I recently received a question about canceling an FM3, or at least not renewing it. My instant response in my head was: well you have to turn it in to the immigration authority and they will tell you what to do. But that leaves a lot of uncertainty and I couldn´t remember exactly where that bit of knowledge came from so I looked it up in the migratory manual and the corresponding laws and regulations. I couldn´t find anything about relinquishing your FM3 to immigration. Now I remember specifically being in the immigration office at the front desk and watching someone having this conversation with the officer about turning in their document and what would happen but I still really can´t use “Because the immigration agent said so” as a valid proof. I was about to send the man who asked the question a nice note saying, “I can´t find anything specific that says this, but here is what I would do…”, when I had a thought about where it might say what to do with an FM3 when you are done with it: on the FM3.

On the second page of an old FM3 booklet it specifically says:

“At the termination of the circumstances for which residency in the country of the owner was authorized, he/she should abandon the country within 30 days, relinquishing this document at the migration office where he/she exits (the country).”

So, that would mean that if someone no longer wants to maintain an FM3 in Mexico they would need to exit the country within 30 days of its expiration date and turn it in to the immigration office in the airport or the border crossing when they leave.

Last week, I actually had to deal with this situation with a friend. Here is what happened:

A friend showed up in the country last week whose FM3 was more than 60 days expired. He had been dealing with the Mexican bureaucracy for the last six or seven years and was tired of all the hassle and he no longer needed a vehicle, so he wasn’t really interested anymore in renewing his FM3.

At the Cancun airport he was detained by immigration officials and questioned, finally being asked to take his FM3 to the immigration office in Playa del Carmen to get the problem sorted out. A few days after he arrived he made the trip to immigration and they explained what he needed to do, after a little bit of hassle by the guard at the front desk.

Apparently, the Immigration Institute doesn’t have any procedure for receiving expired FM3’s, so they asked him to apply for a “regularization” of his migratory status, which basically would have renewed his FM3. Once we submitted the paperwork for the regularization, he was then told that he needed to cancel the renewal procedure and present a copy of his departing flight itinerary.

At no point during this fiasco was a fine mentioned, though I, knowing the regulations, was sure that some sort of fine would be owed. We submitted the paperwork for the cancelation of the renewal and then were told that we could pick up the letter asking him to leave the country on Friday afternoon.

At 5:00pm on Friday, we had the letter in our hands asking the friend to present himself at the immigration office of the Cancun Airport that Saturday to finalize the paperwork for the $1795.00 peso fine for non-renewal based on articles X,Y and Z of the “Ley General de Población”. I was sort of taken aback by this letter, as well as confused because I was rather sure that payments of fines, or any other government payment made at the bank, could only be performed during business hours, Monday through Friday.

With the half-expectation that he was going to be turned back at the airport, my friend departed Playa del Carmen the next day for the airport.

A few minutes before his flight was scheduled to board, the friend called me, I was sure as I answered the phone that I was going to have to go pick him up from immigration jail or at least find him a ride back from the airport.

Quite to the contrary, he was calling to tell me of his good luck: The immigration officers at the airport we somewhat confused by the letter as well, as they knew that fines could not be paid at any banks in Mexico on Saturdays; therefore, they were given the choice between letting this nice old man miss his flight and wait until Monday to go to a bank and pay the fine or let him get away with disobeying immigration law.

They chose the latter.

The manner in which they did so surprised me: My friend was made to sign a statement claiming that he was leaving the country in a state of destitution. He signed the letter and was allowed to go without paying anything.

I am not sure if this will happen to everyone that comes into Mexico with an expired FM3, so I still recommend to everyone doesn’t want their FM3 anymore to turn it in to the airport when they leave the country or deliver it to the nearest Mexican Consulate or Embassy in their place of residence.

Today, November 30^th, 2011, will be marked as a historic date in the legal and social life of Quintana Roo, as though almost unnoticed and barely mentioned in the media, were held the first two marriages between same sex persons and more interesting is that these marriages were made without making any changes to existing legislation in the State. Here is a brief analysis of this interesting event.

The marriage rules and the management of vital records is a local faculty, so that each State’s Office has its own civil code and it’s own vital records. The Federal District (Mexico City), although not a state, by constitutional provision allows it’s legislature to regulate civil matters and operate it’s own vital records office. Based on these ideas is that Mexico City was undertaken in 2010 to reform its civil code language that would speak more of “people” rather than “men” and “women”, were also made some adjustments to the Civil Registry certificates and in general all the ground was prepared to initiate such unions in a harmonious and consistent way, through a process that required time, discussions and a lot of study for implementation.

