I picked up my "Documento Migratorio Del No Inmigrante" FM3 visa today from the Mexican Consultate in San Francisco. This qualifies me to reside in Mexico with "visitante rentista" privileges for 365 days from the issue date - March 15th.

We made an error in obtaining this document so early, partly because we were unaware that it required activation with the local immigration office in Merida where a local address must be provided. We don't have one, as we are still looking for a house to buy. This dilema may be resolved by registering with the address of the guest house or a local friend. Pat was going to attempt this but he waited too long before visiting the office then discovered that they need a week to process the whole thing and return the endorsed visa - this when he had less than a week remaining before his departure. Hopefully I will complete the registration. Pat may need to start the entire FM3 process over with two visits to the consulado.

Might as well get accustomed to the Mexican way of doing things, eh? Part of the problem is that what you experience varies widely depending on who you deal with and where that encounter happens. The FM3 application from the San Francisco Consulate (resplendent with typos and sagging strangely along one side of the many-generations copy) is hardly recognizable as the form for FM3 that another US city Consulate might use. Some offices use in their unique variant of the application not only a different format but totally different eligibility requirements.

So now I have until June 15th to activate the FM3, which consists of simply entering Mexico through the destination Merida airport. Then there is a thirty day interval during which the local immigration office must record a local address. Since I will be there around two weeks, I need to round up my paperwork and pay them a visit within the first few days.

Makes you sympathetic with the Mexicans who line up for our immigration processes, and for the ones who simply circumvent the whole thing.

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