Visa to Mexico for Russians. How to get a visa to Mexico for Russians (2014)?
Tropical jungle, full of unprecedented flowers, where exotic birds flutter between the vines. Mysterious inscriptions on the walls of the ancient pyramids in the abandoned cities of the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations. Foam discos in Acapulco from dusk to dawn, where, dancing until you drop, you never have time to try all the varieties of authentic tequila and mezcal. And also surfing in the azure waters of the ocean or diving into underwater caves that serve as a refuge for thousands of small and large fish, so bright, as if painted with a children's felt-tip pen. Here, God, as if foreseeing the influx of lovers of imposing rest, created kilometers of snow-white beaches, planted with palm trees swaying from the fresh breeze. On the shore, in lush tropical greenery, buildings and bungalows of luxurious hotels are hiding. All this is Mexico. Do Russians need a visa to enter this fabulous country? Read about it in our article.
How to get there?
A long flight and its high cost are the only drawbacks. Otherwise, the country is simply flawless. To reduce travel time a little, choose flights directly to resorts. From Moscow, the Aeroflot company on Thursdays and Sundays, and the Transaero concern on Wednesdays and Saturdays, planes are allowed to Cancun. Only thirteen hours - and you are at the resort. If price is the determining factor for you, then choose Lufthansa with a transfer in Frankfurt, Iberia, Air France or KLM via Madrid, Paris and Amsterdam, respectively. A little savings (up to 30%) will help early purchase of tickets - two months before departure. Why are we mentioning the flight if the topic of the article is about how to get a visa to Mexico? The fact is that no airline will sell you a ticket until you demonstrate that you have permission to enter this country in your passport. Therefore, the first thing you need to take care of opening a visa.
What is SAE?
For Russians and Ukrainians, it is possible to obtain the coveted entry permit without leaving home. To do this, you only need that access to the Internet. The Electronic Authorization System (Mexican border guards call it SAE) was launched in 2010, and since then only rave reviews have been heard about it from tourists. Citizens of Ukraine need to go to the website of the Embassy of Mexico in Kyiv and fill out a rather simple online questionnaire. It is enough to enter personal data (the foreign passport must have an expiration date that exceeds the time of your intended return home by six months). You must also indicate the absence of a criminal record and the date of travel. An e-visa to Mexico for Russians opens in a similar way. There are even two options for this category of tourists: go to the website of the country's embassy in Moscow or go to the page of the National Institute of Migration. In a matter of minutes, you will receive an authorization with a unique code by e-mail. It must be printed and presented to the airline when buying tickets, as well as to border guards.
SAE pros and cons
The Electronic Authorization system is convenient in many respects. It is free, and you do not need to go to Moscow. Obtaining SAE saves a page in the passport. Such a visa can be opened even if you are not in Russia, but abroad. With this entry permit, you are allowed to stay in a tropical country for up to 180 days. But this system also has a number of disadvantages. Perhaps the most significant of them is that only those citizens of Russia who were born in our country can use the SAE, regardless of whether it was the USSR or already the Russian Federation. In the window of the online questionnaire, you must clearly indicate the city of birth. If it is, for example, the Arkalyk region / USSR, then the system will automatically reject your application, since now this territory belongs to Kazakhstan. for Russians who were not born in Russia, it opens only after the applicant's personal visit to the Embassy of Mexico in Moscow. The procedure for issuing an entry permit in this case is completely different. Since they did not recognize the citizens living there and who have taken citizenship of the Russian Federation, they are sent to obtain a visa to the Embassy of Mexico in Kyiv.
Other cons of SAE
According to the Electronic Authorization System, you only need to enter this country. That is, you won’t be able to try the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico in one fell swoop, unless you use airplanes everywhere. If you arrive by ferry or try to cross the land border from Guatemala or Belize, you will also be deported. With an e-Visa, you must enter Mexico within thirty days of authorization. This means that you will not be able to make early bookings for flights. After all, airlines sell tickets only if you have a visa. Further, SAE gives the right to only a single entry. And, finally, even a small conviction (for an accident, for example) throws you out of the electronic system. Of course, for most Russians and Ukrainians, it is most convenient to obtain an entry permit online. But it is better to immediately know the exceptions to the general rule and apply in advance to the Embassy of Mexico for a visa. Moreover, no queues have been observed there since the commissioning of the SAE.