Quintana Roo was in a different situation, for years, there have been voices that rising up to ask to allow same-sex-marriages in this state, not only for the respect and recognition of the civil liberties of people equally, but also must be said, for the economic flow that these unions can bring to the state, considering the natural tourism vocation of Quintana Roo.

The Civil Code of Quintana Roo is one of the most recent of the country, dating from 1980. When developed, the local congressmen tried to integrate some new ideas and trends that existed at that time; however, the work was not entirely harmonious, the legislature on the one hand tried to be innovative and on the other, copied literally, a large number of articles of the Federal Civil Code in force in those years, so that this legislative technique favored same gender marriages. Thus, the local code contains requirements that the man must comply with and on the other side, requirements that must meet the woman must comply with for marriage, but nowhere states that the marriage has to be between a man and a woman.

So why have there never been same sex marriages before? Perhaps because no one tried before or those who tried were met with refusal by the authorities. Thus a group of people formed by two same-sex couples wishing to marry each other, lawyers, activists and pro gay and lesbian organizations took on the endeavor of enacting the first record of a marriage between two persons of the same sex and held by an authority of Quintana Roo.

How did they do it? Apparently the couple completed the application process for their marriage in compliance with all requirements of law, although their application was rejected or not even accepted at least twice. Then they tried again in the municipality of Lázaro Cárdenas, invoking the legal principle that states “the governed can do anything that is not prohibited” in accordance with article 1st of the Mexican Constitution which prohibits discrimination against people because of their gender and their preferences, in addition to the penalties imposed by the local criminal law for those who commit acts of discrimination. Obviously all these rules were already there, just needed someone to put them together, make use of them and find an authority with a legal criterion broad enough to understand, accept and process a request of this type.

For the relevance of this theme, the celebration of these marriages was hardly announced and somewhat surprising, we have to remember that Quintana Roo is an entity where legislators recently decided that anyone who commits abortion should be punished and treated like a murderer, making it difficult to believe that legislators and authorities with this type of criterion will so easily accept marriages between same sex persons. The truth is that the first two records are there and a road on this subject has been started to be built, but there is still a long way to go. It will be interesting reactions and statements of authorities, public characters and social groups in the next few days on this topic. For now, congratulations to the new spouses and let’s hope that the discussions to come flow in an environment of respect, tolerance and solid and intelligent arguments.

Official documents are usually valid only in the country in which they were issued, because other countries don´t have any reliable way of verifying that the issuing authority is legitimate. The major exception to this rule is the passport, which is issued following international guidelines and is therefore recognized internationally.

In order to facilitate international interaction, the Hague Convention on International Law in 1961 created a system which allows countries to authenticate a document for use on foreign soil. It is the “Apostille”, which comes from the French word for note, and it is nothing more than an added note to your official document certifying the authenticity of the issuing authority.

It is important to consider that the apostille doesn´t actually authenticate the document itself, it just authenticates the issuing authority´s stamp, seal, signature, etc. If you are apostilling a birth certificate, the apostille doesn´t authenticate the certificate, it authenticates the Department of Human Record´s seal; if you get college transcripts apostilled, you aren´t authenticating the transcripts, you are authenticating that they were issued by the school; if you apostille a notarized power of attorney, you aren´t authenticating the power of attorney, just the notary´s signature.

Not all countries in the world are members of the agreement, so in those countries the process is a little different, the issuing country and the receiving country must certify the document, which can take forever. Here is a list of the member nations.

Assuming that the nation who issued the document that you want apostilled is a member of the Convention, you will have to find out what process is needed for the document to be authenticated. The first step is to contact the State Department, Department of the Exterior, Foreign & Commonwealth Office or the corresponding authority for the issuing nation. Usually I go to the country´s website and perform a search for “Apostille”, with a little digging I have always been able to find the proper authority. For you Americans, I will make it easy for you: you should go to the state-level Secretary of State for most apostilles.

It is important to read the requirements for the apostille according to the country that issues it: I got a birth certificate apostilled a couple of years ago, the State that issued it required that it be a new birth certificate of a certain type, so I had to first write a letter to the dept. of public records explaining what type of birth certificate I needed and then later had to send the certificate to the Department of State for apostille.

On September 27th, 2011, by means of a bulletin, the Ministry of the Interior informed that proposals and concerns for consideration before the elaboration of the project of the regulations for the recently approved Immigration Law, where formally solicited. The same bulletin states that the proposals for the regulations where accepted until September 19th, 2011. The truth is that many organizations related to the immigration theme were never consulted, such as the case of the Task Force on Immigration Law and Policy, a group of more than 10 organizations dealing with the topic.

