Expired, Lost, or overdue Mexican Immigration Visas (FMT) or Car Permits

Forgot to Return your Mexican immigration Visa or Mexican Car Permit? Oops!

Technically, your tourist permit is not a visa, but most people refer to the FMT tourist permit as a visa, so I will too, at least here. If you neglected to turn your FMT immigration visa or permit into Mexican immigration (Migracíon not customs or aduana) before leaving Mexico, you will have trouble getting a new visa when you return to Mexico. If you didn't turn in your Mexican car permit to Hacienda or Banjercito (NOT immigration who could care less), then you will be subject to another set of fines. I know. I got caught.

Note: If you travel in Sonora only or Baja, the permits are not such a big deal, but it's my belief that you should err on the side of caution and return any permits, regardless of where in Mexico you travel.

Fines for failure to surrender your immigration papers (FMT) are steep -- about $300 a month. Yep, that is USD $300. Migracíon (Mexican immigration) has a pretty accurate computer. They caught me for not turning the FMT's in since 1996. Fortunately, Migracíon let me slide on all but the most recent -- a year old. The polite Mexican immigration official only wanted $2,000 from me.

Don't Panic! There Is a Solution.

Don't panic. Keep reading. I had to go back two times to find one Mexican immigration official who was willing to negotiate. For about $312, I got cleared. I know this because when I got my next Mexican FMT tourist card, the immigration official saw that it had been canceled.

I can supply you with a phone number to call Hacienda that has some English-speaking operators. There is a procedure to take care of a lost permit, but it takes time. I chage a miniscule $50 for this service. Go to "Contact Mike" and click "Click Below To Pay For a Personal Consultation" to pay me via PayPal securely. Or you will find several different products relating to driving in Mexico (maps, road logs, travelogues or roadlogs) on my shopping cart, as well as a description of my trip-planning services to help you get the most out of a driving trip to Mexico.

Didn't turn in your mexican car permit?

Hacienda (the Mexican treasury department) keeps even better track of your Mexican car permits. I could not get a straight answer from them about whether the car permit information was tied to your vehicle VIN AND your passport, but know for sure that if you try to get a new Mexican car permit on a car that was previously driven in Mexico, Hacienda will fine you. The fine for not turning in your driving car permit is only $33 to start. Then Hacienda adds $5 a day for every day the Mexican car permit is overdue.

If you no longer have the car you drove to Mexico in, the odds are against you for getting a new permit to drive into Mexico. There must be some upper limit on the fine, but I don't know it. If the car you originally drove to Mexico was wrecked or stolen, a police and insurance report has been known (but not guaranteed) to help. And I have known missionaries who have gotten in, they say through a lot of praying. They also spent several days going to different border crossings to talk to different Hacienda officials. I think the Hacienda guys just got tired of seeing them.

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