FM3!

Friday was an exciting day for Chris & me. We applied for our FM3’s! What, you may ask, is an FM3? Well, it is rather like having Resident Alien status only in Mexico.

When tourists come to Mexico they are normally issued a visa which is valid for either one month or six months…depending on how long you expect to be in the country. Last year, our first season of cruising, we checked in when we arrived in Cabo San Lucas (the first entry port we came to) and were issued a 6 month visa. We were not planning to return to the States until after the visas expired so we solved the problem by flying to Phoenix for two days, doing some shopping and returning to have a new visa issued. It was a nice excuse to visit with my sister and get a few lusted after items that are not available south of the border. Still, it was expensive and inconvenient as we were only a few weeks short of leaving the country for the summer.

This year we have been puzzling over how we might get our FM3 cards so we don’t have to go through the hassle of a trip to the States and back or pay someone a fairly large amount of money to “renew” our visas. Since our current plans involve spending our winters here (at least until we get the bug to go explore somewhere different) it seemed logical to get FM3’s so we can come and go at will. The one real stumbling block has been that you must have a residential address and we move our residence around all the time!

Soooo….when I read last month’s “Philo’s Notes” (newsletter) and discovered that Maria (who used to be the concierge at the marina here) was now providing her services out of his establishment…and…that one of the things she does is help people get their FM3, we jumped on it! The marina was quite cooperative in giving us a letter verifying that we are residing here since we have a slip. Turns out we were quite happy to have Maria’s help for the application process. It involves lots of documents and procedures that have to be negotiated in Spanish.

Thursday we went up to hire Maria to help us with the FM3 applications and the first thing she did was give us a list of “homework”. We had to gather together copies of our U.S. passports, letters of residence (for both of us) from the marina and copies of the last 3 months’ bank statements for both of us (seems Mexico wants to make sure you have some sort of income before they say you can stay). Maria completed the application forms for us (it is all in Spanish). Friday morning we were there at 9am sharp with all requested docs and she drove us to Bucerias where the closest Immigration office is. We had to go across the street to have our photos taken (like passport photos except “no glasses, no jewelry, no bangs…front and side view please”) first and then we were ready. The woman at the desk in the Immigration office was very cute and pleasant. She went through all our documents and then presented us with a form that needed to be taken to the bank where we would pay our fees, they would stamp it as paid and then we would return it to her. Turns out we just waited in the shade of the Immigration office while Maria went to the bank and returned. The only down side to this was there was a bulldozer working across the street that was in serious need of a 5 gallon bucket of WD-40 so we were almost deafened from the squealing while we waited!

Now we wait again. Maria was told it would take two weeks but she is going to begin calling them every day after a week has passed as they tend to have them done earlier. Once they are ready we go back to Bucerias where they will take our fingerprints and issue the FM3’s. Then, we will officially be Resident Aliens of Mexico for 10 years. If, after that time, we decide we want to go farther, we can apply for FM2 status which is valid for up to 5 years. The next step would be Citizenship.

I don’t know what the future holds for us. Whether we will eventually purchase a home here and decide to become citizens (neither of us would give up our American citizenship) or whether we might just keep cruising or move somewhere else. I don’t think it is likely we would go back to living in the States full time as we can’t afford it. As another cruiser friend of ours put it so succinctly, “It costs us three times as much to live in the States as it does to live here.” That is one of the sad things about our beloved country. People who work hard their whole lives often live like paupers or must move elsewhere to enjoy their retirement years.

Many things come to mind as we go through the process to become a part of the Mexican community on a more permanent basis. Perhaps what stands out the most is that we are treated so much more humanely than the Hispanic population is back home. The Mexican citizenry is friendly and welcoming and genuinely happy to know you and have you in their country. They are eager to help you and to be your friend. We are not discriminated against because we are white or American. Even though the Mexican population (legal or not) suffers from regular poor treatment when they are in the States they still respect and often admire us. For me, at least, it is humbling to be in a place where following the Golden Rule is not a platitude but a way of life.