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It's more than just a ticket. Welcome to Radical Personal Finance, a show dedicated to providing you with the knowledge, skills, insight, and encouragement you need to live a rich and meaningful life now while building a plan for financial freedom in 10 years or less. My name is Joshua Sheets.

I'm your host, and today I'm here with Enrique Ramirez Corona. Did I get it right? That is correct, Joshua. Thank you very much. Welcome, welcome. So we're here today to talk about immigration to Mexico. On Radical Personal Finance, I talk quite a lot about internationalization, about the idea of moving to different places, going to different places to build the things that are best for you.

And I wanted to invite you on to talk with me about the topic of immigrating into Mexico. I'm U.S. American. Many of my audience is from the United States of America and also from Canada, and I personally think that Mexico has a very bright future, especially in the coming decades, and I think a lot of people are going to be interested in moving to Mexico.

So I'd like to talk with you about the process and just get some clarification on what to do, how to do it, how different people can move to Mexico and what that process is like. So how long have you been practicing immigration law in Mexico? Well, I have been practicing immigration law since 2004.

I started working for a law firm here in San Miguel de Allende. I live in San Miguel de Allende, and there is where my law firm has its base. The name of my law firm is San Miguel Legal, and so I started to practice in 2004. Right. And there are lots of expats.

San Miguel de Allende is a very popular destination for U.S. Americans, for Canadians, etc. That's right. I mean, we have a very big foreign community, most of them American and Canadian people, but for many other countries worldwide. So we have a bunch or a lot of people for other countries living and residing in San Miguel de Allende.

Okay. So I have studied the immigration programs that a lot of countries have, and in my opinion, Mexico has an extremely open and simple immigration program. Mexico is very welcoming to immigrants. Do you think that's right? I think that is right, and I think that the Mexican government has been improving the law in order to try to make it easier for the foreign people to come to Mexico.

They are especially one, obviously, that the people that is thinking to retire in Mexico, that is thinking to invest in Mexico. And from the past years, and I would say probably since 2012, Mexican government has been trying to make it easier and faster for people to become either temporary or permanent residents of Mexico.

Okay. So let's pretend that I come to you and I say, "Enrique, I would like to move to Mexico. Tell me about the different ways that I, being a U.S. American, could actually move to Mexico." Okay. First, as you probably already know, as an American, you have the chance to come to Mexico initially if you want just as a tourist.

There is not any, let's say, previous application that you need to do in order to get this tourist visa. You just need, when you cross the border, when you arrive to the airport, you will receive a tourist visa valid for up to 180 days. That's, let's say, the first option.

However, if you want to become a temporary or a permanent resident, we have, let's say, several options. To become a temporary resident, you will need to start the process normally, and I will explain what I'm saying normally, out of Mexico, before a Mexican consulate, meaning that you will need to request an appointment with the Mexican consulate that is close to the place where you are living, out of Mexico.

In order to become a temporary resident, you will need, you have some options. One is to prove that you receive Social Security or pension in a monthly average of $1,500. So, $1,500 U.S. dollars. U.S. dollars. If you have fixed income, a monthly pension, or a fixed payment of at least $1,500, the Mexican government says that's sufficient.

That would be sufficient, and for that purposes, the Mexican consulate will require you to prove that you are having this income at least for the past six months. Okay. So, you will be required to bring your last six bank statements proving or showing that you have this income of $1,000 per Social Security or pension of $1,500.

Now, is earned income sufficient, or does it need to be pension income? In this case, it needs to be pension income. Okay. Okay? We have another option in that regard, that is, if you have a monthly, an account, or an investment account where you are holding an average of around $32,000 per month, then the Mexican government will consider and will give you a temporary residency.

In this case, you will need to show that you have had this average investment balance of $32,000 for the last 12 months. So, if I have an investment account or a bank account that for the last 12 months has had more than about $32,000, I can come and say to the Mexican government, "Look, I have enough money to support myself.

I don't necessarily have any pension income, but I have enough money. I'm not going to be a burden on the Mexican government," and they'll give me a temporary residence visa. That is correct. Okay. And that's $32,000 for one person. For one person. And what if I'm married and a married couple?

If you are married and the name of your wife appears also in your bank statements, they will consider that also for your wife. Okay. And children, does the number go up if I have children? Not really. It is not established in the law for that purpose, but what you can do is you can get temporary residency for you, for instance, and probably for your wife if she is part of the bank statements.

