Rules in mexico just changed in January with the minimum wage increase- I haven't seen any embassy in California (right next to mexi, id assume they'd be on top of it if anybody) with a single mention of updated numbers for 2020 on any of their websites when I was trying to confirm the 130k instead PR thing.

The 20k something number for TR was my impression as well last year when going in, but what you don't see is if that's for retired or pensioned people. (sometimes yay, sometimes nay?) For me it would not work, as I don't have government/military pension or retirement whatever. I have the paperwork from the embassy at a friends house I can get at the end of the month if there's still interest that states all the requirements for TR economic solvency that is NOT retired/pensioned (98k or whatever it was last year before the increase). Most of the expat groups are catered for retired or pensioned people and could be why you see low numbers there. Also look at the threads with like 120 comments arguing back and forth on em, lol that alone shows its not the same process for everyone.

I think that showing em like 40k will work some portion of the time for TR if things go smoothly and they just accept you as retired for some reason. Some offices are more mellow than others, ie Las Vegas as I've heard as well. But this whole process takes many many months, costs some money, laws are constantly changing, minimums amounts are increasing, the time spent not only waiting passively for updates but actively standing in lines and driving all around is not marginal, and most immigration officials seem to do things with no rhyme or reason. Why risk it with the bare minimum that might work, especially when immigration offices are jam packed with both retirees and super bustos from honduras all the time now. Just stand out as a rich gringo who is gonna spend money in mexico and get accepted.

I've heard about statements for 6 months, I submitted that and was told to come back with 12 months. I've heard others who needed to show 24 months. I'd just rather not have 'good luck' to get accepted, why not guarantee it.

Lawyer costs gonna vary and I'd be getting mine in mexico which is a million times different than if you need something in london to help you start the process.

Costs for TR extension that I was planning on previous to finding out about PR possibilities:

The fee is $10,800 pesos cash per person for three years visa including both INM fees and my fee which is 2700 pesos. Others have a fee from 3600 to more than 5000 pesos.

In other words they are paying you to use them in time savings alone. I took at least 6 trips to INM last time

Yeah, like I said it seems to depend a lot on the consulate or embassy you go to.
From speaking to other people and these blog posts and I'm certain that at least in 2018-2019 it was possible for people without a pension and/or 100K in savings to get a TR. The wait time and required paperwork also seem to vary depending on the INM office.

http://northernlauren.com/how-to-get...h-freelancers/

https://hippie-inheels.com/how-to-ge...sa-for-mexico/

https://road2help.org/viajes/tips-vi...oral-mexicana/

I will check with my local embassy again soon to get to check what the requirements are now here.

Hiring a lawyer can safe a lot of headaches sometimes. Some years ago I went to the process of getting a residency visa in Paraguay. The process both back home and in Paraguay is very extensive and bureaucratic.
(one Libanese-Canadian guy I knew ran into trouble because he couldn't provide his original Lebanese birth certificate and Danish guy flew to Paraguay only to find out he couldn't apply for his residency because the only official translation office doesn't translate from Danish and documents have to be translated in the country lol)

I could write a book about all the shady things I witnessed during my time there, that country is like real life Tropico. If you don't know how to "aceitar la maquinaria" it will take you at least 6 months to do it all by yourself I think.

Seems like you can apply at any embassy/consulate you like, doesn't even have to be in your home country.

I found this post from 2018 asking specifically about financial recs for non-retirees and an immigration lawyer chimed in with those figures. Of course the rules change all the time as boliver said, so one can never be certain. For the moment I don't have 100k sitting around in a bank account, but can show 5 figures as well as 12+ months of statements showing consistent money coming in at the same time each month.

So I guess I'll have to roll the dice with that and hope it works out. I'll probably hire whoever is the most recommended lawyer from that FB group and try for the Vegas consulate if I can to increase my odds. Worst case scenario I'd probably just marry my girlfriend to simplify and expedite the path to citizenship.

