If you have sufficient investment capital, you can get a visa as an investor, get the necessary business licences, union & health care permits, tax status, accounant hired, etc., etc. None of that is easy and is rife with graft and corruption. Are you fluent in Spanish, Mexican citizen, etc.? That would make it a bit easier. Can you survive for a year or so without profit and still have an escape plan? Otherwise, no, you can't just come to Mexico and start working. It is illegal. Even to stay, you must qualify for a visa as either 'no inmigrante' or 'inmigrante'. That's why you keep getting the same answer. Your first post asked about coming and finding a job as a 'cosmotologist'. For a foreigner, that is a very unlikely scenario. What other ideas do you have?

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Yea, unfortunately RVGringo's right. Sorry.
:( Don't be discouraged. You just need to do a lot of research, and have a solid plan. Unless you have enough money to not work for a while, you should probably line something up before packing up everything and moving down there. Otherwise they will kick you back out and send you packin'. Mexico doesn't want just anyone coming in and taking jobs away from the Nationals, jobs they desperately need. So you need to have a pretty specialized skill to be able to work there. Native speaking English teachers don't make a lot, but there are lots of jobs down there for that. If both you and your wife woked, you may have enough to get by, but with a car, pets and kids, it would be very difficult. We don't mean to bring you down, or rain on your parade, believe me. When I first starting doing research and asking questions, I got a lot of flak from people, so I censored it a bit, but I know feel I have a solid plan and have done a LOT of research. You might want to visit for a few weeks or a month to a couple different areas, unless you know for sure where you want to go. And don't be discouraged! As my shrink always says, "You always have options!" And I say, "Nothing is impossible!" Good luck!!!

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I guess what I'm asking is what do you see most escapees doing for work? Making a boat load of money is not the objective. I would think obviously otherwise y move to Mexico . So what are expats that are not retiriring doing for a living. The ideas could be endless and certainly not discouraging for the simple fact that this is not a monatary decision. What are "gringos" doing for work? Have you had your hair cut by an American, did you by something from an American, have u been served a dinner, lunch, mimosa? I don't know.. U tell me. Just looking for some substance!

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I guess what I'm asking is what do you see most escapees doing for work? Making a boat load of money is not the objective. I would think obviously otherwise y move to Mexico . So what are expats that are not retiriring doing for a living. The ideas could be endless and certainly not discouraging for the simple fact that this is not a monatary decision. What are "gringos" doing for work? Have you had your hair cut by an American, did you by something from an American, have u been served a dinner, lunch, mimosa? I don't know.. U tell me. Just looking for some substance!

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The answer to your questions is still 'No'. The basic idea is that 'if a Mexican can do the job, a foreigner won't be given a work permit. The only cases where the answer might be 'Yes', are those instances where the foreigner owns a business and hires several locals. You still need to tell us if you are fluent in Spanish, have special skills, etc. Both of those would be prime requirements for success. Have you ever spent significant time in Mexico? You haven't even indicated an area of interest. Mexico is a large and varied country with unique climates, differing cultures, some 60 indigenous languages, etc.
Frankly, it sounds like you are running away from something. Often it is best to resolve your problems before making a move to the unknown and unfamiliar. There are no safety nets in Mexico.

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Oh,,,, that's what's wrong with me???
I thought I asked for examples of what you saw Americans doing for work in Mexico. Instead some peoples infectious disease of negativity have taken this forum nowhere, on which everyone else followed. Thanks rvshrienk:)

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No, I have never seen an American working in a restaurant, but I have a friend from California (he's Lebanese American, I think) who owns a restaurant in Nuevo Vallarta (total tourist spot, very beautiful), all Mex Natl's work there. He moved down there and opened the place after selling his biz in Cali.
If you opened a restaurant, you could hire locals and work there, if you wanted. Lots of gringos are artists and sell their stuff in galleries and the like. Other than that, they have retirement savings or are in the healthcare field and have some Spanish-speaking skills. You don't have to have spent a lot of time in Mex to think it might be for you. That's part of the adventure! I have only been there twice, but can't wait to get my feet wet! Take some Spanish classes before you go, CDs from the library, or the local Recreation Dept., the local tech college, wherever you can. Hunt some Latinos down and spend some time with them. They love having questions asked about their homeland. At least that's my experience thus far. Remember: where there's a will, there's way!