And when you come to Mexico and you already get your official temporary residency card, you will be able to apply also for your children here in Mexico. Okay. In that case, you can start the process here in Mexico. Okay. So my audience, the audience for out-of-personal finance, tends to be fairly wealthy.

So to me, this is the simplest option. Yes, there are people who are retired who are receiving Social Security income, but most, the vast majority of the members of my audience could simply bring a bank statement to the Mexican consulate and say, "Look, I have $32,000. I have $50,000.

I have $100,000." And so it's my understanding that almost anyone, of course, I'm sure that there are some regulations, but just talking about normal people, almost anybody could go to the Mexican government, could bring bank statements or proof of wealth, and if they have at least, you're saying $32,000, something $30,000 to $40,000 or more, then they could be granted a residency permit in Mexico.

Is that right? Well, in this case, you start basically as a temporary residency. That would be a temporary residency. Temporary residency. And so the process is that somebody needs to go to a Mexican consulate. The process is normally, well, there are some telephone numbers and also you can try to schedule your appointment with the Mexican consulate.

At this time that we're speaking, it is a little bit complicated, especially in the United States because most of the Mexican consulates are closed or have very reduced hours. So it is a little bit complicated. So you can schedule your appointment by a call or you can also send an email and they will schedule or they will give you an appointment.

Basically, in order to get to be able to apply for your Mexican, for your temporary residency, they will request to you your passport. They will request to you an additional US ID or Canadian ID. They will request that you fulfill a format with your personal information. Obviously, that you bring the bank statement that correspond either for pension or for this balance that you have in your account.

And you will pay around $39 for each visa. With that, you should be able to get your temporary residency visa. And normally, the process takes something around an hour. Okay. So to review, we've talked about the ability for US Americans or Canadians and really, Mexico has a very open policy for tourists.

The vast majority of my listeners can simply come to Mexico as tourists and spend often up to 180 days in Mexico as tourists. Correct. And then, well, of course, you wouldn't want to do it for many years. Many people will come to Mexico, spend 180 days. They'll leave somewhere, go somewhere else, come back and potentially be given another 180-day tourist visa.

And some people, especially in the past, have done that for many years as a tourist. But if you want to become an official temporary resident of Mexico, and what that would mean is that you can stay here in Mexico for the duration of your temporary residence permit, which is usually the first time one year.

That is correct. Right? Then you can apply for a temporary residence permit. To do that, the simplest way for most of my audience will be to get, I think in English would be called the person of means visa. Is that right? Correct. Which just simply says you go to the consulate in your country and you say, "Look, I have in excess of $32,000." More or less, it would change depending on the exchange rate.

But you go and you say, "Look, I have $40,000 in a bank account or in an investment account." And they say, "Yes, we'll be happy to have you." They'll schedule an appointment with the local embassy through the official Mexican website. They'll bring their birth certificates, their bank records, marriage certificates sometimes, and forms of identification, their passport.

They'll go pay a $39 fee to the local Mexican consulate, and they'll be given a visa to come to Mexico as a temporary resident. That is correct. What they are going to get is basically a visa stamped in their passport. This visa allows you to come to Mexico once within the next 180 days that you got that visa.

Okay. It is very important that people understand that once that they come into Mexico, this is valid for one entry, as I mentioned, but once that they come into Mexico, they need to complete the process here before the local immigration authority. And they just have 30 days, starting from the day that they enter to Mexico, to start this process.

The process is basically to request to the local immigration office to change the visa stamped in your passport for your official temporary residency card. Okay. Now, generally speaking, so that process is called the canje, right? The transfer process. That's called canje, correct. So then the individual could expect to receive a temporary resident card.

That's good for one year? Yeah, the first time is going to be valid for one year. Okay. After that one year, you are going to be able to renew it for three more years. Okay. For a total of four years as a temporary. Okay. So, the temporary resident visa simply means that when the visa expires, when the physical date that's printed on the card expires, if you don't renew it, you will lose your ability to live in Mexico.

But, you can live in Mexico with that temporary visa. Correct. All right. Even if, it's a little bit complex, but even if your card expired, but you are out of the country when it expired, you still have 60 days from the expiration date to come to Mexico legally with the same card and renew the card for the other three years.

