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on AUGUST 10, 2020
Things are heating up here in many ways, some more welcome than others. The first is physical. Summer has arrived with it’s humidity and increased temperatures. As I type this at 11am, it is 84 degrees and 63% humidity (feels like 91f), with an expected high of ~92f today. Luckily the ocean is still refreshingly cool, so we’ve been sneaking off to the beaches (which are still technically closed) for some safe social distance surfing and splashing around to cool off.
Simultaneously, COVID has officially hit our area in force. Reports of locals with the virus (so far mostly native Mexicans) have been pouring in in the last few weeks. Unofficial counts of positive cases in our town are 40-80 cases (these are counts from the testing facility before they get reported to the government), but sadly, we all know the count is much higher. Many factors contribute to this. Surely the government may be cooking the books a bit, but more likely the main discrepancies come from incomplete testing. I believe you still either need to have symptoms, or prove you’ve been in contact with someone who tested positive to get a test). The locals distrust of hospitals is also not helping – NYT – I’d Rather Stay Home and Die. In addition, because things “opened back up”, today you can go into Todos Santos and see tourists (the majority likely from La Paz and Los Cabos, but some American) mask free and doing all the regular tourist things. I also heard second-hand that initially, local Mexicans thought COVID was a disease that only gringos could get. I sure hope that isn’t true, but if it is, that certainly also contributed to the rise in cases. We’ve been continuing to shelter in place; keeping our exposure to only a few other people and our activities to outdoors, but I think we’ll double down and go back into hiding mode for the next several weeks.
But that isn’t what I really wanted to talk about today, I wanted to talk about living legally in Mexico.
First, I am going to offer a disclaimer. The information I am giving you reflects our personal experience. While accurate for us, there are many ways to skin this cat (of course, not literally).
1. Everyone I’ve talked to about this had a slightly different path and situation.
2. The rules and loopholes change frequently, so what was true 6 months ago, may not be true now.
If you are interested in getting residency and or citizenship in México, I recommend speaking to as many people as possible about recent experiences, referencing the published rules and also to contact a local immigration lawyer (also doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion there too).
For those of you who have traveled extensively in México, you probably know that the tourist visa that they issue you when you enter the country is good for 6 months – that’s a pretty generous travel visa and sufficient for most. If you want to live here full time you could always do the border run and continue extending your visa, but if you are nervous about the pandemic or not planning on heading out of the country regularly, you are going to need to secure something more permanent.
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When my husband started building the house, we needed a Mexican bank account to pay the construction company and in order to open a Mexican account, you need to be a permanent resident. Fortuitously, since it was the way he preferred to be paid, our builder hooked Switch up with his accountant in La Paz who helped him through the residency process. The process started at the Mexican consulate in San Francisco (but could have been any Mexican consulate in the US). He woke up early and traveled to the consulate to satisfy the requirements with passport, photo and financial documents to prove income (the equivalent of $148k Canadian dollars). He then left his passport with the consulate for about a week while they processed the paperwork. Back in México, with paperwork in hand, he drove up to La Paz to the INM office who also held passports and documents to process the residency. A few weeks later, the accountant notified us that they had the card, he drove up to La Paz once more to pay fees and pick it up and and voila! He is now a permanent resident. Permanent residents can legally operate a business in México (open bank accounts, etc.), so the benefits are a little more expansive than just getting to go through the quick line at immigration when you arrive at the airport.
For my residency, we planned on piggybacking on his residency, which is a much simpler process. If we can prove that I am married to him, they will grant me residency (see b. iii. here). To prove marriage, you need a copy of the marriage license apostilled. This is a process similar to a notary, but for use in countries that participate in the Hague Convention of 1961. The process was pretty straightforward and all online. We ordered the certificate from https://www.vitalchek.com/ and then they sent the document directly to https://www.onesourceprocess.com/legalization-apostille-services/ who will process the apostille. Easy, right?
Hold on right there, we have one wrinkle which is preventing us from finishing this process. Our names changed after we married, so we will also need a document from the US saying that the people on the marriage certificate are indeed us. This would be simple if we could walk into the American consulate down here, but due to the pandemic it is closed except for emergency passport issues. Since my travel visa is set to expire in August and we’re certainly not risking a border run to extend the visa, we contacted an immigration lawyer who said we will need to let the visa expire and that they can help renew it for another 6 months. So for a short time, I will indeed be an illegal alien.
Until the American consulate opens back up, it looks like I’ll be extending the travel visa. As long as I’m legal, I’m fine with it, but I’m excited for my future life as an official resident. After 5 years of permanent residency, you are also able to apply for citizenship. We haven’t decided whether we will do that, but we’d love to eventually have dual citizenship. The US wouldn’t recognize it, but especially now, I think it would be much better to be traveling with a Mexican passport. We will see what the future holds.
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