New Income requirements for FM3?

David wrote: The new law is LAW and not subject to fiddling by a new administration.

But local Immigration offices do it all the time. Large differences in what is required around the country

Viajero-Tiempo wrote:When wse did our initial FM3 (via Mago), we were required to have our income proofs (bank statements) translated.

On renewal, nada.

Yeah but Cbob did not because Spencer is an official court translator and can do it himself.

Merry

You guys give me a great deal of pleasure when discusssing what may or may not occur under the new INM regulations since we have had our "inmgrado" status for a couple of years now and never have to worry with income requirements or time spent out of the country again (wihin reason) as was requiired under our FM-2 status. Our next move is for at least one of us to seek citizenship if for no other reason than to protect our property and other rights here in Mexico

We had our first test of the inmigrado status on our recent trip to France for a month. Upon flying out of DF, we were not required to inform INM that we were leaving the country and re-entering the country with the inmigrado card was a breeze through immigation. The only place we were required to indicate the length of our absence from the country was on the immigration papers we had to fill out on the airplane and that seemed to be a non-issue.

If the reader can fulfill the requirements of the present FM-2 visa and go for what is now called "inmigrado" (permanent resident) status, that´s the way to go IMHO. You cannot imagine how pleasant it is not to have to deal with INM ever again (fingers crossed).

The possible newly stringent income requirement documentation, if correct as posed by the OP, sounds like a pain in the butt. This used to be a really easy procedure and the reader should follow any changes as they develop if they develop. That could be a real stumbling block if the OP is correct.

DaveP wrote:

Chico wrote:Two to five year renewal. four infantile photos of front and right side with no glasses or jewelry. Color or B and W. Smile or not. Farmacia GDL perfectly acceptable and by far the least expensive and the quickest. Think I paid 50 pesos for their Fm3 renewal special, which included all eight required photos. Copy of face page of passport and turn in current FM3 and carry a copy. Mine is ready now. Picking it up Monday morning at 11:30 after the crowds thin out. Bank statements and proof of address required on the sixth year of renewal only and every five years thereafter. easy peasy. At least this year. chico

Susana Rodriguez attorney/facilitator. Have been using her services for seven years, both as an attorney and as a facilitator 376-766-4240

having just renewed our "non immigrante" ourselves for the second time, they require 3 full face photos and 2 right side. Depending on the person who deals with your application they may or may not accept Farmacia GDL so we use a prof photographer. 100 pesos is better than a facilitators charge and it is so easy. Less than 2 hours for 2 persons total time

Farmacia GDL has a package for FM3 renewal. Four fronts, four sides. 50 pesos. In seven years, never a problem with their photos and getting my renewal

johninajijic wrote:Chico - Are you renewing your FM 3, getting a new FM 3 or new FM 2? What is Susannas charge, excluding what you paid for photos?

Seven year renewal FM3. 2350. 150 more than Spencer, but it is well worth it to me to maintain our seven year friendship/relationship. Chico

In ten years from 2000 through part of 2010,acquiring, first, FM-3 visas to FM-2 visas and then on to inmigrado status, we never used any facilitator even once even when neither of us spoke even elementary Spanish and I don´t say that to brag but to inform newbies that, while facilitators provide a useful service, you do not need them at Lakeside - ever- whether or not you speak Spanish. Do not be intimidated by the process of seeking residential status in Mexico. This ain´t Afganistan.

Chico wrote:

johninajijic wrote:Chico - Are you renewing your FM 3, getting a new FM 3 or new FM 2? What is Susannas charge, excluding what you paid for photos?

Seven year renewal FM3. 2350. 150 more than Spencer, but it is well worth it to me to maintain our seven year friendship/relationship. Chico

chico - Last year Susanna was 200 pesos each more than Spencer. I went with her because I didn't know Spencers office was so easy to get to. I have been with her for over 5 - 6 years. We had her do it anyway. I know Spencer will be less on a new FM 2, so I will be switching. She should have matched his price for a long term customer like me. Mago used to give us a discount too, but we got tired of trying to find a parking space in Chapala.

Having the new immigration office in Chapala has really simplified things for us. We just have Spencer prepare the paperwork, run the copies. Then we walk down the street to the bank and pay the fee, return to the immigration office and file the paperwork. We did all of this Tuesday a week ago, took about an hour and a half total.

For the past 2 years we used Maria Elena at the papaleria in San Antonio, next to Marios Restaurant.

