FM RENEWALS

Posted by Lois Lane on November 13, 2010, 8:21 am
187.146.106.40

Since the GCR chose not to publish the following step-by-step guide to FM renewal in this week's edition, I'm sharing it with you here. Hope it helps! In years past, renewing my FM-3 in Manzanillo has been much like getting a root canal. This time, however, I’m amazed at how quick and painless it was. Since May, when the ink was still wet on INM’s (Instituto Nacional de Migración))new FM renewal procedures, things have changed. You still must complete the application on line, and it’s still available only in Spanish. But at http://setram.inami.gob.mx, the format is simple and straightforward. The first drop-down window asks you what you want to do. Answer: extender la estancia. The second asks for specifics. For an FM-3 renewal, choose Prórroga No inmigrante; for an FM-2, Refrendo de inmigrante. The next set of fields is for personal identification: your name (exactly as on your passport), birthday, sex, CURP number (optional), marital status, email address, country and state of birth, and nationality. For the third set, select Pasaporte from the drop-down box, and fill in your passport number, country of issue, and the issue and expiration dates. Next regards your address in Mexico: street, number, town, state, municipality, zip code, and phone number. Unless you have another person authorized to handle your renewal paperwork and receive your mail regarding same, skip the final section and proceed directly to GUARDAR. You’re just about home free. After you click on GUARDAR, a new screen will appear asking if all the information you just entered is correct. Best recheck it carefully. As soon as you hit “Si,” your application is gone out to the ether and into immigration’s computers. Immediately, your 13-digit file number (numero de solicitud) will appear in a small grey window. Write down this number and put it with the rest of your renewal paperwork. When you’re at the immigration office, present your file number to the clerk, and Voila! your completed application appears on her monitor. What paperwork do you need to schlep with you? Immigration currently requires only your 13-digit application file number, your old FM booklet (you’ll get a wallet-sized laminated card instead), and a copy of the front page of your passport, plus infantil-size photos – two frontal, two right side. Color or black and white is acceptable. Your previous three month’s bank statements? Your most recent phone or electric bill? Forget about ‘em! Friends who’ve renewed their FMs over the past few months took theirs anyway, but were never asked to show them. Nor are they currently listed under requirements on INM’s Web page. I didn’t spend much more time at the immigration window than it just took you to read the above information carefully. Next stop was the bank. Cost today for an FM-3 was 1294 pesos (2800 pesos for an FM-2). When I returned to the office with my paid receipt, I received a copy of my application and my receipt, my NUT (Numero Unico de Tramite) and a numeric password. These latter allow you check the INM Website if your FM’s ready to be picked up, although the clerk printed a three-week return date on my papers. It’s a good idea to carry these documents, or copies thereof, with you while your new FM is being processed, just as you would with your old booklet. That’s it! Wham, bam, and I was on my way to breakfast and shopping at the “big-city” stores. (Pssst, I arrived at immigration shortly after 9 on a Monday morning and only had to wait for one person ahead of me at the window.) Those of you who renew your FMs later in the season, when the office is packed, will be happy to know that the INM staff in Manzanillo seems to be operating like a well oiled – and friendly – machine this season. Buen viaje!

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