Obtaining a visa to Mexico through the Consulate of the country
If it so happened that for some reason you were denied an electronic permit to enter a coveted country, you should not be upset. The procedure for obtaining a visa at the consulate, although it is associated with certain financial expenses, but it provides a number of advantages. For only thirty-six US dollars, you can open multi-entry for ten years. Just imagine: for such ridiculous money you have the right to stay in the country 180 days a year, enter and leave the state by any means of transport! During this decade, you can try all the resorts of the Caribbean: Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya, Cancun and Cozumel Island, as well as swim in the waves of the Pacific Ocean in such wonderful places as Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. And, finally, to travel around the big cities of the country - Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, Monterrey, Merida. Obtaining a visa to Mexico is quite simple - only a minimum package of documents is required. What does he represent?
Package of documents to the Embassy of Mexico
First of all, you need to register on the website of the consular department and fill out an online form. When all possible columns are written, you need to print all the pages of this document (both sides). Next, you need to put the prints of two index fingers in the appropriate box, dipping them - this is a must - in blue ink. Further, with a blue or purple pen, you must put an autograph in the column "Signature of the person concerned." Questionnaires must also be filled out for children. Both parents sign for the child. Fingerprints should not be smeared so that they can be clearly seen. What else is needed, besides a questionnaire and a passport valid for at least another seven months, so that a visa to Mexico for Russians is open? Two recent color photographs (3 x 4) against a white background with the face fully exposed. Copy of the first page (with personal data) of the international passport. It is also advisable to make a photocopy of Mexican visas, if you had any in outdated documents.
Solvency confirmation
Obtaining a visa to Mexico requires the presentation of two important documents, namely a certificate of income for the last six months (the so-called form 2-NDFL) and a letter from the place of work on a letterhead and with a seal. This last piece of paper should indicate your position, phone number, salary, date of admission to the institution. It should be borne in mind that applicants who receive about $ 1,500 monthly, a visa is opened for 10 years without any problems. But for those who work for $700, such an entry permit can be given for a period of 6 months. What if you are a modest rentier? An extract from a bank account for the last six months with a round seal of a financial institution will help (the monthly balance should be more than $ 2,400). If you wish to take out your dependents, your monthly income must increase by 25% per person. Students need a photocopy of the ticket and a certificate from the university, and pensioners - a certificate.
Traveling with children (registration at the consulate)
How to get a visa to Mexico for those tourists who want to take their underage offspring overseas with them? If both parents of the child go on a trip, then there should be no problems. Especially if you register through the SAE system. If you want to get a long-term multivisa for yourself and your child, you need to add copies of the internal passports of the father and mother to the baby's package of documents. A copy of the birth certificate is also required. If the child is old enough, his own passport and a certificate from the school are required.
Various legal nuances
How to get a visa to Mexico for Russians who have not yet reached the age of majority, but are independent enough to travel unaccompanied by adult family members, or who want to go on vacation as part of a children's group? Or with indirect relatives? Or with one of the parents? If neither the father nor the mother accompanies the child on the trip, the notarized consent of both parents for the trip is required. The same rule applies if the child travels with grandparents. But if a minor visits a tropical country with one of the parents, you need to add the following documents to the package: a photocopy of the first page of the internal passport of the person who remains in Russia, as well as his notarized permission to export the child.
Registration through companies
To save your nerves and time, you can seek help in obtaining permission to enter the country from various companies, including travel companies. But then a visa to Mexico for Russians will cost money, even if it is an electronic SAE. If you bother to enter the site of the National Institute of Migration yourself, not a penny will be charged from you. You will have to pay to the intermediary about 20 dollars for services. Issuing a visa through the consulate for various periods (6 months or 10 years) does not differ in price. It's $55 per person, including a child.
When is a visa not required?
As you can see, if you open a long-term entry permit through the Embassy, you need to collect documents almost like for traveling to the USA or So, according to the legislation in force in Mexico, persons who have a valid visa to the United States of America do not need any other piece of paper to enter the territory of the southern neighbor of a great power. And to travel to the beaches of Cancun, you do not need to first fly into the United States, and then enter Mexico. You can make a direct flight even from Moscow, even from any airport in the Old World. You also do not need a visa to Mexico for Russians who have a permanent residence permit in the countries of the European Union, Canada and Japan.