She prepares everything perfectly and charges 1/2 what Spencer charges. Plus we can walk to her shop.

Highly recommend her!

Why don't we all listen(and use) Spencer at Intercasa.
He is a Mexican lawyer, official translater, and works with this everyday??

All of these other "experiences" are of the past and may not be correct today. AND, may be altered in the reporting, or heresay!

Most of Spencer's charges were dictated by the cost levied by the Mexican gov't for the papers. They were less than we had paid before to others.

I agree with Sundown that our past experiences are.........past.

binky wrote:For the past 2 years we used Maria Elena at the papaleria in San Antonio, next to Marios Restaurant.

She prepares everything perfectly and charges 1/2 what Spencer charges. Plus we can walk to her shop.

Highly recommend her!

And tell the truth. She's a paper pusher to help the Gringos. She doesn't have a Law degree and is not a facilitator nor does she have the help and overhead that Spencer has. So compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. The cheap people don't use a Facilitator.

Does her fee include the fees imposed by the government, or just her preparation fees? Most of what Spencer just charged us (a few weeks ago) was less than any other facilitator we've used in nine years.

binky wrote:For the past 2 years we used Maria Elena at the papaleria in San Antonio, next to Marios Restaurant.

She prepares everything perfectly and charges 1/2 what Spencer charges. Plus we can walk to her shop.

Highly recommend her!

binky - Why are you dissing Spencer? Most people here like Spencer. He is very knowledgeable, well respected and hard working.

We used Spencer this time, and it was by a very wide margin the best experience we've ever had. Took a little over a week, we had no problems whatsoever, and even though it costs more than DIY, and we are quite capable of doing it ourselves, we chose to avoid this potential aggravation by using Spencers' excellent services.
We will continue to do so in the future.

We also used Spencer's office to apply for our Inmigrado status...so, we won't need to use him anymore...hopefully...who knows what will be new and wonderful when the new immigration law is fully implemented.
We have also used his official translation services and he and Denise have signed (as witnesses) many documents to put our estate in order.
He and his staff are punctual, efficient and pleasant to deal with...simply can't recommend them highly enough.

The big difference between me and the San Antonio lady is we review your papers. I have had many come to me after she prepared their papers and they were wrong, before she didn't do all of them and recently a few people have come to me for translations changing from FM3 to FM2 and they wouldn't have qualified for the FM2 so I told them so and didn't do not charge them for the translations.

Also we do the papers on the spot and the bank is a block away, no 2 trips plus another to the bank, you can get your papers, hit the bank and immigration within 15 minutes on one trip.

I'm referring to the basic service, some people want full service which is fine as well where we do it all and then you swoop in at the last minute to immigration and get your new card, very little waiting.

Also for the do it yourselfers we charge 150 pesos, she was charging 100 or so, last time somebody told me, save a bit over $3US to make two trips and then another to go to the area of the banks and then immigration?

johninajijic wrote:

binky wrote:For the past 2 years we used Maria Elena at the papaleria in San Antonio, next to Marios Restaurant.

She prepares everything perfectly and charges 1/2 what Spencer charges. Plus we can walk to her shop.

Highly recommend her!

And tell the truth. She's a paper pusher to help the Gringos. She doesn't have a Law degree and is not a facilitator nor does she have the help and overhead that Spencer has. So compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. The cheap people don't use a Facilitator.

At Lakeside, there is never a reason to use a facilitator even if you speak not a word of Spanish so not using people who are parasitically making hay from the ignorance of foreigners lacking the ability or willingness to follow a simple and easy visa process is not a reflection of people´s cheapness but their intelligence. The whole thread reminds me of the old Earl Schibe Auto Body Painting commercials in L.A. in the 1960s. Testimonies pushing this unneeded facilitator over that unneeded facilitator when what is needed is for someone to proclaim them all bloodsuckers living off the fear of ignorant people. Get over it folks and go over to INM and do the paperwork with INM employees many of whom speak English and who are there to help you. God Awlmighty! Try going to INM in Chiapas where nobody speaks your language or cares about your problems. There you may need a facilitator. Here at Lakeside, why not just flush your money down the commode.

We got our FM-3 here in Chapala in 2001, our FM-2 in Chapala in 2004 and our inmigrado visa in Guadalajara in 2010 and never EVER once used any facilitator for anything even during the early years when neither of us spoke any Spanish. In 2001 this community of parasitic "facliitators" hardly even exisited except for one well-established facilitator at Lakeside and we got by. Today the procedure is simpler and the INM employees easier to deal with. I suggest you not support these hangers-on who are not needed and an industry feeding off of the ignorance of foreigners afraid of dealing with foreign bureaucrats.