We have some other cases where if you are here in Mexico and the card expired, you still can renew your card. But, the problem is that you will need to bring to the immigration office, just in this case, all the documents to prove that you have, that you're receiving pension or social security for the amount that we already mentioned, or that you have this balance in your accounts.

Right. Which is, which make it a little bit complicated. Right. Okay. So, a temporary resident visa gives you the right to live in Mexico without having to leave. Correct. So, you can spend all of your time in Mexico. But, it doesn't give you the right to get a job in Mexico, right?

It doesn't give you the right to get a job in Mexico, but you have the chance to apply for it. Okay. Meaning, once that you have your temporary residency visa, you can request authorization to the local immigration office to work in something here in Mexico. Okay. So, if you found a job with a local person, if I were in San Miguel de Allende and Enrique says, "Joshua, I really need you to work for me," I could take a petition to the local government and apply for a work permit?

Yes. In this case, this is another way that you can get your temporary residency. Let's say that a company in Mexico wants to retain your services. So, this company needs to be recorded before the immigration authority, and they are going to be, they are going to make an offer to work for you.

They can submit this offer here before the local immigration authority, and they are going to get the authorization. With that authorization, they will send that authorization to you basically by email, and with that document, you can also ask for an appointment with the Mexican consulate and prove that you have been already authorized to work in Mexico.

And as consequence, you can receive a temporary residency with permit to work directly. Perfect. Perfect. But let's say that you got it because you're balancing your account or because your social security or pension, you can also apply for that permit when you are in Mexico already living. Okay. So, the first temporary resident visa is issued for 12 months.

12 months. And then you go and you apply for a renewal, and they will probably renew it for three years. Based on the current criteria that they have, yes, they will renew it for three more years. Okay. Then, you have the ability to continue living in Mexico for those three years.

You've now been in Mexico for four years. At this point in time, when that three-year visa is set to expire, you can go to the immigration office and you can ask to be given permanent residency status. Is that right? That's correct. By law, once you complete these four years as temporary residency, you will pass automatically to permanent resident.

But yes, you will need to, at the expiration of the four year, you will need to go to the immigration office and request the change from temporary to permanent. Okay. So, you don't need to prove anything else other than you have been holding a temporary residency visa for four years.

Absolutely. Once you're issued the permanent resident visa, now you don't have to renew it. You are a permanent resident, and you can live in Mexico for as long as you want. That's correct. Another advantage that you will have with the permanent residency visa is that, as you go to the immigration, you will not need to renew anymore.

However, if you, for instance, change your address that you notified to the immigration office, you will need to inform to them that you changed your address or that you changed probably to your marital status. Okay. Those are the kind of things that you will need to notify. Also, as a permanent resident, you have the authorization to work in Mexico already.

You don't need to request a permit to the immigration office. You just notify that you are doing or working in this or that. Absolutely. So, the important thing about Mexico that we haven't said yet is that, under Mexican law, there is not, in order to maintain a residency, there is not a specific physical presence requirement that somebody has to be in Mexico in order to maintain their residency, either a temporary residence or a permanent residence.

Is that right? That is correct. The Mexican law does not establish any specific time that you need to spend in Mexico in order to continue having your temporary or permanent residency. So, you can spend a week, one month, or 12 months in Mexico, and you will have the same rights based on the visa that you have.

Right. So, if somebody has the idea that, "I think I might want to move to Mexico full-time," they can start the process whenever they're ready. They can go ahead, they can get their first visa, they can come to Mexico, be issued their temporary residency card. They don't have to be in Mexico for the next 12 months.

They could come for a couple of weeks and then leave. They can come back one year later, renew for the three-year period. Correct. They don't have to be in Mexico for three years. They can go and come however fits them. And then once they have the permanent residency card, they don't have to stay in Mexico in order to maintain that residency card.

They can come and go as they like. And under current law, that permanent residency is good for life, for the life of the person, although some states want you to come in every decade or so to take a new picture, right? That is correct. Okay. So, this is very important.

This is why, for most U.S. Americans, I recommend Mexico so highly. I think that virtually every U.S. American who thinks they might want to live outside the United States should start by getting a residency permit in Mexico. It's a wonderful country. I find the Mexican culture very personally pleasing.

