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Rolly

May 4, 2004, 9:24 PM

Post #1 of 6 (390 views)

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Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico? That question has been asked and answered so many times here and on other Mexico focus boards, yet, to be honest, I don’t have much confidence that I know the answer – which (blush) has not stopped me from posting “No, you don’t need one.”

Many people have been quite firm in answering No. Others have been equally sure that a onward ticket is required. There is a third group who are sure that while you don’t need one, your airline may require that you buy it anyway. Can they all be right? Perhaps, at least partially.

My own personal knowledge is that on my many fights into Mexico when I used an FMT, I was never asked about my plans. On the other hand, I have a Salvadorian friend who flies up from El Salvador for our annual party in Manzanillo. In the 15 years we have been doing this, he has told many hard stories about immigration problems at the airport in DF. He has been required to show his tickets and to show how much money he was carrying. He was once denied entry because he was carrying only US$300.

From this limited data base, I draw the conclusion that it matters what passport you have. I have searched Mexican government websites, but I have never found one word about the requirement for onward plans or about the amount of money one needs to carry.

Does anyone have any official word on which countries’ passports trigger special requirements? – if in fact, this is the way it works.

Rolly Pirate

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johanson

May 5, 2004, 11:50 AM

Post #2 of 6 (342 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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Often is the time that I fly with a one way ticket to or from Mexico. I used to think it was cool to show my FM-2 instead of my US passport as I boarded the plane, (you know picture ID). Not any more. I learned something. When the lady at the Vancouver, BC Airport saw this strange picture ID instead of a normal looking US, Canadian, Mexican, etc passport. She did a very thorough pre-boarding search. When she saw my US passport, she indicated that she would not have had to do this thorough search had she seen it.

I tried to get her to explain, and it was obvious that she had already said too much and could not add anything more to the conversation

Ed and Fran

May 5, 2004, 1:44 PM

Post #3 of 6 (331 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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Rolly commented: "From this limited data base, I draw the conclusion that it matters what passport you have."

While I don't know anything official, I'm happy as usual to interject my somewhat biased opinion in this thread. I agree 100% with your conclusion, and would extend that to travel to the U.S. also.

I've made more trips here than I can remember and have never been asked to show a return ticket. I suspect it's that Mexico is as paranoid about illegal immigration from Central America as the U.S. is about illegal immigration from Mexico. But I know that we always made sure that Fran had a round trip ticket when flying to the states, and she was asked to show it on several occasions, at least it seems until she had built up a track record of arrivals and departures in the INS computer.

jmho

Ed

TomG

May 6, 2004, 9:07 AM

Post #4 of 6 (305 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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In Reply To

I suspect it's that Mexico is as paranoid about illegal immigration from Central America as the U.S. is about illegal immigration from Mexico.

I agree with Ed. It is not just Mexico. The Salvadorans, Hondurans, etc. sweat it out traveling through Guatemala as I recently witnessed on a bus from Huehue~~ to the Mexican border. Guatemalan Immigration got on the bus and picked about a dozen passengers kick off and rake over the coals. I saw one woman get off with her bribe money wrapped around her finger. After about 5 minutes they all got back on and road the 2.5 hours to a safe house 10 minutes before the Mexican border, where they all got off together. How the Guatemalan Immigration officer just standing in front could pick out all the right people sitting in various parts of the bus from the crowd is a mystery that only the coyote could answer. I think it was a standard setup. The other bus passengers were quite accustom to illegals and indicated it did not happen on every bus, but many times a week on the buses they ride.

I imagine that by the time they even get to the USA/Mexican border they have had all their feathers plucked.

The pine forest in rural Chiapas along the Guatemalan border is patroled by Mexican military, and locals say that a lot of Guatemalans come through, often working on farms in the Chiapas border area to make money to progress on north. Central American gangs and woman prostituting themselves for travel money are causing social problems in Comitan in the last few years. According to a local social worker, AIDS is breaking out.

tom

jzh

May 6, 2004, 9:44 AM

Post #5 of 6 (296 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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Rolly,

Funny you should bring this up.

Went to the airport here in DF yesterday, was told by friends I was picking up that at least 15 people were pulled out of line as they were coming through customs (before presenting their papers), appeared to be of Central American origin, definitely not Mexican as my friends could hear the accent. What little they could hear from a distance was asking about wanting to see their itineraries.

So I can imagine they are trying to clamp down on this.

Bubba

May 6, 2004, 11:08 AM

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Re: [Rolly] Do I need a return/onward ticket to get into Mexico?

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A few years ago, we took a United flight from Los Angeles to Guatamala City and the flight was then to continue on to San Salvador and other points. All passengers were allowed to depart the plane in Guatamala City for the thirty minutes or so it was to be there before proceeding except passengers from El Salvador. They were ordered to stay in their seats for the duration. Clearly, the way one is treated has at least in part to do with one's nationality whether in Central America, Mexico or the United States. Surprise, surprise.

I agree with Johanson's comment. Never get cute in any of these places and show more documentation than absolutely necessary. My wife is a French National who lived and worked in the United States for over 30 years under green card status. Then she retired down here. When, three years after leaving the U.S., she flew to Paris via Dallas and showed her green card as a transit document, I thought she was going to end up in Leavenworth or Gitmo. After that we have just shown passports, period, and have never had a problem since.