At the end of October of 2011 many major news services published a Notimex interview with the director of the National Immigration Institute’s Center for Migratory Studies, Ernesto Rodriguez, stating that at the end of November the regulations of the new Migration Law should be ready. As of the day of this day, there has been no publication and the Immigration Institute’s personnel don’t appear to know anything about the subject.

The Federal Government announced with much fanfare the new era in immigration policy and the virtues of the new law, but shouldn’t its manner of showing it’s compromise have been doing it’s job and publishing the regulations months ago, instead of waiting until the end of the period given by the law? The law that structures the organization of the Federal Public Administration and the Constitution directly hold the Minister of the Interior and the head of the Federal Executive Branch, the President of the Republic, responsible. These authorities could be compelled to comply with the law; however, forced compliance through legal means would, in a country who’s laws give more importance to formality than substance, be extremely impractical.

Lets hope that the Federal Government will soon announce something on the subject, otherwise, this author invites society to raise it’s voice to compel the government to comply with the decree published on May 25th, 2011.

In answer to the criticism about the lack of daycare regulation, the State of Quintana Roo published the Law for the Provision of Daycare Services in December of 2009, the same year as the ABC fire. The federal government’s response to the problem, the “Ley General De Prestación De Servicios Para La Atención, Cuidado Y Desarrollo Integral Infantil” or General Law for the Provision of Services of Attention, Care and Whole Childhood Development was published on October 24th of 2011 and regulates the daycare system on a grander scale. Both of these laws ensure that daycare facilities are properly equipped, staffed by qualified care providers and are regularly inspected in order to ensure quality care and the safety of the enrolled children. Like any other law, the Childcare acts specify requirements for use, obligations of the involved parties, and sanctions for non-compliance with the rules. The federal law, as mentioned, deals with a broader scope of issues and delegates some of the more specific details to the state and municipal authorities.

The facilities themselves must meet a strict list of requirements, such as all public utilities, hot and cold water, proper bathroom facilities for both sexes, water storage, fire retardant building materials, emergency exits, proper security and enough space for recreational, cultural and exercise activities. Childcare personnel in this state must have regular medical check-ups and be free of contagious diseases or mental defects. The federal law also specifies the child to caregiver ration and training that the caregivers must have. The state law specifies that during the hours when the daycare is functioning, no one be allowed inside the facilities except registered daycare employees.

Hopefully, these changes in the regulation and control of the childcare facilities will provide a safe and secure environment for the growth and development of Mexico’s children and will help avoid future tragedies like the one experienced in Sonora.

The tax has been for years the subject of debate, has been material for Supreme Court cases and has even become an important topic for politicians. In recent years the Federal government has let the individual States retain part of the funds collected from the tax in exchange for the actual collection of the money, and in 2008 the Federal government announced a plan to phase out its participation in the tax all together by 2012.

On January 1st, 2012, the Federal law that created this tax will cease to exist and each State in the federation will have the option to continue collecting the tax independently, or abolish the tax as well. Many states, Quintana Roo and Yucatan included, have decided to abolish the tax as of 2012, mostly because of political pressure from the voters. On the other hand, Mexico City (the Federal District) has decided to maintain the tenencia, being that they have come to rely on the income from the tax to pay for public works.

This means that the cost of owning a vehicle will be drastically reduced in some states and therefore some people who have previously decided not to drive because of the high cost of the vehicle tax may now opt to drive. If you are interested in finding out if the state where you live is going to charge tenencia in 2012, you can check with the local tax office and often the information can be found online at the state tax authority’s website.

What is “El Buen Fin”?

The idea of “El Buen Fin” was created as a private initiative to enforce the economic activity in Mexico during a long weekend in November of each year. The initiative was presented through a program created by some of the most important media networks of Mexico, in a “reality show” style in 2010 that prompted Mexican society to present their social projects. This program is called “Iniciativa México (Mexico Initiative)” and it was so successful that by 2011 it would be repeated.

When is “El Buen Fin”?

“El Buen Fin” was placed in November to give movement and vigor to a time of the year where the Mexican economy is slow and in which Mexicans are accustomed to expect the Christmas campaign season. This idea emulates, in some way, the famous “Black Friday” of the United States, while this day represents the highest trade flow from that country, and it is when traders show their best offers and the biggest discounts throughout the year, who happens to take place in the same week in which occurs the “Thanksgiving Day”, which results in a day of unparalleled offerings for a week of rest and family reunion.

