Bringing Cleo to Paradise

One of the first things that many people realized absent from my list of effects to bring into Mexico was Cleo. Yes, that fuzzy and adorable 12 lbs. of energy that some people mistake for a dog. Her omission from the list wasn’t a mistake however, she’s just a lot more complicated to bring than a laptop.

 

Cleopatra, Queen of the Midwest

Cleo is pretty much like my kid; she just happens to be a kid who will never quite grow up. From the beginning, I’ve known I’ll bring her to Cancun, but I don’t think she’ll be making the initial trip. Until I’m settled in and moderately aware of how my situation looks to play out, she’ll be staying with family. I’m estimating this to be 3 -6 months, which will be by far the longest time I haven’t had her around in the last 3 years. 

It turns out that bringing a pet into Mexico isn’t as painful as I had imagined. A person is allowed to bring 2 pets (only cats and dogs without special papers) when they enter Mexico. I’ll need to get a very recent Health Certificate from a state-certified Veterinarian and bring copies of her Rabies and Distemper vaccinations as well as her certificate for being spayed. Other than checking in at the zoo sanitary kiosk at customs, this is pretty much all that is required.

Bringing Cleo back to the US is a bit more difficult; it requires similar paperwork but she will also be placed into quarantine for a period of time. At any rate, I don’t have plans to lug her across international borders very often. I also have to fill out exit paperwork when leaving Mexico, but this is provided for free by SAGARPA.

The last piece of the pet-importing puzzle is physically getting her there. Many airlines (but not all) will allow you to bring a small pet on-board as a carry-on with the proper kennel. It’s also possible to ship her in cargo, but this option is not very enticing to me. Fortunately, Cleo is a great traveler; well, in a car at least. She’s never been on a plane and I have no idea how she will handle this. I’m wondering if minor sedation is a good option (although I’m not a fan). 

Finally, how will Cleo like Mexico? I know she likes to sunbathe and she loves people, so I’m guessing it will work out for the better. Apparently, Cancun has a huge issue with strays (which makes me feel slightly guilty for importing my own dog). Cleo typically gets along  well with other dogs, although I will probably try to limit her interaction with homeless animals as much as possible. On the flip side, I’m a complete sucker for helping out animals, so maybe Cleo will get a Mexican playmate?

The FM3

The FM3 is a foreigner’s ticket to living in Mexico as a legal non-resident. An FM3 is required for many things in Mexico, including opening a Mexican bank account, finding legal employment, and occasionally it’s necessary to secure a lease, although I’ve recently heard that some landlords now accept the 6 month FMT. Acquiring an FM3 or eventually full resident status does not forfeit your homeland citizenship; instead you can acquire dual citizenship, which has numerous benefits.

An FM3 is similar to a green card in the US, with some notable exceptions. First, the FM3 comes in two flavors: a retirement version, and a permit to work version. With a retirement FM3, you gain all of a legal non-resident’s privileges, other than having the ability to be employed. If you have a nice nest egg, and don’t plan to pursue employment in Mexico, then this is the visa for you.

The working FM3 visa requires that you have a specified skill (i.e. computer programming) and a company that is willing to hire you. If you change employers or job trades, then you must renew your FM3 with this new information. Attempting to secure an FM3 for an unskilled trade (i.e. bartending) is extremely difficult; the Mexican government is not keen on foreigners taking away potential jobs for natives. 

The requirements for the retirement FM3 and the working FM3 are near identical. The only difference is that the working FM3 requires an approved skill and a job offer/acceptance with a Mexican business entity.  Below are the requirements (which vary from source to source…):

(1) US bank records indicating monthly deposits of $1200 USD or more the 3 months previous to the application.

(2) A certificate of health

(3) A certificate of non-criminal standing

(4) A valid US passport and a photocopy, along with passport photos for the FM3

(5) The completed application form and the $132 USD fee.

So really, not all that bad. I imagine it will take some time to get everything together correctly, and the documents must also be in Spanish, but the requirements are much less rigorous than what I anticipated.

The application for an FM3 can be made at the nearest Mexican consulate in your country (Chicago for me), or you can apply once you arrive in Mexico. The FM3 is good for 1 year, and must be renewed with recent financial statements at the end of the term. It is also important to note, that you must get your FM3 stamped when you leave the country, lest you be subject to a fine upon return.

My FM3 situation is quite a bit trickier since I want to be self-employed through a U.S. LLC. I’m not sure of the ins and outs of this method yet, but I know it can be done. I’ve read the stories of several expatriates who currently do web design and similar under my desired plan. Once I come to understand what is fully required to accomplish this, I will make sure and share the information here!

Mexican customs regulations

After creating my first list of personal effects to bring with me to Cancun, I decided to look into the government’s official travel page for Mexico, to make sure none of my items would be considered contraband.

As I already knew, US citizens traveling to Mexico do not need a special visa and a US passport is needed for re-entry to the US. If you are planning on staying for less than 72 hours than there is no additional paperwork to be filed. Most tourist stays (and of course my own stay) are longer than 3 days however, and this requires one to fill out the single page FMT. Most flights to Mexico already have the price of the FMT accounted for in the ticket price, and the paperwork can be filled out in flight. The FMT allows a foreigner to stay in Mexico for up to 6 months. Obviously, I plan on staying longer than this, which will require an FM3. I’ll write more about that later.

According to Mexican customs regulations, a foreigner can bring the following personal effects into Mexico duty-free: clothing (of course!), one camera, one video cassette player, one computer, one CD player, 5 DVDs, 20 CDs, and one cellular phone. If you bring anything else, you must pay import duties.

Anything that you bring into Mexico must also be taken when you leave, or you must show proof of destruction. This is to prevent foreigners from bringing in imported goods duty-free and selling them second hand. Conveniently, everything in my list works out except for binoculars and a flashlight. I suppose I’ll just pay the duties on the binoculars and ditch the flashlight altogether (although I have a really nice one…) 

Here’s the link to the State department’s travel page to Mexico, for those who need it: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html