CPTM

 April 20, 2010

Mexico Eases Visa Requirements for Tourists to Mexico

In order to make it easier for international tourists to come to Mexico and to increase tourism, the federal government has launched a new visa policy that will come into effect on May 1, 2010. It has two main provisions:

1. Tourists, business travelers and individuals in transit (traveling through Mexico to another country) of all nationalities who currently require a Mexican visa and are in possession of a visa issued by the United States of America, can enter Mexico at any established border crossing point or port of entry with a passport from their country of origin. They will not need to present a Mexican visa, although Mexican visas continue to be valid documents for entering Mexico. In all cases, the documents presented to the immigration officers must be valid and unexpired. 

2. Tourists, business travelers and individuals in transit of all nationalities who currently require a Mexican visa and who arrive in Mexico on flights from the United States of America and are not covered by the provisions of the preceding paragraph, can enter the country by presenting their valid, unexpired passport and their boarding pass to the immigration officer. The boarding pass must show that the passenger arrived in Mexico on a flight from the United States of America. 

These measures strengthen Mexico’s international competitiveness vis-à-vis other tourist destinations and are part of the strategy of President Felipe Calderón’s administration to confirm tourism as a national priority for Mexico’s economic development.