I walked into Mexican Consulate in San Francisco yesterday and came out heartbroken…
I first talked to a female clerk, telling her I’d like to find out if I could apply for a permanent residence visa under the Financial Independence category. She had no idea what it is and then showed me the papers that listed the requirements for both Temp and Permanent residence visa application and BOTH WERE FOR RETIREES ONLY. I kept explained nicely to her UNDER THE NEW LAW, there’s such a category and what it entails. She asked me where I got those information from, I told her from Surviving Yucatan. But she said the only web site information I can go by is Mexican Immigration Office’s official site, which was only in Spanish.
She finally got another man to talk to me. I think he was probably someone with higher authority. He was polite but to make a long story short, he said i was so young (51 years old), I don;t have a house in Mexico, and I don;t have a job in Mexico either, so I don;t have the intent to live in Mexico. And no Mexican consulate will issue a PR visa to someone who does not have the intent to live in Mexico even if they are millionaires.
He also kept saying I look so young (I already showed him my Canadian passport). I may look younger than my biological age and this would have been a nice compliment in a normal social conversation. But unfortunately in this particular case, I strongly suspected a judgement call was in play for some reason. Plus I’m Asian, which are rare in Mexico. I don’t know what’s going through in his head but it’s not good.
I explained to him why I wanted to immigrate to Mexico and I do intend to live there, but he said, “but you don’t own a house there, you don’t have a job there, you don’t have family there.”
I understand the majority of PR applicants are retirees but I never knew being one plus having a house, or a job in Mexico are also the requirements, oh and the age, or how old one appears to be. And isn’t the reason of creating such a category as Financial Independence to allow people who are not retirees yet, but can show proof of the required financial means to immigrate to Mexico for whatever reason (as long as I’m not hurting anybody, or doing anything illegal, which I most definitely won’t) to be able to apply as well.
And that’s it! Doesn’t matter the new law. Whay they had told me and what they go by had really not much to do with what the new law says. It’s their own law that counts. He suggested I can always visit Mexico and stay 6 months visa free each time.
I walked out of their office stunned and heartbroken. My mind was totally blank. All the research and efforts trying to learn the new law were wasted. My hope of starting a new life in Mexico was over. I’ve been searching for a new home and wanting a new home for several years. I thought Mexico WAS the one. I’m simply speechless.
If I do visit Mexico as a tourist, since I hold a Canadian passport, I can just go, is that correct? I remember reading something somewhere that says under the new law, visitor (or tourist?) now is a category of visa and not just a general term like what it means casually.
And what should I prepare beforehand so i will encounter least or no trouble later down the road when I need to stay another 6 months or eventually apply for a temporary or permanent resident visa? Can I do all of these transactions (extend another 6 months, apply for temp residence and apply for permanent residence) while I’m in Mexico? What are the actually procedures for these three transactions once I’m in Mexico as a visitor? Thank you.
By the way, can anyone tell me a little background of Surviving Yucatan? Is it a non-profit or does it belong to a certain group? Who are they? I can’t find it on their web site. Thank you.
I first talked to a female clerk, telling her I’d like to find out if I could apply for a permanent residence visa under the Financial Independence category. She had no idea what it is and then showed me the papers that listed the requirements for both Temp and Permanent residence visa application and BOTH WERE FOR RETIREES ONLY. I kept explained nicely to her UNDER THE NEW LAW, there’s such a category and what it entails. She asked me where I got those information from, I told her from Surviving Yucatan. But she said the only web site information I can go by is Mexican Immigration Office’s official site, which was only in Spanish.
She finally got another man to talk to me. I think he was probably someone with higher authority. He was polite but to make a long story short, he said i was so young (51 years old), I don;t have a house in Mexico, and I don;t have a job in Mexico either, so I don;t have the intent to live in Mexico. And no Mexican consulate will issue a PR visa to someone who does not have the intent to live in Mexico even if they are millionaires.
He also kept saying I look so young (I already showed him my Canadian passport). I may look younger than my biological age and this would have been a nice compliment in a normal social conversation. But unfortunately in this particular case, I strongly suspected a judgement call was in play for some reason. Plus I’m Asian, which are rare in Mexico. I don’t know what’s going through in his head but it’s not good.
I explained to him why I wanted to immigrate to Mexico and I do intend to live there, but he said, “but you don’t own a house there, you don’t have a job there, you don’t have family there.”
I understand the majority of PR applicants are retirees but I never knew being one plus having a house, or a job in Mexico are also the requirements, oh and the age, or how old one appears to be. And isn’t the reason of creating such a category as Financial Independence to allow people who are not retirees yet, but can show proof of the required financial means to immigrate to Mexico for whatever reason (as long as I’m not hurting anybody, or doing anything illegal, which I most definitely won’t) to be able to apply as well.
And that’s it! Doesn’t matter the new law. Whay they had told me and what they go by had really not much to do with what the new law says. It’s their own law that counts. He suggested I can always visit Mexico and stay 6 months visa free each time.
I walked out of their office stunned and heartbroken. My mind was totally blank. All the research and efforts trying to learn the new law were wasted. My hope of starting a new life in Mexico was over. I’ve been searching for a new home and wanting a new home for several years. I thought Mexico WAS the one. I’m simply speechless.
If I do visit Mexico as a tourist, since I hold a Canadian passport, I can just go, is that correct? I remember reading something somewhere that says under the new law, visitor (or tourist?) now is a category of visa and not just a general term like what it means casually.
And what should I prepare beforehand so i will encounter least or no trouble later down the road when I need to stay another 6 months or eventually apply for a temporary or permanent resident visa? Can I do all of these transactions (extend another 6 months, apply for temp residence and apply for permanent residence) while I’m in Mexico? What are the actually procedures for these three transactions once I’m in Mexico as a visitor? Thank you.
By the way, can anyone tell me a little background of Surviving Yucatan? Is it a non-profit or does it belong to a certain group? Who are they? I can’t find it on their web site. Thank you.