I could wash my car but don't. We could cook at home but usually don't. We could do a lot of things but prefer not to as there are plenty of folks out there trying to make an honest living serving our needs. And we say God bless 'em all.

I could say the same thing about maids, gardeners, etc. Mr. Dawg. Seems pretty simple to clean your own house and do your own garden. No?

Heck, I laugh at those that take their car to a mechanic for a simple tune up or brake job.........when it seems so easy to me.

This is all amusing to us CB & RB but folks moving down here are being mislead into thinking they need these cheesy facilitators, who are parasites feeding on people´s fears, to cope with INM in Chapala and nothing could be further from the truth. We can laugh about this phenomenon but all this disinformation pushing one "facilitator" over another is unfair to the uninitiated who don´t realize that anyone with half a brain can easily cope with the procedure in Chapala to acquire a residency visa without the help of any of these clowns whether or not they are conversant in Spanish.

On the oher hand, maybe you two meatball Canucks used these facilitators yourselves because you were afraid no one down here would understand Saskatchewanese.

Dawg does not do gardens, toilets, brake jobs or laundry. I´m like Gearge Costanza of Seinfeld fame; when all my jockey shorts are filthy, I buy new ones.

RoofBob wrote:I could wash my car but don't. We could cook at home but usually don't. We could do a lot of things but prefer not to as there are plenty of folks out there trying to make an honest living serving our needs. And we say God bless 'em all.

Agreed, we could all wash the car, clean the house and do gardening, all simple tasks, but screw that we are retired. It's a small price to pay in our elder years and helps the Mexican economy greatly. Although we mostly eat at home, better food when you have a good cook, it's nice to eat out twice a month with friends. Sort of a treat.

hound dog wrote:This is all amusing to us CB & RB but folks moving down here are being mislead into thinking they need these cheesy facilitators, who are parasites feeding on people´s fears, to cope with INM in Chapala and nothing could be further from the truth. We can laugh about this phenomenon but all this disinformation pushing one "facilitator" over another is unfair to the uninitiated who don´t realize that anyone with half a brain can easily cope with the procedure in Chapala to acquire a residency visa without the help of any of these clowns whether or not they are conversant in Spanish.

On the oher hand, maybe you two meatball Canucks used these facilitators yourselves because you were afraid no one down here would understand Saskatchewanese.

Dawg does not do gardens, toilets, brake jobs or laundry. I´m like Gearge Costanza of Seinfeld fame; when all my jockey shorts are filthy, I buy new ones.

Strangely enough I don't find your rant amusing at all. "Offensive" or "arrogant" would be a better term. I don't want to deal with the bureaucracy so I choose to drop 300 pesos or so and let someone else do it. Now whats your excuse for the maid and gardener??????

hound dog wrote:This is all amusing to us CB & RB but folks moving down here are being mislead into thinking they need these cheesy facilitators, who are parasites feeding on people´s fears, to cope with INM in Chapala and nothing could be further from the truth. We can laugh about this phenomenon but all this disinformation pushing one "facilitator" over another is unfair to the uninitiated who don´t realize that anyone with half a brain can easily cope with the procedure in Chapala to acquire a residency visa without the help of any of these clowns whether or not they are conversant in Spanish.

On the oher hand, maybe you two meatball Canucks used these facilitators yourselves because you were afraid no one down here would understand Saskatchewanese.

Dawg does not do gardens, toilets, brake jobs or laundry. I´m like Gearge Costanza of Seinfeld fame; when all my jockey shorts are filthy, I buy new ones.

Raq does not do IMSS, INM or any other nuisance activity. She does do CFE and the tax office with alacrity, in Spanish.
Raq washes señor raq's bumderwear, her own and all other family laundry. She loads the dishwasher, etc. etc. etc.
For everything else, there's visa, a debit card, orrrrr cash.

I guess I missed the post from Bubba where he or the gardener He's hired has started picking up the dog shit and started growing organic "Heritage Tomatoes". Eh

Bubba, it doesn't have anything to do with not having a brain since we did our own for the first nine years.
For us, it has a LOT to do with not being able to stand in line or being able to walk far.
On the other hand, it's a service or a perk which most people will use because it saves them time...you know, that four letter word that gets shorter every day on your journey to be worm food.