I really enjoy it. It's a very warm Latin culture. There's a lot of cultural compatibility between Mexicans and U.S. Americans, especially if you have any kind of Latino heritage or have friends who are Latinos. There's a lot of compatibility. It's very easy to get to, and Mexico really offers virtually everything.

In some corner of the country, if you want the big city, you can live in Mexico City and have all of the global city advantages. If you want a small town by the beach, that's there. If you want a resort town, it's really wonderful. But the opportunity for someone to have this as a place that they can go to live, that they can retire, and not to have to maintain those physical presence requirements is really powerful, and especially once someone gets to that permanent residence.

This is why it's so attractive. For example, Canada, if you become a permanent resident in Canada, you have to physically be present in Canada for two years out of every five in order to maintain your residency visa. For somebody who lives full-time in Canada, that's wonderful. For somebody who goes to Canada regularly and wants to maintain their residency, that can be difficult if they're maintaining a job somewhere else.

But the Mexican system is much more generous, and I think it's a wonderful system. - Yes, I think that, well, since Mexican law does not require to be present in Mexico to continue having or enjoying your temporary or permanent residency, it allows you or allows the people that they can start this process early, and then they can determine if they really want to move to Mexico or not, or how many time they want to spend in each country.

My only comment in that regard is as far as I understand for Canadian people is that normally my clients that are Canadian, they don't want to become permanent because I understand that if they become permanent, they will lose the health benefits that the Canadian government grant to them. So in that case, when they complete or they get or arrive to the fourth year, what they do is they're released about the temporary residency, and they need to start the process again for year number one.

- Right, absolutely. Yeah, with immigration planning, you always need to think about the country that you're going to and the country that you're coming from. - Correct. - And there is planning with regard to the country you're going to, and there is planning with regard to the country you're going from, and that will be unique for each particular country and each particular person.

Now, is there a way that a U.S. American or a Canadian or a German citizen can become also a citizen of Mexico using this process? - For sure. When you start your process and you get your temporary residency, as we mentioned, after four years, you are going to become permanent resident.

At that moment and after two years as permanent resident, you have the chance to apply to become Mexican. In that case, the only, let's say, in this case, the law already established in that regard that if you want to become Mexican, you cannot be out of Mexico for more than six months in the last two years before you applied for the Mexican citizenship.

Meaning, if today you become permanent, 2021, on May 23, you are going to be eligible to become Mexican. But in these two years, you should not be out of Mexico more than six months. - Right. - So, you don't have to have physical presence in Mexico to maintain your permanent residence permit.

But when and if you go to apply for Mexican citizenship, then during the two years before that application, you must have been physically present in Mexico for more than six months each year for those two years. Well, you cannot be out of Mexico more than six months in both years.

Meaning, you need to stay in Mexico at least 18 months in those two years. - Absolutely. So, actually, not absolutely. Clarify what you said again. You need to not have... What's the distinction between what you're saying and what I'm saying? - Yeah, I think the distinction is that in the previous two years before you applied to become Mexican, you cannot stay out of Mexico more than six months.

- I see. Six months out of the 24-month period. - Correct. - I see. Okay. So, if on January 1, I enter Mexico, and then we go through the full 12 months, and then the next 12 months to December 31, I need to have been inside Mexico for at least 18 out of those 24 months.

- Correct. - Okay. Then, if that is satisfied, I can go to the Mexican government, and I can apply for Mexican citizenship. - That's correct. - There will be a language test? Is there a Spanish language test? - It depends on your age. But, yes, normally, there is a language test.

So, they want to verify that you at least can have a conversation in Spanish. It is not that you are 100% bilingual, but that you can... - So, maybe a B1 level of language, something like that. - I would say something like that. - Okay. - There is going to be a test for history of Mexico, and the rest is going to be paperwork that you will need to...

- Okay. - That we will need to produce and submit in order to be able to start your process. - Is there a criminal background check, an FBI report? - Among others, you will need, for instance, obviously, your passport, your birth certificate with an apostille, your permanent residency card.

We will need to show through a report that the immigration office is going to provide us that you have not been out of Mexico in the past two years for more than six months. There is a local criminal record, okay, saying, obviously, that you don't have any criminal records.

- Local in Mexico? So, if I'm living in... - Meaning, local from the state where you are living or you are going to apply for the Mexican citizenship. And then, there is no criminal records for the country. These criminal records for the country, you can just get it in Mexico City, okay?

