Make An Appointment To Write An Email To Make An Appointment

I had my appointment with the Mexican consulate two days ago to inquire about the proper, legal way for me to move to Tulum, MX. I have quite a few things to consider. I am aware I will probably have to get an immigration lawyer to assist, and I might have to pay for some other relocation services. But first, I wanted to make sure I know as much as I can, and I wanted to make sure that I ask the right people.

The first thing on my list that I need clarified is how to get temporary residency. There are many blogs that have lists and the requirements. Their answers seem fairly uniform. The problem is when you start to ask people who immigrated to Mexico, they all have different answers, what they did, how much they paid. Depending on when they immigrated, have the laws changed since then?

On the Mexican government website listed:

https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/leamington/index.php/non-mexicans/visas/115-temporary-resident-visa

Economic solvency
Scientific research in water under Mexican jurisdiction
Invitation from an organization or public or private institution
Under the auspices of an international legal instrument governing mobility of people
Family Unity
Real Estate Property in Mexican Territory
Investor

Looking at the list, (I’m not going to regurgitate the details. I’ve included the link, if interested) the only two that I would have as “options” are economic solvency or family unity. I don’t have enough money to invest or buy real estate. Buying real estate in Mexico is a possibility, while in San Diego, it’s a pipe dream, for me. Right now, real estate isn’t a financial option.

The goal was to have a remote job before moving there, but my unemployment benefits end in a few weeks and my savings will go a lot longer there. Moving is going to cost me and before all my money runs out, I want to get there and situated.

Anyway, I had an appointment this Thursday morning at the consulate. Luckily, the consulate is close, 2 miles at most, that it isn’t an inconvenience. What was an inconvenience was that my appointment was at 8 AM after going to see Pink the night before.

Did you know you can’t have a phone in a consulate or embassy? They just asked me to turn it off. Apparently, at some they won’t let you even take your phone in, or they take it away. I had Bruno wake up and be available in case I needed to call him. I also had my list of questions on my phone.

I get there a few minutes before 8, waited in line to check in at the desk. Chances are, you are reading this in English. (If not, that’s really cool.) It’s my native language. I wouldn’t even say Spanish is my second language. I started learning it in seventh grade, took it all through high school, and my first semester in college in 2000. Being from New York, there were a lot of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Mexicans. Then in San Diego, it seems about half the population is Mexican, so I am exposed to Spanish all the time, but I’m not really forced to speak it. The first guy that I dated when moving to SD was Mexican, like born, raised, and still lived in Mexico. He didn’t really know English, so I was forced to use my Spanish. I did Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur to brush up. That was 2010. I have since dated a few other men, who Spanish was their first language, but they learned English as soon as they started school, so they were fluent in both. I would ask them to speak to me in Spanish for me to refresh and learn. Those men were so used to English, they rarely did. Now, I am trying my best again to recall everything and learn as much as I can in 2024. I have no excuse why I haven’t practiced this whole time living here, but it is what it is.

Anyway, I’m trying my best to understand everything and speak as much Spanish as possible at the consulate. I do have pretty good comprehension when listening, as long as I can clearly hear the words that someone is saying. It is much more difficult for me to reply quickly. I think that was part of the issue that morning.

She calls me up to the desk and I tell her I have an appointment to get some clarification on what I need to do for temporary residency in Mexico. I think she asked about my paperwork, I can’t remember exactly—it was early after a late night and she’s speaking quickly in Spanish. Once I told her that I don’t have the paperwork, I just need to get some questions answered, she told me that I just need to send an email. She went about looking for a paper that had the email on it. It was a pretty obvious email address, that she should have it memorized and could have written it down somewhere for me.

The thing is I did have an appointment. Time was set aside for my appointment, why couldn’t I use that time that I booked to get my questions answered? I think if my Spanish was better, I could have advocated a little better for myself and got in to speak with someone. Fine, it’s not. I’ll send an email.

I went home that day and wrote a very detailed email, asking all of my questions. I wanted to know about all of the criteria that I could apply for a temporary visa. I also wanted to know about a work visa, what do my pets need—papers, vaccines—could I bring/import my car, how I could I import my other belongings that have some meaning to me—original artwork, antiques from my grandmother, out-of-print books, etc. (I was also going to ask about Bruno getting a tourist visa and if they have any advice when I was at the consulate.) Not only did I write this email in English, I also wrote it in Spanish. The Spanish version wasn’t a perfect detailed translation, but all of the same questions were asked. It took quite a bit of time for me to do it. However, if this is how I am going to get my answers, then it’s worth it.

I get an email the next morning from the consulate. It’s all in Spanish, which fine, I can read it. For important legal things, I would rather English, so I know I understand everything and am not going to miss anything. Briefly, this email, it said that I must apply for residency at a consulate and that I can’t do it in Mexico. If I don’t live in San Diego, they directed me to a link that had probably listed their other consulates in the US. It also told me that I must make an appointment online, walk-ins are not taken, and how to do it. That was it. Not a single question was answered, and this very generic email told me to make an appointment.

I am going to Tulum in less than three weeks. The plan is to talk to an immigration lawyer when I am there. I will have Bruno, and he will be able to ask and push, if necessary, to get answers. We both know that marriage is an option. I don’t think either one of us want that to have to be the only option. We have talked about marriage, as something that we want to do. I don’t think we want it tainted as something we have to do, as something transactional. For me, even though I do want to be with him, I’m not sure we are quite there yet. There are still some kinks we have to work out. Besides, we still have yet to live in the same country, let alone live together as a married couple.

Stay tuned to see what legal advice we get.