. There is also a small sitting deck right off the bedroom that is a nice place to enjoy a drink or a cup of coffee.

We went out for breakfast the first morning, but once we had a chance to do some shopping, we cooked all of our breakfasts and many of our other meals in the well equipped and spacious kitchen. We enjoyed eating them at the table on the lower level patio that overlooks the gardens. With San Miguel's mild weather this was the perfect spot to savor the morning or evening sun.

The living area was nicely decorated and well equipped with plenty of seating, wi-fi, and television, although we didn't spend much time there with all there is to do in San Miguel!

Overall, our experience at Villa Alta Dos was nearly perfect. We did not experience any problems with the property whatsoever. It is located in a good neighborhood, and is withing walking distance of many parts of the city. With that said we would offer one caveat concerning walking. As I said earlier, it is located near the top of a fairly steep hill. We are in good shape, so for us the walk was simply brisk and invigorating and we only took a taxi a few times during our entire two week stay. If you are not in good shape (San Miguel is at 6500 ft), or are adverse to walking, you can easily take a taxi instead Taxis are cheap (around $3.00 to go pretty much anywhere) and plentiful, so even if you don't like to walk, the Villa is a delightful and quiet place to stay. Our hosts John and Veronica made the entire process a pleasure, and when we had a small glitch in our reservation, John helped us to resolve it immediately. We enjoyed it so much we were thinking about looking into the laws in Mexico concerning eviction! This is a great property at a great price and we highly recommend it.

La Buena Vida...The Good Life in San Miguel!

Having settled in comfortably to our beautiful villa on the edge of the Centro, we began the delightful task of exploring the city in earnest. Imagine if you can a city of 80,000 people whose every street is paved in stone, and where despite a significant (although not annoying) amount of automobile traffic, there is not a single stop sign or light. Instead there is a sort of unspoken code between drivers, pedestrians, and the occasional burro, and traffic flows remarkably well. The drivers are fairly courteous and seem to get by without a great deal of honking that seems to go on in a lot of the other Latin American cities we have visited. Cars do seem to have the right of way however, and pedestrians must sometimes wait their turn. The cobblestone streets are mostly pretty narrow, and the sidewalks if there are any are narrower yet. Top it all off with a fair number of steep hills, and navigating the city is an exercise in paying attention!

Our regimen of walking everyday before our trip is paying off as we have chosen to walk everywhere so far instead of taking a taxi or bus. Being in the hills at 6500 ft, this has resulted in some fairly strenuous days, as we have consistently covered a minimum of 5-10 miles per day. To do this, we have sort of settled into a routine where we leave the house fairly early while it is still cool, check out the destinations we have planned for the day until about 1 pm, eat some lunch, and then head back to the villa to get out of the afternoon sun and catch  up on some writing. As the early evening approaches and the day begins to cool down, we head back into town for either some dinner, or some evening sightseeing and drinks. This seems to be working pretty well, and both of us feel stronger and more acclimated every day. The nights are quite comfortable here, so other than the previously mentioned outbreak of fireworks warfare, with all the exercise we have also been sleeping very well.

Feeling a bit more adventurous, we decided to do some grocery shopping as the villa has a well equipped kitchen and a delightful eating area. This is one activity where Spanish is nearly a must, so be prepared to point and grunt and hold out handfuls of money in hopes that you will get the right thing at the right price. My Spanish is improving by the day, and so far I have done pretty well, but the occasional faux pas has been more than covered by the gracious street vendors who seem more than happy to help you. On more than one occasion, I have handed them the wrong assortment of change, and they have always handed me back the extra. On our second day, we visited the Ignacio Ramirez Mercado, a large and bustling Mercado in Centro and tried our hand at shopping. Fruits, meats, and vegetables are plentiful here, but do not expect to shop like you do at home. You visit with individual vendors, compare their goods, and pick the ones you like best. For meats you visit the carneceria, but for chicken the polleria, and so on until you have filled the bag you brought with you from home with everything you need. It is a delightful way to shop and most of the vendors are cheerful and funny.

After a full day of sightseeing, walking, and shopping, we are always ready for a drink, and Mexico offers plenty of choices. There are bars and cafes everywhere, and in San Miguel you can always look for rooftop seating if you would like a spectacular view of the city at sunset. Of course Tequila or Mezcal are the drinks of choice here, but we were delighted to discover that the craft beer scene is Mexico is exploding, and San Miguel has not been left behind. We found both the local brands of Dos Aves and Allende beers to be nicely crafted and a far cry from the more traditional Mexican beers like Corona. We had an absolutely delightful meal at La Azotea, where the Jicama Tacos are not to be missed! These unique tacos are made with breaded cameron (shrimp) roasted leeks, topped with one slightly sweet and one slightly spicy sauce, and wrapped in a tortilla made from a thin slice of the Jicama plant. They are unbelievable!

For yet another day, San Miguel is showing us that everywhere you turn and every street you walk down offers a new and delightful experience and an adventure that is not to be missed.