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My understanding is that before you can think about working in Mexico, you need to be a resident. To start off with, you would get an FM3 visa. There is a wealth of information online about the whole resident visa program (e.g. Mexconnect.com and links through www.rollybrook.com, for example). Whatever source of information you focus on, be sure it is current, as the system experienced wide ranging changes as of approximately May, 2010 -- and a lot of information you might find online is outdated.

I believe that Mexico allows resident artists, including musicians, some special circumstances which makes working in Mexico easier to achieve. Other than that, I believe that the next easiest path to being allowed to work in Mexico is to find a company (in Mexico) who wants to hire you and would be willing to "sponsor" you for a work permit.

As has been already said in this forum, Mexico does not want you to "take a job away" from a Mexican national. That being said, I have been told that getting an employer to sponsor you for a work visa is not impossible. Unless you are a very unique cosmetologist however, I think it would be darn near impossible to get working papers to work in that capacity in Mexico, primarily because there are so many Mexicans with those skills, and too few jobs to go around. (You might also consider the fact that this profession pays a great deal less in Mexico than it does North of the Border. Sample: here in Michoacan, a haircut cost 50 pesos, or about 4 dollars US, and that was with a very competent stylist.)

Despite the foregoing, I have seen a number of gringos working in Mexico. If you scan the websites or look at advertising from real estate companies in areas where there are a LOT of gringos (e.g.: San Miguel de Allende, Lake Chapala/Ajijic, and ALL the big coastal resort destinations), you will see a LOT of gringo faces among their agents. With no background in real estate myself, I was told by a realtor in the Yucatan that she was "always looking for people to sell" real estate -- but strictly on commission. (I have no idea whether her agency would have sponsored me for a work permit to do so. The conversation never went that far, as I was not interested.)

Other gringos I've seen working in Mexico include English-language instructors, and the owners of businesses. (As has already been stated, if you have the financial resources, you can start a business, and within certain restrictions, you can work in your own business.)

Other non-Mexicans I know of working in Mexico, come here as employees of a company doing business here in Mexico. Gringos I've known who work in Mexico under such circumstances have been in fields as diverse as satellite communications, marketing, public relations and the importation of fine spirits (liquors). Sorry. No cosmetologists. And except for the person in satellite communications, they all spoke Spanish. (That person worked at a high enough level that he was given a person to translate for him.)

A question I have for others in this forum is this: Are the strict employment laws equally applied in all Mexican states? I ask this because in some states (like Michoacan, for example), the "word on the street" is that it is near impossible to get a work permit. Yet when I've visited the Lake Chapala area and San Miguel de Allende, for example, I had the "impression" that the employment restrictions there might be more loosely applied. For example, a salesperson in a art gallery I went to was a gringa, as was a wait-person in a restaurant I frequented. These people could have been dual-nationals for all I know -- but they appeared to be from NOB, and they certainly were working in Mexico. If anyone has further anecdotal or official information on this subject, including whether certain gringo-saturated areas make it more possible to work there legally, I welcome seeing such information posted. Is it easier to get a work permit if you work in a service industry, for example, if the primary customers in the area are other gringos?

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I've met a number of people who do freelance writing/graphic design with a fast enough internet connection.

If you're interested, I've got contact information for an agency that claims to always to be in need of writers, and a friend who writes for them and, as of this summer, was getting by on what they paid her (but maybe with a few other odd jobs here and there). If you're interested, send me a message. I would post it here, but I have the information saved in my email account, which doesn't want to open today.

Good luck!

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I mite be moving to Guaymas, Sonora. I will be teaching, but I also have been a journalist for more than 20 years. I'd be interested in freelance writing work (I don't speak Spanish though).

Please advise! thanks!

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Hi,
just wondering if you did the move to Mexico?
and Where?
I too am planning on moving there.
:)
Annie.

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hola,

I have a site dedicated to helping all expats navigate the waters here. www.gringosinparadise.com.mx
Admittedly not too mant folks are headed to Mexico City.
I live in Tulum now but we are re-locating to AJijic( Lake Chapala ) by Oct. 1st for the cooler weather and lower cost of living there.
I have lived in Todos Santos in Baja and still own land there.

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If you can stand to sell timeshare or something like it your employer will get your work permit for you. I know plenty of non Mexicans working in real estate, americans, Canadians, Italians, etc

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Hi Larry,

Sorry but I'm not moving to retire but thanks for suggesting your paying site.
I'm more interested in the medical field since I will graduate next year and be looking for a job and place around March then!!
Thanks again,
Annie.

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