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Canadian Plated Car


DeborahS

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Any Canadians with cars? We live on Vancouver Island, BC (think: expensive ferries!) and will be applying for RT visas this summer. We know that we can drive our current car down with our "stuff" but we intend to apply for RP status once my application for Canadian citizenship is approved. Has anyone sold a car with metric instrumentation in Texas? The thought of driving all the way back to Canada to sell a car (and the cost) is daunting. TIA.

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Tried selling a Canadian registered car in Texas which previously had been registered in the US and it was not possible. 

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Thanks for the comments and suggestions. We don't have a lot of "stuff" but we do have music & recording gear, plus art & crafts, all of which take up space. Yes, we would need to export our car from Canada and import it to a US state before we could sell it in the States. WAY too much hassle. And yes, we can drive a foreign-plated car in Mexico on a tourist or temporal visa, but we plan to apply for permanent residency in a year or so, at which point we can't have a foreign-plated car without "importing" it at expense & more hassle. SO, we plan to buy an expendable/disposable vehicle in Oregon (where my brother lives) and register it there, and drive it back to the Island (within 60 days of our departure, so we don't have to register/import in BC). That's the car we'll take to Mexico, selling our Canadian car before we go. Whew! Hard work but I know it will be well worth it!

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One of you can be a PR and the other a TR and the TR has the car in his / her name and the other can drive it. This is also an option. Other than visa renewals there is very little difference between benefits as a TR or a PR.

saludos

Sonia

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19 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

Can you now renew a TR indefinitely or must you still leave after 4 years and reapply from outside of Mexico?

If you want to stay on Temporal you do have to leave and reapply.  Otherwise, it is a simple matter to convert to Permanente at the INM office in Chapala and there is no income verification required.  However, you can't keep the foreign plated car if you have one.

Given the propensity for change of immigration law here and the not so friendly environment, I sure wouldn't jeopardize residency status over a car.  Get a new one here with Jalisco plates and a Mexican DL to go with it and among other things, you can expect less mordida trolling here and in other places around Mexico.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

If you want to stay on Temporal you do have to leave and reapply.  Otherwise, it is a simple matter to convert to Permanente at the INM office in Chapala and there is no income verification required.  However, you can't keep the foreign plated car if you have one.

Given the propensity for change of immigration law here and the not so friendly environment, I sure wouldn't jeopardize residency status over a car.  Get a new one here with Jalisco plates and a Mexican DL to go with it and among other things, you can expect less mordida trolling here and in other places around Mexico.

 

 

No need to leave, just renew. It may take some time to receive it however. Appears they are giving some expats a hard time.

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After four years you cannot renew Temporal in country.  You have to let the visa expire or turn it in and then go to a Mexican Consul and start the Temporal process new.  Unless something has changed, that has been the process for some time.

Car is not worth it.  Get the Permanente while you can.

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Yes that was my question. Sonia seemed to indicate that a couple could get around having a foreign plated vehicle in country by having one only use PR while spouse used TR and seemed to imply the TR spouse could continue to renew without any problem. That sounded like a very bad idea to me.

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7 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

Yes that was my question. Sonia seemed to indicate that a couple could get around having a foreign plated vehicle in country by having one only use PR while spouse used TR and seemed to imply the TR spouse could continue to renew without any problem. That sounded like a very bad idea to me.

Several times I see one spouse being a TR (the one in whose name is the car) and the other spouse being a PR. You may want to read article 106 as to who may drive a foreign plated car or see my web site which has the article in Spanish and English. http://www.soniadiaz.mx/vehicles.html

The easiest way to be a TR after 4 years is to start over at a MX consulate. This one can do without any problems. In SMA, the other way is let TR expire and quickly start over locally but it means a fine, proving only pension sourced income or home ownership of a certain value (not investments). All financials and supporting letters must betranslated by a certified translator etc.

Through my work I provide clients options and not judge them. So tell me why is this a bad idea?

Here in SMA, Laredo is the closest consulate and the overnight bus arrives in Nuevo Laredo at 7 am; visit consulate at 9 and back to SMA. TR in this situation and tourists do this frequently.

saludos

Sonia

 

 

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1. They can change the rules for RT anytime they choose to.

2.  Driving a Mexican plated car makes you much more inconspicuous.

I am not judging anyone when I say I think it is a bad idea. Going across the border every 4 years and the paperwork involved just to keep one's dearly beloved foreign plated vehicle sounds like a solution cooked up by someone who enjoys gaming the the system.

But I must admit it's a clever solution.

saludos cordiales

Pappy

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On 3/8/2017 at 4:29 PM, DeborahS said:

Any Canadians with cars? We live on Vancouver Island, BC (think: expensive ferries!) and will be applying for RT visas this summer. We know that we can drive our current car down with our "stuff" but we intend to apply for RP status once my application for Canadian citizenship is approved. Has anyone sold a car with metric instrumentation in Texas? The thought of driving all the way back to Canada to sell a car (and the cost) is daunting. TIA.

You might want to re-think your plan to apply for a RT in Mexico before you take the oath of citizenship for Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/grant/residence/intention.asp

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Gaming system ...mmm sounds like judging to me. In fact the process is perfectly legal. To consulate staff it is well known to them the person is reapplying as a TR. So how is that gaming?

 And while you may have great finances some have an older car that is known, paid for, reliable and do not have the resources to sell their foreign plated vehicle at what may be a wholesale price. They then have to return to their home in Mexico and pay cash for another Mexican vehicle which in many cases has no obvious history. I have seen many expats buy a Mexican plated car with huge issues with repairs, registering, no original factura, unknown history. 

In the past we drove  a foreign plated car for 4 years and never an issue as to being "conspicuous". 

Yes they may change the rules but they have not for almost 5 years. And, one may also die tomorrow. Curious why so many have so much "fear". Mexicans are overall a happier more contented society yet in the majority of many live a life most expats thankfully never experience. 

saludos

Sonia

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7 minutes ago, Sunshine Girl said:

You might want to re-think your plan to apply for a RT in Mexico before you take the oath of citizenship for Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/grant/residence/intention.asp

Excellent, wise comment. Agree totally. Same advice I gave to Canadian friends from Edmonton before they became Canadian citizens 11 months ago. 

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I don't see how one can categorize it as 'gaming the system' when it is clearly authorized by law and is spelled out. To me it is 'just another option' for folks who for their own personal reasons want to retain their foreign plated vehicle. I recommended that to a couple (who weren't aware) and they happily chose that route. Whether or not the law gets changed at some date in the future is conjecture and will leave them in no different a situation than they are/were presently in.  

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Gaming the system does not imply breaking the law. It is using that law in ways that were not generally foreseen.

And I guess you mean as long as the financial requirements don't increase or anything else that makes it harder to qualify then no harm no foul.

Do people actually pay for this kind of advice?

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