Forums > General > Traveling Mexico

David

Apr 7, 2002, 5:16 PM

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Peso$$195.00 for tourist card now!

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I attempted to take a day trip from El Paso to Samalayuca to see the dunes down there. I was very surprised that the formerly free tourist card is now not only NOT free, costs a wopping US$20 (Peso$195.00), but also must be paid at a participating bank in Mexico. Once the tourist card is issued, it is not valid without the receipt or some other evidence of payment at a bank. And of course, banks are not open on weekends. Has anyone else experienced this?? Is there an alternative?

Ernie Gorrie

Apr 8, 2002, 12:38 AM

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There has been a charge for the tourist visa for several years now. A tourist visa is not needed for travel within the frontera. And a tourist card need not be returned now upon departure from Mexico. It is valid for multiple entries for the period authorized. (It is required to turn it in upon expiry.)So that N$195 visa can now be used for up to six months.

David

Apr 8, 2002, 2:44 PM

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The irony is that my destination, Samalayuca, is just beyond the 25 kilometer checkpoint. : There has been a charge for the tourist visa for several years now. A tourist visa is not needed for travel within the frontera. And a tourist card need not be returned now upon departure from Mexico. It is valid for multiple entries for the period authorized. (It is required to turn it in upon expiry.): So that N$195 visa can now be used for up to six months.

John

Apr 9, 2002, 3:05 AM

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Ernie, you say the visa should be returned upon expiry. I crossed the border heading north last March, but didn't see any convenient place to return my visa, so here I am in Canada with a stamped visa which expires in June. Should I mail it to an embassy or just hang on to it?
Thanx

Ernie Gorrie

Apr 11, 2002, 12:28 AM

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You could try phoning the Mexican consulate office in Vancouver for advice on this one, although I have not found them to be very helpful with any questions I have had for them.I suspect you'll end up having to phone or email the Mexican embassy in Ottawa. I have found that email correspondence with them is slow, but at least that way one has a paper trail.

Lee

Apr 14, 2002, 8:10 PM

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: You could try phoning the Mexican consulate office in Vancouver for advice on this one, although I have not found them to be very helpful with any questions I have had for them.: I suspect you'll end up having to phone or email the Mexican embassy in Ottawa. I have found that email correspondence with them is slow, but at least that way one has a paper trail.I am wondering if it really makes any difference.
Do the Mexican immigration authorities actually keep records on who has tourist visas? Unlike the car import permits where they look information up on the computer, it seems to me that when we apply for tourist visas, we just fill out the form, they check our passports, write and stamp something on the visa, we then pay the required fee, and that's it. Upon leaving Mexico, they simply collect the visa. They don't ask for a passport. I wonder what they do with the visas that are turned in? Has anyone experienced a problem when re-entering Mexico (say 6 months or a year later) if they've failed to turn in their tourist visa?

John

Apr 21, 2002, 11:10 PM

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I think I'll just hang on to it until I return in the fall. If they give me any grief, I'll have the bank stamped copy as evidence that I've complied with the regs. The fact that I'm coming in will prove that I've left.

Lee

Apr 22, 2002, 11:54 AM

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: I think I'll just hang on to it until I return in the fall. If they give me any grief, I'll have the bank stamped copy as evidence that I've complied with the regs. The fact that I'm coming in will prove that I've left.Being a curious person, I'm still wondering about what happens with those tourist visas--i.e. does the Mexican immigration authority keep any kind of computerized records of who has been issued the darned things? If they don't, you might be creating more hassles for yourself by showing them the expired one than if you simply applied for a new one without mentioning it. In my limited experience, it is often difficult to deal with Mexican officials regarding something that is an exception, an error, or simply out of the ordinary. Just a thought. Anyone else...?

Maraguez

Apr 22, 2002, 11:58 AM

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: : I think I'll just hang on to it until I return in the fall. If they give me any grief, I'll have the bank stamped copy as evidence that I've complied with the regs. The fact that I'm coming in will prove that I've left.: Being a curious person, I'm still wondering about what happens with those tourist visas--i.e. does the Mexican immigration authority keep any kind of computerized records of who has been issued the darned things? If they don't, you might be creating more hassles for yourself by showing them the expired one than if you simply applied for a new one without mentioning it. In my limited experience, it is often difficult to deal with Mexican officials regarding something that is an exception, an error, or simply out of the ordinary. Just a thought. Anyone else...? I have received around tourist 60 visas in Mexico. I have never returned one and have never had any problems. I don't get my passport sealed, I don't know if you are the same case. As a matter of fact, my children have been traveling with expired passports for 5 years now, but the Mexican authorities don't seem to care.

John

Apr 22, 2002, 3:49 PM

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Perhaps I should add that I'll carry it with me when I return in the fall and produce it if I am challenged when I apply for a new one. In the past, I have usually flown into and out of the country, and officials are quite rigid in requesting the FMT when I leave. In those cases, the FMT fee is incorporated in the airline ticket purchase and no bank visit is required, so I really don't see the logic. I would think there would be more controls when one drives back across the border.