Permanent resident entering as tourist

[bdlngton]

What happens if a person on residente permanente enters Mexico on a tourist visa? Let's say this person lost the half of the FMM form that is supposed to be turned in to immigration on re-entry (or perhaps never followed the correct procedure to check out with immigration when leaving Mexico, perhaps by land) and just shows passport and a new FMM form when re-entering Mexico. The immigration stamps the passport and returns the other half of the FMM to him. What will happen the next time this person tries to leave Mexico? Since passports are scanned, why wouldn't the person's immigration status show up when the passport was scanned upon re-entry?

[Joyfull]

What happens if a person on residente permanente enters Mexico on a tourist visa? Let's say this person lost the half of the FMM form that is supposed to be turned in to immigration on re-entry (or perhaps never followed the correct procedure to check out with immigration when leaving Mexico, perhaps by land) and just shows passport and a new FMM form when re-entering Mexico. The immigration stamps the passport and returns the other half of the FMM to him. What will happen the next time this person tries to leave Mexico? Since passports are scanned, why wouldn't the person's immigration status show up when the passport was scanned upon re-entry?

maybe Intercasa can weigh in on this

[Intercasa]

You do not need to turn in the same stub that you got upon leaving, the form is for statistical purposes only. Just show your residente permanente card and fill out a new FMM form showing you are permanente upon entering Mexico. If you fail to show the card or fill out the FMM form incorrectly or incompletely they may check you in as a tourist and would cancel your permanente. Remember the FMM form acts as a tourist visa as well as to track entries and exits or foreigners who are residents

[rogerm]

Nothing

[luisa]

If you fail to show the card or fill out the FMM form incorrectly or incompletely they may check you in as a tourist and would cancel your permanente. Remember the FMM form acts as a tourist visa as well as to track entries and exits or foreigners who are residents

This sounds important to me.

[RVGRINGO]

An FMM tourist permit becomes void the moment you step outside of Mexico. If you then stepped back in, you might get away with it, but if you get stopped at the interior checkpoint, they might ask some difficult questions about who and why you visited in that Mexican border town.

[Intercasa]

If you drove out and in and didnt check with immigration they would not know about your trip probably. We have had clients who have been asked for travel documents when an entry or exit was not recorded, usually when changing their inmigrado card to the new permanente or going from the old booklet.

[snowyco]

So, if only for statistical purposes, what happens if you just "forget" to turn one in when you leave and return? I.E. you do not go bye their office.

Flying, foreigners who are Mexican residents have to fill out an FMM as they leave, and INM keeps half. As you return, you turn in the other half. If you lost the other half, get a blank FMM form from a flight attendant, fill out just the "entering Mexico" half, tear it in half, and give just the "entering Mexico" half to INM as you enter Mexico.

When driving in and out, if you have any thoughts of getting naturalized citizenship in Mexico in the next 5 years, stop and fill out an FMM on every trip and get your passport stamped for the exit, because they stamp your passport when you reenter Mexico, creating gaps in the exit and entrance stamp records in your passport. INM is now also checking their computerized in and out records as the final step of SRE's citizenship application process, as a friend and his Notario just found out last week. The friend had full complements/pairs of exit and entrance stamps for his driving trips to the USA, plus photocopies of all passport pages with explanations for the barely legible stamps, and SRE also required a spreadsheet listing and tracking the exit/entrance pairs, and then SRE sent his finally approved SRE status over to INM for their final checks, final INM approval, and INM's close-out of his Residente Permanente permit.

In both driving and flying, write "RESIDENTE PERMANENTE" or "RESIDENTE TEMPORAL" across the top of each half of the FMM before you submit it to INM.

[Newbie3]

If you're flying out, do they always stamp your passport? Or do you need to ask about it before boarding, so there are no missing entry/exit pairs?

[snowyco]

Airlines are not supposed to issue boarding passes to foreigners flying out of Mexico, until the foreigner goes to the INM desk, completes an FMM, gets that FMM stamped by INM, and submits the completed INM-approved FMM to the airline agent at passenger checkin.

[valbogyo]

Snowyco, earlier this year I drove to the US and passed through Nogales. It was Sunday and I stopped by the INM office, but it was closed. There was no where to fill out a FMM form or have my passport stamped. So.... I just had to leave.

A few weeks later, I drove back with a Mexican friend. Though stopped twice, no one asked to even look at my passport. I never had an opportunity to even answer any questions. My Mexican friend just joked with the Aduana about how I went crazy shopping for clothes and complain I never have anything to wear. I think he said I was his wife. I just smiled, thinking that someone would eventually ask to see my passport. No.... no one even talked to me.

So...... I do not have stamps going out or returning. I guess I am lucky? Do you have to insist that they look at and stamp your passport? Is it normal that they do not ask when driving into Mexico? I fly, usually, and it is very clear what to do in that case.