BREXIT, what's the story with Paraguay? Did you not like it there or were you always planning for it to be a short stay? Are you gonna try to stay in Mexico permanently? Which cities are you considering?

So I am not looking into moving to Mexico, but in Argentina, but just as a general reference : being a poker player but having mid 6 digits in savings/investments (and being able to prove it), is a good thing, right!?!? What would one declare as livelihood/income in this case?

Re Paraguay, I wasn't planning to stay forever but got it in case I wanted to stay longer and the requirements are really low, things are a lot easier if you have residency when it comes to registering a car, get a drivers license etc.

At the moment I'm still in the research phase, but I'm seriously thinking about moving to Mexico for a while. I have been there a few times before, love the food and culture.

I can really recommend taking El Chepe train through the Barrancas del Cobre for your next post-corona trip.

Re Visas, pretty much every recent blogpost or forum thread quotes the 5000 daily minimum wage number, but every consulate seem to have their own requirements. I'm pretty confident that the people in the blogs I posted before don't have a 100K in savings, the Spaniards are traveling in a van and went to Guatemala and got the visa somehow.

FWIW in Paraguay they put me in the system as a "comerciante"

I'm sure that with that amount in savings there are options. Maybe you could qualify as a "rentista" if you can show some monthly interest? For a "inversionista" visa you need to set up some sort of business but the required amount is low ($25k) with the current exchange rate. But I think you want to avoid that route if you can.

https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/trami...cia-temporaria

https://www.argentina.gob.ar/obtener...ta-no-mercosur

Been contacting a few other lawyers to try and get confirmation on things - from another immigration lawyer the other day I was speaking with regarding permanent residency:

"depending on the Mexican Consulate, it ranges from 198,000 to 364,000 US"

I laughed when she wrote that to me, numbers are just absolutely all over the place, lol.

https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/ghana/ind...sular-2/visas/

you can see from this site that does seem official and was updated in 2020 - click on economic solvency - it says 33k as greg's plan
click on investments - it says 130k as one of my lawyers stated. (and other lawyer said 198k+) Seems completely contradictory, and if anything that should be vice-versa - wouldn't mexico prefer you have 33k IN the country rather than 33k OUT of the county? Wish I found an updated page in spanish as I'd trust that much more. The reason for discrepancy is where you money comes from I believe. They don't accept poker or crypto as income, afaik its only for jubilados, pensionados or if you have proven income source. I'm not gonna speculate on anyone else's case. I know what I had to do in person for me. Another reason to just get a lawyer.

I'll leave it at that, it seems like I'm the only one who has personally gone thru the process, but obv people are gonna have 3rd and 4th hand experiences that they saw online that says different, and maybe I went to a strict embassy (doubtful, guy was so happy to help me and gave me his personal cell number for any problems. I showed him 70k the first day, he said no and I needed more. Fresno/Central Valley is the USAs largest agricultural producer and exporter, supplies 25% of america's food supplies. ie lottttts of mexicans live/work there)

Never heard of the argie process of citizenship, but a good friend went thru the process in Uruguay which is one of the smoothest places in the world to get a second passport. After living there for 3+ years they denied him because he took too many trips outside of the country. It's never that easy.

btw - facebook dating in mexico looks to be absolutely nutted. I wrote in my thread a bit about being ghosted and stood up by a few girls from tinder, but facebook is having a huge response rate so far, although a couple mentioned that quarantine is lasting until end of August?!?!

Yeah, this doesn't make any sense to me either but it seems correct.

The visa website of the consulate in Atalanta has been updated in March.

actually seems in line with what i've heard. another lawyer got back to me this morning and said zero chance of PR for me since I'm not retired/pensioned. Others say I can get around it by purchasing a house (or getting married, lol), which I'm not interested in or ready for. I'd recc just starting the process and plz share what ya learn. I had lots of assumptions and guesswork as well before I started out, just gotta jump in.

