Leaving Mexico with expired Visa by plane

I am trying to avoid trekking down to Belize to renew my 6 month stay, at a cost of about 200 bucks. Am flying out of Mexico City and will be about 4 months past the 180 days. Anybody know if they will check?

From our personal experience in 2009, the fine for an expired FMM (formerly FMT) was $5USD per day from expiration date. If you are 4 months or approx. 120 days that would be about $600USD in fines. That said, they Immigration had a "negotiation chart" that allows them to reduce the fine depending on their mood and probably your story or attitude. In our case, they started at $900USD for the two of us and we were to talk them down to $400USD.

Your situation is slightly different in that you are leaving by plane instead of us trying to drive in with expired Visas. Like everything else in MX, there is no absolute enforcement and you certainly could get lucky!

I personally would not recommend exiting MX without taking care of this issue if you plan on returning in the future.

Neil,

Yep!!!

You're screwed if you want to leave Mexico with an expired visa by plane. However, you can fly to (for example Tijuana), take a cab to the border and walk out. People leave the country all the time without turning in the visas, they just clear them from the system.

Anytime I ever flew out of the country... they barely gave my card a glance as they threw it on the pile :)

I doubt U will, but if U hafta pay ... pay.... thats what Visa is for...

Quoting MC: "People leave the country all the time without turning in the visas, they just clear them from the system."

MC: One should be careful about making such blanket statements as the one quoted above. There is such an inconsistency with the manner in which visas are handled by various border crossings that one can land themselves in a bunch of trouble costing time and money. We took advice such as yours and it did cost us both time and money. Far less aggravation can be achieved by following the rules and not trying to worm one's way around them.

Many people "lose" them as well as others lie and say they drove in and were never stopped and say they need to get one and then pay for or are given one which then is good for another 6 months.

Perhaps I didn't make it clear that the "leaving the country" is by car, not air. Otherwise, I stand by the statement.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear...

At the Aeroporto... they never look... cause they don't give a shit!!

I just swim across the river.........less paperwork.

hockables wrote:Perhaps I didn't make myself clear...

At the Aeroporto... they never look... cause they don't give a shit!!

In 2009, my parents came to Mexico for a wedding. When they were checking in at the airport for the trip home, they were asked for their tourist card. They, being not so savvy travelers, had tossed them in the waste basket, so were unable to produce them. The fine was the equivalent of 50usd each.

Sounds right Solo. I have been told many times by the airlines, on the way down, that if you lose the tourist card it will cost just that.

Solovino wrote:

hockables wrote:Perhaps I didn't make myself clear...

At the Aeroporto... they never look... cause they don't give a shit!!

In 2009, my parents came to Mexico for a wedding. When they were checking in at the airport for the trip home, they were asked for their tourist card. They, being not so savvy travelers, had tossed them in the waste basket, so were unable to produce them. The fine was the equivalent of 50usd each.

I never said " they didn't want the card!!" .... I said " they don't read em..." ... followed closely by " cause they don't give a shit "

there is a difference


Last time down.... my son inadvertantly left his passport at the house here Lakeside... we flew out of PV...
None new this of course until we arrived at the Aeropuerto...
We provided his ID, his Tourist Card, his Parents ID & Passports.... they treated this like it was a national emergency...
Weren't going to clear him until WestJet & Canada approved...
We got to Regina.. Canada Immigration didn't raise an eyebrow.. just suggested he apply for a new one.. because .. they didn't give a shit

These folks work by ROUTINE... and they don't look... because they don't want to know...

You go to the Aeropuerto... you provide tourist card, ticket, & ID... one goes on the pile... the other two go with U.... NEXT!!

Solovino wrote:

hockables wrote:Perhaps I didn't make myself clear...

At the Aeroporto... they never look... cause they don't give a shit!!

In 2009, my parents came to Mexico for a wedding. When they were checking in at the airport for the trip home, they were asked for their tourist card. They, being not so savvy travelers, had tossed them in the waste basket, so were unable to produce them. The fine was the equivalent of 50usd each.

That's exactly what happened to my brother last year.

I just went and checked our Passports to see just what stamps we had in them. The first obvious difference was that the stamps from the Chihuahua border crossing had little cars on the stamp which the ones from from GDL had little airplanes on them. When one drives in & out, you get stamped in both directions if you comply and turn in the FMM. From our experience flying in & back out, the airlines collect the FMM's and no stamp is made in your Passport.

The only consistency in Mexico is its inconsistency!

Would it not be easier to follow the rules rather than spend so much time and energy trying to beat the system?

Would people even think about trying to avoid regulations/laws if they were trying to leave their native country, legally?