And after that, you fulfill some applications, and that's...you make a payment, and that's pretty much the documents that you will need to require...you will need to meet in order to apply for your Mexican citizenship. - Right. - And I personally think, it's my opinion, that a Mexican citizenship is an extraordinarily valuable citizenship for somebody to have.

The Mexican passport as a travel document is a very powerful travel document. The only country in the world that the Mexican travel document doesn't work for as easily as some other countries is the United States. - Right. - Which is frustrating for many Mexicans, but that's the only...well, I don't know if it's frustrating.

That's the only country in the world that looks at a Mexican passport and doesn't give it Tier A access. That is an advantage to, for example, Canadians can come to the United States without a visa. A German citizen can come to the United States using the electronic travel authorization system, but a Mexican citizen needs to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.

- Correct. - But with the exception of the United States, a Mexican passport is a powerful document can vis-a-vis travel to so many countries of the world, visa-free access to Europe, and it simply doesn't have a lot of the baggage, a lot of the difficult things that, example, a U.S.

American passport can bring with it. It's a very neutral country. I think, in my opinion, Mexico is not generally regarded as...it's a very neutral country. It's a very powerful citizenship to have. - Yeah, I agree with you in that regard. I think that Mexican passport is very powerful, and in my experience that I have been working with foreign people for many years, a lot of them wants to become a Mexican citizen because they...obviously, they feel in love with the country, they feel comfortable living here, and they find convenient also for themselves to have a Mexican passport.

- Absolutely. And Mexico does not have mandatory military service for your children, like some countries do. Mexico does impose taxes on Mexican residents living here, but if a Mexican citizen were to move back to Canada or back to the United States, then they can become non-tax resident in Mexico.

- That is correct. - Mexico is not...it's not a particularly overbearing country. They don't impose a lot of regulations on their citizens abroad. It's a really wonderful place, and it's just a wonderful city, wonderful country to live in with many options. Is there any place...are there any things that people who are working with you for immigration, are there any questions that people ask that we haven't covered, or any mistakes that people frequently make?

- Well, I think that one...I would like to mention another way to get the temporary residency, if that works for you. If you're ready...sometimes people cannot...either they don't have the income for pension or Social Security required, or they don't have this balance in their account, but they already own a property in Mexico.

So if you already own a property in Mexico, you can also apply and get a temporary residency card. The only condition in that regard is that your property worth something around $200,000 or 3.8 million pesos. If you can have copy of your deed or title of your property to the consulate, and you show that your property worth that amount, then they will also grant to you a temporary residency.

If you are already in Mexico, and let's say that your wife already hold a temporary or permanent residency, you are also...you will be entitled to receive her and start your process directly in Mexico. For that purpose, you will need to prove that you are married. You will need your marriage certificate with the apostille, but that will allow you to start your process here in Mexico.

Also, same for your children. - Right. - And if you have a Mexican child, you can stay here as a tourist, and if your child is born in Mexico, then you are allowed to get...you will get in this case, directly in Mexico, the permanent residency. - Absolutely. So I'm glad you brought that up because that was going to be my next comment.

Mexico is a Jus Sali country, which means that all children who are born in the sovereign territory of Mexico are, by birth, Mexican. - Correct. - So if my wife were pregnant and we gave birth to a child in Mexican territory, that child would automatically qualify for Mexican citizenship from birth.

- Yes. - Now, in addition, Mexico follows the doctrine of family reunification. They want families to be together. - That is absolutely correct. - So if I have a Mexican child, I can then go to...as the parent of a Mexican child, I can go to the Mexican government and I can request a permanent resident visa from the Mexican government, and in virtually all circumstances, it should be granted to my wife and to me and to our siblings and to our other children, right?

- That is correct. - Okay. Now, is there then a pathway to citizenship if I have that permanent residency visa? Is it still two years? - It is still two years. - Okay. - Once you get your permanent residency, two years, and you can start the process to become Mexican.

- Right. So this is, I think, a powerful option. My family and I, we have done birth tourism, and with my experience doing that, I think it's a really tremendous way to open up new opportunities for your children to give them access to the Mexican markets as a citizen, legally able to work, go to school in Mexico.

For example, I have had Mexican doctors in various parts of the world. Mexico has a lot of medical schools, and they're paid for by the government. And so somebody can go to Mexican medical school and become a doctor for just a cost of some books and things like that.