Thx, lots of interesting info in the past week over here

I did not plan of remaining in Argentina for this long, but a worldwide pandemic made me choose in binary terms of should I stay or should I go... Anyhow, the next step will be looking into the legality of it all, but it is good to know that having significant savings - even if it comes from poker - is a + for residency

Seems like even the lawyers don't know for sure and it's a bit of a crapshoot depending on which consulate and which agent you get.

Do you get the impression that the financial recs. for TR are much lower for PR? I guess it would make sense that PR would be a lot higher seeing as how it's a much bigger risk.

My plan for now is to get TR within the next 9 months and probably buy a smaller property in the 50-100k range. By the time PR comes up I'll probably have 6 figures saved up + the property which I'm hoping would be enough. I can also use marriage as a fall back plan though and I'd imagine it becomes infinitely easier with that.

could be. depends on where your income is sourced from is something I've seen over and over. They want government backed income or proof of stable income over 12+ months. Poker and crypto don't fit that bill. hot tip - photoshop makes documents say whatever you want them to say.

where you thinking about buying? I was a bit shocked to see prices so high in gdl. like 80k for good not great spots in good not great locations. Same in medellin a few years ago when I was looking gets you a decent penthouse in the best location of a city that (was) poised for even more growth

I'm looking to buy in a large beach city, but not Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, or Los Cabos. Something like Acapulco, Mazatlán, or Manzanillo. I like large cities, but prefer more of an authentic Mexican vibe, plus the big 3 are probably out of my price range anyway.

The weather in CDMX isn't too bad, but it gets pretty rainy in the Fall and cold at night in the Winter and neither my girl nor I like cold weather. So I'm thinking I'll buy a small 2BR near the beach that we can use 3-4 months when the weather sucks here and then rent out the rest of the year on AirBNB or something.

Well hopefully the peso stays weak against the dollar a bit longer. Places that were 105k in February are now only 80k with the favorable exchange rate. Might bring more apartments in nicer spots into play. Have you considered CDMX or are you pretty set on GDL?

This might be what ****s me. Like 80% of my funds are in poker, crypto, or sitting in USD but in coinbase. Every month for just over a year I've been taking 3k out of coinbase and depositing into the same bank account, so I'm hoping this qualifies as "stable income" that they're looking for.

If I got denied TR then I'd probably just keep entering on 6-month tourist visas like I've done 5x and figure out something else.

Hey Fossil, we see you're looking to purchase a place near the beach... my question, is this even a thing for foreigners in MEX?

I don't know the exact specifics on the rule, but basically if you're buying in a "restricted zone" then it's actually a bank trust that owns the property or something and you just have the title for 50+ years. I've heard some people actually find it easier with this method and obviously thousands of Americans/Canadians own property on the beaches of Mexico so it must not be too much of a hindrance.

For any tourist beach area, there should be a number of agents/lawyers familiar with the fideicomiso process. Had to buy in Tijuana that way, b/c it's too close to both the ocean & the Border.

Was something like $1k to set up & $500+/year through Monex.

I generally prefer doing a lot of stuff myself that most people hire for, but have learned through several trials in Mexico stuff - just pay someone and take the shortcut. Layers of bureaucracy just to have layers of bureaucracy sometimes.

Seeing u live on my old neighborhood, what are ur favourite restaurants there?

I consider my self sort of a an amateur taco connoiseur, and imo the street "tacos de bistec" that were just outside Papa Bill's are amongst the best ones I've had, think they are now in Rio Lerma and Rio Nilo, not sure if they're still as gud tho. Also, you can not go wrong with "El caminero" in Rio Lerma and Rio Poo. If you´re looking for decent tacos al pastor, "La Chinampa" I think will do it, but imo nothing outstanding. Some other gud street tacos you'll find there, are the tacos de carnitas and flautas that are in R Sena, just behind Banorte, and the tacos de costilla y campechanos in R Ebro and R Nazas (some brothers on a tricycle) but u probably need a Mexican stomach for these.

Or if you're not that much into tacos, L'Arlequin (R Nilo and R Panuco) is a good option for a cheap French bistrot, like it sure is not Au Pied de Cochon, but iirc prizes are very friendly, their garlic pizza was one of my favourites.

