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What to do if you lose your visa outside Mexico


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If you lose your Mexican immigration card outside Mexico you need a special visa to enter Mexico, if you enter as a tourist then they will cancel your old temporary or permanent. You need a police report, photo, passport and payment of a small fee.

I have been fighting with many Mexican consulates as they do not know what to do, I have made a sheet from their own manual telling them how to help foreigners in this situation, if you need it, print this file and bring it with you to avoid suffering consequences in Mexico for their bad advice.

File is here http://www.chapalalaw.com/RoboExtravioVisa.pdf

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I fixed it

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I realize the "nay sayers" will be all over this suggestion: but FWIW here is my suggestion...Spencer's advise is right on, but why carry your Temp. or Perm. card except when either entering or departing Mexico or dealing directly with INM personnel. Go and have a color copy made and laminated (High Contrast) and carry it with you for identification when needed. Put the original in a safe and secure place.The ones I had made stateside are indistinguishable from the original...Forget the lame brain advise that these "forgeries" are unlawful..BS as you will not be attempting to utilize them for anything other than identification and evidence that you are in fact Residente Temp. or Perm...

This sure beats the nut roll one has to go thru to replace a lost card..

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Yeah, I wouldn't be too flip about that "forgery bs". This is Mexico, and they love jumping on stuff like that. Trust me: been there. They don't care what you use it for. Just the fact that you have it.

But you have to carry your card out of the ocuntry, unless you have a place to put it after you leave... the guards aren't going to keep it for you.

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I have heard of people prosecuted for carrying fake documents, why deal with forgeries and liability if you can carry a notarized certified copy and have zero liability?

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OK, you can make the report of a lost card outside Mexico so you can go to a consulate to get the lost / stolen visa to enter Mexico. Nobody really knows where you lost it and some have made the report at a location convenient to them with the police nearby and the consulate. So if you lost your visa in Greece, nobody knows that and if you made a report in Texas, who would know? You should do it where you lost it but for logistics and cost and time people can do it in other places and nobody is the wiser.

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This is a problem that I ,unfortunately, am dealing with at present. The consulate was extremely unhelpful here. I had the papers Spencer suggested but they told me I had to provide all the initial application paperwork and start over. Now that I have the protocol from Spencer, I have another appointment with the consulate. My biggest problem is that my time is running out an it will take them more time to process it when I go back. They are only open 4 hours a week so I am sweating. Had to visit kids as 3 years had passed or I wouldn't be here. I just want to go home. Thanks again Spencer. We will see if it works this time.

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Thank you Spencer for sharing this important information. We are traveling soon and are so glad to have this to take with us, in event the worst should occur. We are all so fortunate to have your guidance so we can relax and know what to do in situations we may not even think of.

Kobi

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I guess if I do lose my Mexican visa card while travelling in a foreign country (like Greece) I would not have the time, or inclination, to try and deal with the local Mexican consulate/embassy. I will just wait until I return to Mexico and deal with immigration in Guadalajara or Mexico City. I think it might be a good idea to carry my notarized copy with me in that case.

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You cannot enter Mexico without an immigration document and if you enter as a tourist then they will cancel your other document, you MUST deal with it before arriving to Mexico

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Isn't having a notarized copy of the original (lost) visa sufficient to get you into Mexico where a person can deal with migracion?

Surely this must come up often enough that immigration is used to dealing with permanent residents coming back having lost their visa while on vacation out of Mexico?

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Two things you should never lose: Your wallet and your car keys.

Try not to lose your temper.

If you lose your mind, keep looking until you no longer care where you lost it.

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Only the original document is valid for international travel.

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Well amigos, I returned to the consulate today to try to get my visa taken care of. All I can say is that if you lose yours in the United States, under no circumstances try to get it taken care of in Detroit. Last week they sent me away after telling me it couldn't be done. Today, armed with all the papers Spencer gave me, I tried again. They wouldn't even look at the paperwork or call Mexico as suggested. They didn't like one of my copies and told me I would have to get another and no they wouldn't do it there. I could get the copy and return in a week. Then they would start the procedure which would take another three weeks as they are only open for two hours and Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Looks like I will be returning on a tourist visa. Pleased, I am not.

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Lazy, lazy lazy, when back we should complain, those people need to look for other work if they do not want to do their jobs and when their laziness causes problems for others.

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Jeanneboo, have you thought of just making a stop in another city where the consulate is open every day and where they seem to know what they are doing? Someone wrote that the Laredo TX consulate employees were on the ball. You could call and make an appointment, then stop on the way. Yes, it would require a few hotel night stays.... but you could probably talk to someone before going and at least know if they would give you a replacement. Just a thought.

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