The tuition is covered. And that's a powerful option and well-respected in many parts of the world, the Mexican doctors are. And so it's a powerful option, and it also can be a good benefit for me as the parent of a Mexican child to have the option now to live in Mexico, to have that permanent residency visa, and to go in other places.

And back to kind of those options, there are many people who will go and do birth tourism in countries like Canada or the United States. And no question, there can be benefits to that, right? There are many people who want their children to be Canadian or U.S. American. But if you are already Canadian or U.S.

American, there's very little benefit to your child being born inside of Canada or the United States, and there could be a lot of benefit for your child being born in Mexico. And again, with the physical proximity, the fact that a Canadian or U.S. American can drive to Mexico, that makes things a lot easier.

And then even just in terms of the high quality of medical care at a low cost, it's a really great option because, you know, I've known people who have gone to Mexico because they didn't have insurance, health insurance, and they had a C-section. And if you have a C-section delivery of a child in Mexico, the cost may be something like a few thousand U.S.

dollars, 3,000 U.S. dollars, instead of 15,000 or 30,000 U.S. dollars like it is sometimes in the United States. And so it can really be a good option that I think people should consider. I've recommended to many people if they're having a baby, you should think about having a baby in Mexico.

- Yeah, well, I think that we have a great health services here in Mexico. We cannot complain about the quality of the hospitals and medicals and doctors. And the amount that you are going to pay compared with the United States or Canada is going to be a big difference.

So for sure, it's a great advantage for them. And in addition, as you explained very well, they are going to have the chance to become permanent since their child is going to be born in Mexico. - Right, right. Now, the last thing is, from my observation, Mexico seems to be very open to people who are fleeing persecution, who are seeking asylum.

And in the airport itself, right, as you're coming through immigration, the Mexican Immigration Department puts a big sign that says, "If you're in danger in your home country, you should come and ask us for help." And the Mexican government promises to hear your case. They promise that you can come to them and ask for help regardless of your immigration status, regardless of whether you're here on a visa or if your visa has lapsed.

And they even promise free legal aid for people who are coming and applying for a status. So for somebody who is facing some kind of persecution, I think Mexico should also be very seriously considered. - Yes, Mexico... As Mexicans, we understand that it's very important to take care of all the people that is coming from other countries since even where the Mexican people normally tries to come to the United States, many times as illegals.

So we understand very well that part, and that's why the Mexican government create a special authority and a special place where all these people can come and start this process. It is very interesting. The process is not very fast. It could take between one year and one year and a half.

But as soon as they submit this or they start this process in Mexico, they are going to be eligible to get a humanitarian visa. And with this visa, they will be considered legally... They are going to be legal in Mexico, and they are going to have the chance to even get the authorization to work in Mexico while they start the final ruling from this authority in regard to their immigration situation.

So I think that this is also a big advantage for people that consider or needs this kind of help. Absolutely. And the last question I have is Latin American bureaucracy is legendary. One of the challenges of doing business in Latin America is that the law will often say this is what's expected, but the reality is often very different.

It's the same in the United States of America. I have friends who have followed every law of immigration law in the United States and have been waiting for five, six years in some cases just for an answer from the government on a very simple scenario. So I'm not throwing blame on anybody.

But how would you... When you say these timelines, the biggest question is, are these actually realistic? So if you say, yes, you can come and do this, are these timelines realistic that you can actually get answers quickly from the U.S. government? You can get business done... Sorry, from the Mexican government, or you can get business done quickly, or do we have to deal with delays of weeks and weeks and months and months and months to get an answer from the immigration department?

Nope. I mean, as I mentioned before to you, the immigration authority, the federal government has tried to make it as simple as possible for all foreign people. What they are trying to do is that people come and invest in Mexico, that you come and live in Mexico, because obviously that way you are going to spend also money in Mexico.

Absolutely. So it's important for Mexican government. I can tell you that I cannot speak for all the immigration offices in Mexico, but at least the ones that we work here in the state of Guanajuato, Querétaro, for instance, that are the closer ones to us. If we start your process for the canje that you mentioned to change your visa and your passport for your official card, I can tell you that it's going to take a couple of days to get it.

Remarkable. Yeah. So obviously, provided that we submit all the necessary paperwork and documents. Exactly. So a couple of days and you are going to have your card. Same when you need to renew it. Obviously, if your card expired and we need to bring additional documents, it's going to take a little bit more.