Finally, do you like Japanese food?, I am not that much into it, but still had a very nice surprise with "Koku" in R Sena and R Lerma.

Sounds like you lived on the opposite end of the colonia. I'm located a block to the east of Glorieta de la Palma. So I'm not too familiar with all the stuff around R Ebro and Nilo, but I will have to check them out based on your recs.

My favorite tacos al pastor are at Los Destacados (R Danubio y R Nazas). I'd say 90% of the time I eat out, I look for a restaurant on R Lerma. Agree that La Chinampa is good, but not spectacular. Been to Koku a couple times and it's ok, Balboa for pizza. My favorite spot is probably Les Moustaches. A higher end French joint, but good food. Pasión Café is where I met my girlfriend, so it holds a place in my heart. There's a marisquería on R Lerma near R Nilo that I like, but forget the name. Salón Riós from time to time, and lots of solid bars on R Lerma.

I'll have to see if I can track down your tacos de bistec, they're my favorite after pastor.

Throughout the 8 years we lived there, we were 1st in R Ebro, but relocated to R Sena on the Superama's countercorner where we lived most of our time in DF.

Went twice to Les Moustaches, which is really good, but for that prize range maybe prefer something like Astrid Y Gastón (Peruvian cuisine in Polanco) or Au pied de Cochon.

Los destacados must be new ones cuz never saw them, even went to google maps to make sure I did not know them and they don´t appear on the street view, but now u made curious about them

Also agree that Salon Rios is a nice place, great whenever u go out for lunch with kids, they even have a tyrolese for them upstairs, and also solid place for partying and yummy varied food at night.

About the place for seafood, there are 2 very similar next to each other in R Lerma, La Marisquería and La Cervecería del barrio, both pretty similar imo, nice taste and are gud as bars, they did the trick whenever we had the urge for seafood and did not want to go outside the neighbourhood.

It appears the circumstances "on the ground" in Mexico are taking a turn for the worse:



Can we get an update on the Covid-19 situation in CDMX Fossil?

They're predicting that the peak might not even arrive until August here. My part of the city is mostly shut down and people are doing a solid job of staying home with streets/sidewalks at about 10% of their normal occupancy.

The problem is that people in the less affluent areas either don't want to or aren't able to (for financial reasons) abide by quarantines so foot traffic is pretty high and the metro stations are crammed with people. I'd imagine the vast majority of the devastation is taking place in those areas as they're also the ones with fewer hospitals which are understaffed and lacking equipment.

I'm content staying in quarantine for as long as needed, it's not that difficult for me to be honest, but I worry about the less fortunate people in the city/country. I'd say it's a lock that the true death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands here, but we'll probably never know. They aren't even testing that much here and I'm sure more people are dying at home than in Western countries. We'll never have an idea what the actual level of devastation is.

On the visa front, I'm on a 6-month tourist visa that ends next week and I've been told it's super easy to get it extended for 6 months (and even if you don't, the overstay fine is pretty minimal when you do leave). So I'm gonna get that taken care and hopefully by October/November I can return home to visit family as well as apply for a longer-term residency visa for Mexico.

expired visas/residency cards just got a 55 day grace period apparently if that helps at all. source was from a merida immigration lawyer who's had some useful info in the past. They've been processing visa extensions for people who expired march and april at no additional charge. ymmv obvio

Not sure on mexi city specifically, but many states in mexico have been given 3 stages of corona threat levels, with many many states being good to go already. Baja California and DF are expected to stay in the red zone until mid-June at least, not sure about plans for yucatan but that's the other major area in red zone atm. It seems like most tourist areas are in the red zone, guerrero (acapulco), adn sinaloa as well



google for things like estados de mexico covid, semaforo, reapertura and you can dyor if ya want - but yea DF understandably so might be one of the last places to get the green light. Why not go to jalisco, chiapas, guanajuato or something for a couple months?

thx for the update Fossil.