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elcomputo

Apr 23, 2003, 4:02 PM

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Menaje

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Seems to me, the best way to move to Mexico is to come down on an FMT, look around, find a place to live, then return to get your stuff and bring it back on an FM-3 (retirement). The only part of the process that still confuses me is presenting the list of household goods you're bringing when you get the FM-3. It's also pretty clear what you have to do when you take it to your local consulate. But what if you get it while you're in Mexico? (I understand officials in Mexico tend to be less demanding on details than consulates are and more liberal when it comes to your income level; besides, in Mexico I would have the help of a Mexican friend in navigating the bureaucracy.)

According to information given in one of the sidebar links at mexicoconnect, you've got to get the list approved at the consulate closest to where you're coming from. Is this true? Would it be true if you were to get the FM-3 in Mexico? What if you're from Minneapolis and you moved all your household stuff to South Texas for storage before you made your exploratory trip into Mexico? You certainly would not have to return to Minneapolis, would you?

I can't believe this link is giving out accurate information because it also said that everything inside a box has to be itemized on the menaje. That is, rather than saying that the contents of a box are shirts and trousers, the menaje would have to say 21 shirts, 6 trousers, and one pair of cufflinks. I know from looking at the sample menaje at Rolly's web site this level of detail is not needed.

I'm asking because I am right now in the process of packing boxes, and I don't want to screw up.

martin

(This post was edited by jennifer rose on Apr 23, 2003, 8:22 PM)

Gerry Krause

Apr 23, 2003, 7:00 PM

Post #2 of 5 (1018 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Menaje

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I just had a talk with the consulate general here in Sacramento, and I am leaving on the 30th for Ajijic. They say just put your clothes in a box and , write clothes on it. I dont know what consulate generals office you might go to , but I would try the one thats most convenient for you.

(This post was edited by jennifer rose on Apr 23, 2003, 8:23 PM)

jennifer rose

Apr 23, 2003, 8:05 PM

Post #3 of 5 (1010 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Menaje de Casa

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It’s not all that difficult to obtain the FM-3, wherever you decide to apply. If you’ve read prior posts, you’ll see that I’m an advocate of getting the FM-3 on your home ground before entering Mexico. But then there are some whose ages and incomes do not qualify them for the FM-3 under the terms of their local Mexican consulate. And there are those advocates of getting the FM-3 in-country, and I’ve not been able to change their minds for love or money (not that I’m gonna offer ‘em either).

From the date of issuance of your FM-3, you have 6 months to apply for the household goods visa (menaje de casa). Most Mexican Consulates will accept that application by mail. (If you take that route, I highly recommend using Airborne or Fedex, with a prepaid return.) That means that the FM-3 holder who is now living in Mexico ought not have to schlep all the way back to Minnesota, where there isn’t a Mexican Consulate anyway, to get the menaje de casa. For that reason, your question about schlepping all the way back to Minnesota is moot.

Now, about that inventory of household goods. There is a format prescribed by the Mexican Consulate, and each is slightly different. I remember that Chicago required that each page be signed in blue ink. “6 boxes of clothing” is sufficient; you do not need to itemize every cufflink and piece of underwear.

When you’re packing those boxes, it’s a good idea to number them, maintaining a separate log of what’s in Box #1, Box #243, etc. Of course, by the time you finally unpack everything, you will have lost the list, but it’s still a good idea.

Rolly

Apr 23, 2003, 8:30 PM

Post #4 of 5 (1004 views)

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Re: [elcomputo] Menaje

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Amigo, it is vital that you go to your area consulate to ask their requirements. The rules do vary. Some a pretty lax, others are quite detailed. My menaje page (which I have referred you to before) shows the rules of the Los Angeles consulate, but others may be different. Please, go ask at the consulate serving your home area; that is the ONLY way you are going to know for sure.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

elcomputo

Apr 24, 2003, 11:33 PM

Post #5 of 5 (949 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Menaje

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Okay. Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I have gone back and read Jennifer Rose's posting re the FM-3, and I have a pretty clear picture of what's involved, etc. But I still have a problem.

As of May 6, I will no longer have a residence in Austin. It will be gone with the wind. I meet the age requirement for the FM-3, and I can just slip by the Austin consulate's $1,000 income requirement. That would seem to recommend getting the FM-3 right now. I also have a listing of all the contents of all the boxes I have packed, and I can easily translate that into Spanish. But there is no way I can get my household goods across the border within the next 90 days. I am going to store them in McAllen. I think that after I get to my destination, I can either contract with someone to bring it across or I can get a trailer down there and come and haul the stuff across myself. But that is going to take a while to arrange.

If I were to get the FM-3 in Austin, I assume I would also have to submit the menaje to Austin, and that I could do it by mail at a later date. (Austin is about 1100 miles from Xalapa, an additional five hours from McAllen, and I would rather avoid having to come back all this way to deliver my list of belongings.) Or does this require a personal appearance back here? And how much later can the menaje be submitted? It seems so strange that I would be submitting this list to a consulate in a town where I no longer lived.

I'm sorry to be so dense about this. I get the general idea of the process, but the details are still confusing. The information I obtained from the Austin consulate was of only limited help because their one-page advisory covering all visas was shorter than most of the postings to these forums.

martin