When you hold legal residency in Mexico need to actively manage your card and your legal residency status here.
This article describes what you to do, based on the type of residency you have in Mexico, to keep your card current and your legal residency status updated.
If you are resident in Mexico under the auspice of temporary residency — Residente Temporal— you’ll need to file for renewals and file other notifications.
*Two years if you are married to a Mexican national.
Assistance: If you need assistance with residency card renewals, our associate can help.
If you are resident in Mexico under the auspice of temporary residency — Residente Permanente— you won’t need to file for renewals if you are over 18, but you do need to file change notifications.
Assistance: If you need assistance with permanent residency card renewals for minors, our associate can help.
You must present your residency card when you enter Mexico, and each time you leave the country. If you are a legal resident here and enter Mexico as a visitor, your residency status will become jeopardized.
When you are a foreigner with temporary or permanent legal residency status in Mexico, you must attend your local immigration office to inform them about:
Filing notifications: All notifications must be started using an electronic form filled-out online, which you must also download, print out, and sign. However, your procedure does not get officially registered until you go in person to your local immigration office and file the documents.
Time scales: Notification of changes must be filed in person at the local immigration office within 90 days of the change date to avoid penalty charges.
Assistance: If you need assistance with the filing, our associate can help.
If you lose your residency card, or it becomes damaged beyond use, you’ll need to apply for a replacement.
The process for requesting a replacement of your Mexican residency card varies depending on whether you are in Mexico or abroad when you discover the loss.
Filing for card replacement in Mexico: If you are in Mexico, notifications about lost and damaged cards and requests for a replacement must be started using an electronic form filled-out online, which you must also download, print out, and sign. However, your card replacement procedure does not get officially registered and processed until you go in person to your local immigration office and file the documents.
Filing for card replacement abroad: If you are abroad, you need to make an appointment at your nearest Mexican consulate first. They will issue a residency visa replacement sticker in your passport that you need to exchange for a replacement residency card when you arrive back in Mexico.
Card replacement process: Learn about the process for replacing a lost or damaged residency card.
Assistance: If you need assistance with the filing, our associate can help.
When you need assistance with an initial residency permit application, or residency card renewals. lost/damaged card replacements, regularization procedures, expired permits, or troubleshooting, consider using our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service.
If you already have your residency visa in your passport and need help exchanging that for a card in Mexico, our associate offers a visa-to-card exchange assistance service.
Mexperience publishes information and resources to help you learn about how to apply for and obtain legal residency in Mexico:
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