But in general terms, I will say that you can consider between three and five business days to get your card and have everything ready. Okay. Yeah. So I would just give, you don't have to listen to my kind of closing charge, but I would say this. I honestly believe that for virtually, especially any US American and probably Canadian, Mexico should be very high on your list.

If not, the number one option should be very high on your list in terms of places to go to have a second residency to start that process going. Mexico often does not get the press that some other residency programs get. For example, Panama gets far more press for their program, their friendly nations visa program.

But when I compare the two, Mexico is far better than Panama and Mexico has far more options. I like Panama City, but basically if you want to live in Panama, you have the choice of either Panama City or what's the town? There's a retiree town that's a little bit higher, Boquete, Panama, or you have these little beach towns, right?

It doesn't have the size or the diversity that a place like Mexico has. Mexico has almost everything to offer. It's a huge country with 31 states, I think, here in Mexico. That's correct. 31 states here in Mexico with tremendous diversity, biodiversity, economic diversity. It's an economic powerhouse. And yet Mexico has this incredibly generous program that costs virtually nothing to get started.

A $39 visa plus some attorney fees, which we'll talk about in a moment if you work with an attorney. You don't have to work with an attorney. You can do it yourself. But it's a much lower cost program. Like Panama, if we compare it, for example, to the Panama Friendly Nations Visa, Panama requires you to work with an attorney there.

You have to go to Panama. You have to start a Panamanian company that you may or may not use. You have to put money in the bank that you may or may not want in a Panamanian bank. Mexico doesn't have any of these requirements. And the Panamanian attorney fees, especially for English-speaking attorneys, are often extremely high.

And that's money that you don't get back. Panama, it's hard to drive to. You can drive there from the United States barely, but you've got to go through six borders on the way, whereas Mexico is one border. And so I just don't understand, having spent a lot of time thinking and researching and working through these options, I understand why U.S.

Americans go to Canada. I've had Canadian immigration consultants on the show, and I think there's a lot of benefits there to go in the direction of Canadian immigration. But Canada has some unique benefits and some unique drawbacks. And Mexico has a lot more benefits and far fewer drawbacks. Mexico is not a tax haven.

You're not going to go to Mexico and save tons of money on your income taxes like you could potentially do in Panama. So that's something you do want to take into account. But depending on your earnings and depending on how your affairs are structured, with good tax planning, Mexico has just a lot to offer.

Am I wrong? No, you are completely correct. I think that Mexico, as I mentioned several times now, is doing all that we can in order to try to welcome any foreign people that is coming to Mexico and that want to live or invest in Mexico. The Mexican government tries to give all kinds of facilities so you can spend time in Mexico, so you invest in Mexico, so you live in Mexico.

So as you mentioned, you can drive from the United States to Mexico pretty easy. In that regard, and that's important that you know, as a temporary, you have the chance to drive completely legal and keep for all the time that you are a temporary residency your car with U.S.

plates in Mexico. Once that you become permanent resident, you are not allowed to drive a car with U.S. plates in Mexico. You will need to either return your car or sell it. So that's, let's say, one advantage also that you can bring your car without any problem and it's going to be legal as far as you are legal in the country.

Additionally, also you have this chance to bring your personal belongings if you want. You are going to be free of any taxes if you can prove that this is yours, your personal, this is my personal belongings that I used to have in my house in the United States or in Canada, I want to bring to Mexico or to ship to Mexico and all those personal belongings will come into Mexico free of any taxes.

Right, right. I think it's a wonderful program and my encouragement is don't wait. In the world of immigration law, things change. I honestly, personally, I think that the Mexican lack of physical presence requirements is probably too generous. I think they'll probably change that law myself just because I think that as more and more people, especially many US Americans, are looking to have other options, I think in time the Mexican government may face pressure to change that.

I hope they don't but if you're interested in other residency programs, you should not wait because laws change all the time. Correct. But in terms of the future of a country, I personally believe that one of the metrics that you can use to judge the future of a country is based upon how easy is that country to get into, whether that's to come in as a tourist or whether it's to come in as a resident and to immigrate.

I think that you can tell a lot about a country by the way that they treat people that want to come in their borders. Countries that have stringent border guards where they say, ask lots of questions, are very invasive, I think it reflects the culture and the culture being an anti-immigrant culture is a culture that doesn't understand that the value of a country is based upon its people.