“El Buen Fin” falls on the weekend before Revolution Day

In Mexico we do not have Thanksgiving Day, but on November 20th, we celebrate the anniversary of our revolution of 1910, which in recent years was officially moved for its commemoration to the third Monday of November of each year, which according to the Federal Labor Law, this is a mandatory day off. El Buen Fin, according to their organizers and the Federal Government, will last four days, i. e. from the 18th to 21st of November. This is the first year that El Buen Fin takes place in Mexico, advertising in the media has been abundant and apparently there are many traders who have joined this project, offering significant discounts on their goods, it should be noted that this program is supported by various business chambers and associations, including the ANTAD, an association that gathers 100 of the major retail chains in Mexico.

“El Buen Fin” is a collaboration between the federal government and private industry

“El Buen Fin” program is not mandatory for anyone; however, some employers and different levels of government have decided to support this program in a different way. For example, the federal government recently announced that they would pay in advance part of the “Aguinaldo (Christmas Bonus)” for federal bureaucrats so that they have cash during this weekend and can “take advantage” of El Buen Fin offers. Some private companies have decided to do the same, however, we have noted the concern of some companies regarding the advanced payment of the Aguinaldo if this would be contrary to law. In fact, the Federal Labor Law on Article 87 refers only to the deadline to pay this benefit, which is the December 20th, of each year, so yes, they can forward the payment of this benefit without any problem.

“El Buen Fin” might be the economic stimulus that Mexico needs

Hopefully El Buen Fin is successful, unfortunately it comes at a time when the Mexican economy, and global, goes through a complicated time, coupled with this, we are starting to hear some offers from some banks encouraging people to spend and purchase products with their credit cards and with monthly payments without interests or with very low interests. It might have been a good idea that part of the program would consist of people paying only with cash or debit card, that is, that people only spend what they have, otherwise, taking into consideration the complicated times we are going trough, El Buen Fin has the danger of becoming the day in which many buyers sold their souls to the banking system.

It should be noted that there are special rules for domestic workers, such as gardeners, maids and nannies working in a private home. Some of the benefits mentioned in this article are not given to domestic workers by law.

LABOR BENEFITS (According to the Mexican Labor Law)

Individual labor contracts can include as many labor benefits as the employer wishes; however, they cannot bestow any fewer benefits than the law allows. Before initiating a labor relationship, it is important to keep these benefits in mind:

• Shift (number of hours in the work day)
• Time off (rest periods during the work day and days off)
• Vacations
• Vacation bonus (a bonus for the worker during their vacation days)
• Year-end bonus (a payment at the end of the year additional to the salary)
• Training

These benefits are obligatory for all employers and cannot be waived or transferred by the employee. All of these benefits are mentioned in and based on the Federal Labor Law.

SHIFT

In accordance with the law, shifts can be designated day shift (during the period between 6:00am and 8:00pm), night shift (during the period between 8:00pm and 6:00am) or mixed. The maximum of hours that can be worked on day shift is 8 hours and for night or mixed shift the maximum is 7 hours. The shift cannot be modified except by mutual agreement and in cases of extreme hazard.

TIME OFF

In continuous shifts a break of at least 30 minutes should be granted with pay. For every 6 days of work the employee should receive at least one day off, preferably Sunday. In the case that the employee works Sunday, he or she has a right to an additional 25% of his pay. In addition, the legally mandated holidays are:

1. January 1st
2. The first Monday in February
3. The third Monday in March
4. May 1st
5. September 16th
6. The third Monday in November
7. December 25th

December 1st is a holiday every sixth year when the President of the Republic takes office, as well as the dates that are stipulated in State or Municipal laws for local election days.

VACATIONS

The minimum vacation period given to a worker is six working days, once they have completed their first year of work and this period will be increased by two days every subsequent year of work, until reaching a maximum of 12 days. Vacation must be granted within the six months following the date in which the employee completed a year of work.

VACATION BONUS

The additional payment of 25% of the wages that correspond to vacation pay must be paid when the employee takes their vacation.

YEAR END BONUS

This is a payment additional to wages that must be made at the latest the 20th of December of each year and must be at least the equivalent of 15 days of wages proportionate to the number days that the employee worked during the year (if the employee only worked 30 days then they receive 30/365 * 15 days wages).

TRAINING

Training is obligatory and must be carried out during working hours and in accordance with certain programs. The law is not clear as to what the minimum training must be.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

In addition to all this, employees have a right to profit sharing, referring to a part of the profit that the employer received during the year and that must be distributed between the workers based on each worker’s wages and days worked.

As well, there are benefits such as seniority and the seniority bonus that each employee receives based on the amount of time that they have worked for the same employer and that must be paid at the moment that the employment relationship is terminated work or upon the death of the employee.

The employer also must, in addition to wages, pay every month into the fund for employee health care and pension (IMSS), every two months into the Federal Government’s fund for employee housing (INFONAVIT) and pay into a separate investment fund for the employee’s retirement(AFORE).