Mexico published today, July 31, 2018, in its Federal Register or Diario Oficial de la Federacion some changes to common immigration forms. These changes will be effective tomorrow, August 1, 2018.
The following forms have had slight changes made to them.
FMM Form Commonly Called Tourist Card Form (It is really to track entries and exits for statistical purposes and only acts as a tourist card for those who have no other visa).
They changed some of the numbers around, also on the lower parts of both halves they write in how many days the visa is good for, on the old forms only the bottom section had a box to write in the information.
TEMPORARY / PERMANENT VISA CARD
New card format is similar to the old one. There are small differences such as the design and logos on the top of the front side, and on the front side, both the issue and expiration dates will appear, old cards had an expiration date on front and issue date on the rear. The rear side will have space for folio number, where printed and renewal number with the other signatures and barcodes the same as before.
FORMATO BASICO, the form you turn in when applying for any temporary or permanent visa.
The new form seems to be the same as far as information requested but does delete the spots where you would put your fingerprints or attach photos.
FEM Formato Estadístico para Mexicanos, the form Mexicans use for entering and leaving the country. This form has changed from being blue or purple in the pasty to a lime green color on the new form.
New form FEM Formato Estadístico para Mexicanos Repatriados (Deportees)
This form is to track entries from Mexicans deported from other countries.
It is a good idea to make sure that when you use any of the aforementioned forms that you use the new ones as using the old ones may cause a delay or rejection when you do any business with the National Immigration Institute or INAMI. It is unknown when immigration/ airports/border crossings will have the new forms available as well as if there will be any grace period for use of old forms.
TRAVEL ADVISORY 1: Some commercial airlines no longer hand out immigration forms, we highly recommend you fill out your form(s) online now so you don’t delay your immigration process when you arrive in Mexico. https://www.gob.mx/inm/articulos/agiliza-tu-entrada-a-mexico
Lic. Spencer Richard Mc Mullen is a licensed Mexican attorney (Federal cedula #7928026, Jalisco State cedula #114067) as well as a State and Federal Court authorized expert translator with postgraduate diploma courses in Notarial Law, Condominium Law, Contracts, Civil and Business Procedure, Probate Law and Municipal Law, among others. He has completed more than 3 years of a registered internship working with a notary public preparing, reviewing and translating hundreds of real estate deeds after a 20+ year career in mortgage finance in the US where he approved loans, did escrows and drew up deeds and mortgage documents for thousands of transactions. He currently heads up a team of litigating attorneys with offices in Chapala and Guadalajara, Jalisco.www.chapalalaw.com 376-765-7553, USA 805-683-4848