The thing that makes a country work is its people and a country that's welcoming to people is a country that I think you can see other signs of growth and opportunity. So I personally, that's one of the metrics that I use to judge Mexico and say, I think that Mexico has a very bright future because you can see very clearly with simply a huge sign in the airport by the Mexican immigration authorities saying, it doesn't matter your legal status, you can always seek asylum in Mexico.

That says a lot about the culture of a country. Now there can be problems with assimilation and so cultures always have to deal with, okay we're welcoming these immigrants but are they able to assimilate into the country. But Mexico is such a big country that I think that they can handle many more immigrants than much smaller countries can.

And so I think that Mexico is going to have a wonderful next couple of decades, is my opinion. - Thank you very much. We appreciate that words and I'm pretty sure as you mentioned, we receive everything, everyone in Mexico, we try to be very polite with everyone in Mexico.

And I think that's one of the reasons that there are a lot of big foreign communities in Mexico just like in San Miguel de Allende, Ajijic, Querétaro or many other places in Mexico. You can, Mexico is really big and we have a lot of different states, different areas that you can choose whatever you want from living in a small city such as San Miguel but with a big infrastructure or living in a big city like Querétaro that was one of the, that was the state that grow more in the last year or 2019 in North America Latin or you can live in the beach or you can enjoy, you know, any, a lot of places in Mexico.

You'll always be welcome in Mexico. - Absolutely. Okay, Enrique, your website is sanmiguel-legal.com. So sanmiguel-legal.com, I'll make sure to leave that information. You will work with people and help facilitate all of the immigration options for them. It's not required that somebody who wants to immigrate to Mexico work with a lawyer.

You can do it yourself. What I would say is having done immigration processes myself, I have promised myself that I won't do it anymore from now on. I will simply hire lawyers to do the immigration process myself. I've tried to save money and I've tried to do it all myself and it's just simply not worth it in my opinion.

So about how much does your law firm charge to work with people on these types of immigration processes that we've talked about? - Okay, it will depend of the application that we are doing, but it normally goes from, I'm going to speak in U.S. dollars, it goes from $500 to $750 U.S.

dollars. - Right, per person. - Per person. - Per person. - We guide you through the whole process, meaning even if you are just thinking that you want to come to Mexico and you want to apply for this temporary or permanent residency, we will guide you through all the process.

We can be in contact either by email, by submitting, so whatever you feel more comfortable. We are going to make sure that you understand the process. When you come to Mexico, we will have pretty much everything ready just to collect your signatures and be able to submit your application to the local immigration office as soon as possible and to complete your process within the next couple of days so you can just enjoy Mexico.

- Absolutely. So your email address, and again I'll link it in the show notes, but it's Enrique, E-N-R-I-Q-U-E, Enrique@SanMiguel-Legal.com. - That is correct. - People can email you directly and probably somewhere in the range of $500 to $750 per person for your fees. The Mexican government simply has a $39 visa fee, and there may be other modest charges here and there, but it's not a lot.

- Yeah, when you request the canje that we mentioned, meaning the change from your visa for your official card, there is an additional payment that you need to make to the local immigration office. - And about how much that is? - For a temporary residency is around at this moment $220, and for permanent residency it is around $350.

- Okay. So something around $1,000, more or less, about $1,000 per person, somebody could establish temporary residence in Mexico. - Yes. - Fair enough. - Yeah, but you were, as I mentioned, we're going to guide you through the whole process from the beginning through the moment that you have your card in your hands.

- And it can be as simple as somebody just simply comes to San Miguel de Allende, they come for a week, week and a half, two weeks, you can handle the process, they can enjoy a vacation, go with you and your staff to the government offices, and then they have their documents, everything's in order.

- Yeah, we will take care of everything. You will just need to come once to my office to sign the applications and documents, and then once to the immigration office, but we will take care of the rest. - Awesome. I promise that's the best $1,000 you're going to spend versus doing it yourself.

Even as a fluent Spanish speaker myself, I don't have any problem doing it, but navigating, okay, I go here, then I go this, and okay, what's the tramite here, and where do I go, it can be difficult and a lawyer smooths everything. Enrique, thank you so much. - Thank you very much.

You're a self-pleasure.