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ebernick

Nov 9, 2002, 7:16 AM

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lost or expired tourist visa fines

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I've read that if you try to leave Mexico, either flying or driving, and cross the border with a lost or expired tourist, that you will be fined. Does anyone know how much the fine actually is? Are there other consequences as well?

Thanks!

jennifer rose

Nov 9, 2002, 10:24 AM

Post #2 of 8 (2350 views)

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Re: [ebernick] lost or expired tourist visa fines

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At Articulo 113, et. seq. http://www.inami.gob.mx/...DE%20POBLACI%D3N.doc are described the sanctions for violations of the Ley General de Poblacion. The sanctions extend to fines and imprisonment. Read this in conjunction with the Reglamento de Ley General de Poblacion at http://www.inami.gob.mx/...20de%20Poblacion.doc

Now, there is a big difference between an expired FMT and one which is merely lost.

If it is merely lost and has not expired, a replacement can be had at the INAMI office where you're located within the Mexican Republic for a small fee.

If the FMT is expired, the bearer ought to be making some serious plans to exit the country posthaste.

Meanwhile, go to your nearest INAMI office immediately, and explain your situation. They'll help you develop a solution to your problem.

jerezano

Nov 10, 2002, 5:07 PM

Post #3 of 8 (2260 views)

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Re: [ebernick] lost or expired tourist visa fines

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Expired Tourist Visa: Here in Zacatecas, two years ago the fine was 1000 pesos. Since most prices have gone up, that may have gone up too.

Jennifer Rose is right. Get out of the country as soon as you can. Do not try to fly. The airlines are required by law to check your visa documentation before boarding. And locally they do.

If you came in by car, just drive out, hoping that you are not stopped and documentation checked along the way. Usually they won't check your documentation going out, but sometimes, (very rarely), at the military or judicial retenes, they do look at the windshield sticker to see if it is expired---it expires along with your FMT. If that happens, everything is up for grabs. I don't know what would happen. But it couldn't be any worse than reporting in to the Immigration and trying to do things legally. I suspect a mordida, but not as high as the 1000 pesos fine. However in my last three trips to the USA (I go up every three months or so) I have not been stopped going Northbound.

If you have a car, don't forget that you must stop and get a comprobante proving that you took the car out of the country. I have never seen them check for an expired permit, they usually just type the vehicle ID into the computer and then issue you the comprobante. They also usually collect the windshield sticker, but only use the vin from it and then throw it away. Perhaps a mordida here if the expire date is noticed. It would be up for grabs here too.

However, there might be a way here too. If you are good at lying and look fresh and as if you are not harried after a long trip you might try to convince them that you took the car out of the country back when the expire date was due, but you forgot to get the comprobante for the car and have come back for it.

If you came in by bus, don't even worry about it. Just take a bus to the frontier, and then a taxi across into the USA (or walk) and you are home free. Good luck and don't try such a stupid trick again. Jerezano.

Gone away

Nov 10, 2002, 8:48 PM

Post #4 of 8 (2221 views)

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Re: [jerezano] lost or expired tourist visa fines

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You mention to stop and hand in your winshield sticker etc, friends left last April and they say they did not see anywhere on the way out of Mexico anywhere to hand these back in.

Is this easily missed? What do you have to look for on the way out? Is there any signage to keep an eye peeled for?

I am driving to Mexico in January and returning in April, so I would like to be forearmed, so to speak.

Thanks for any info.

RM

PS: Since my friends did not return the window ticker, does that also mean they did not hand in any other permits which they maybe should have? They were in Mexico for 3 months.

(This post was edited by RM on Nov 10, 2002, 9:09 PM)

Marco

Nov 12, 2002, 7:14 PM

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Re: Making Mountains out of Mole Hills

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Geeze, the way some of you can put the fear of God in any minor infraction, it's a wonder anyone even dares come down here to visit from el norte !

I am personally , personally aware of many expats who have come down south of the border, and never failed to bother heading back to renew anything. One has been down here for over 10 years for goodness sake.

I myself have crossed the border a couple times with "lost" visa. And have never been so much more than asked for ID.

Now, I am not recommending anyone do anything illegal. But for goodness sake, please try to keep things in perspective. It is painfully obvious, we, me included, we norteamericanos, tend to make big issues out of things where none previously existed. And what do we get in return ? Another excuse for a "mordida".

Peace

edna

Nov 12, 2002, 7:41 PM

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Re: [Marco] Making Mountains out of Mole Hills

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http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/...ew=expanded&sb=7

I found out a little info (the hard way) about the fee that tourists to Mexico have to pay for entering the country.

Several days before we left for Mexico, we went to the Mexican Consulate in Denver. We didn't need to go there for the tourist card paper, but we had time on our hands before the trip, and thought it would make things simpler at the border. We filled out the paper and took it with us to Juarez. We took the really inexpensive bus (Los Angeles Limosene Bus) from Denver to Juarez for $40 US. When we reached the Mexican border, the driver stopped the bus and let everyone off for inspections. He waited for my husband and I to go inside to get our papers stamped. We were given a 180 day pass. No one ( Mexican Consulate/aduana at the border) mentioned our going to a bank to pay the $19.00. When we asked our driver about the fee, he told me that we no longer were charged for it. Only vehicles entering the country were charged now. I was suprised, but he took passengers across the border every day, so I accepted his answer. When we flew back to Juarez from Mexico City, the aduana met us at the airport. They wanted to see our tourist cards. They told us that we had not paid our fee and that we had to wait two days for the banks to re-open (it was Friday evening) to do it. There was no change of policy!!! This is what I learned....You have the whole time alotted to you on your tourist card to make the payment. If you were given 90 days...you have 90 days to pay it...180 days...you have 180 days to pay it. If you decide to leave Mexico without paying the $19, and you ever return to Mexico in the future, you must pay $4 US for every day that has passed from the exit date on your original tourist card. That's a mighty heavy fine! If you come back a year later, it could cost you $1460 US plus the $19 US. This info came from the top customs official at the Juarez border. We had apreviously flown into Mexico and the fee was included in our tickets, so we hadn't dealt with this before. Hopefully this will save others from any confusion.

Rolly

Nov 12, 2002, 9:01 PM

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Re: [Marco] Making Mountains out of Mole Hills

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Marco, things are not as loose now as they used to be at the border. Customs is moving into the computer age, so it's not so easy to be overlooked these days. The rules are still not being uniformly enforced, but visitors really should be aware of what the rules are. Then they can make their own decisions about how to treat the rules, and so it won't be a big shock if they find themselves on the spot.

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Nov 12, 2002, 9:03 PM)

Esteban

Nov 13, 2002, 8:23 AM

Post #8 of 8 (2096 views)

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Read the information on the form....a good concept!

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The information about paying the fee is written on the FM-T. It even tells you what banks the government has authorized to receive payments. However, some authorized banks, on the list, don't have the software to process the fee so you may have to look for another bank. Not really a big deal. In other words, READ THE FORM.