Know the Law in Mexico
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IMSS - Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

Every year at this time, we publish information on Immigration (last month), and the National Health Care System - IMSS. This is generally the time of year they increase fees as well as make changes to the requirements. Immigration has not yet made those increases, but IMSS has. Here is the new information as of February, 2006.

IMSS - Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

The main objective of Social Security is to guarantee the right to good health, medical assistance, the protection of the means of subsistence and the necessary social services for the collective and individual wellbeing, as well as the assignment of a pension that complies with the legal requirements that should be guaranteed by the state.

This is article 2 from IMSS. It is a rough translation from Spanish, but that is their main statement. Foreigners do not qualify for social services, but you do qualify for the health portion.

How do you qualify? To sign up you must have a Passport, an FMT, FM2, FM3, or Immigrado status, birth certificate (translated into Spanish), marriage license if married (translated into Spanish) and proof of residency, such as an electric or phone bill. Leases will not work if they are in English. The birth certificates and marriage license are not required for renewals. IMSS will require you to bring the above, along with 2 pictures of yourself (tamaño infantil size), last year's IMSS papers plus the receipt if you are already covered. If this is a new application, you will need to fill out the questionnaire they have.

Once the signatures and papers are obtained at the IMSS clinic or hospital closest to you, you then you must go to the main office for IMSS to submit these papers from your location. Once they are accepted, payment must be made at a bank. Once this payment is made, the receipt must be submitted back to the main office to obtain the coverage card. Unfortunately, they will not receive payment in rural areas.

The biggest changes for qualifying over last year, other than the cost, is that IMSS now requiring the birth and marriage certificates for new applications. Renewal requirements remain the same as last year's.

We also need to address a rumor that has been going around the community about single persons applying for IMSS and being refused. This in fact has occurred, but not because they are single, but because single persons need to provide a letter stating they have no beneficiaries. If you plan on obtaining IMSS on your own and you are single, e-mail us and we can provide you an outline of how the letter should be worded.

The cost? Every individual pays a set rate depending on his or her age. The price structure is as follows:

• 0-19 $1062
• 20-39 $1242
• 40-59 $1856
• 60+ $2792

What does it cover? . . .

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Adriana Perez Flores is an Attorney at Law based in Ajijic, Jalisco for legal and immigration services throughout Mexico.
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