After finishing the drive down the coast we readied ourselves for the Tijuana border crossing. We were expecting Mexican immigration to do a complete shakedown of the car. Images of us stranded at customs while they ripped apart Marlin kept popping into my mind. Instead they asked us to open the trunk, lazily pushed on a couple bags and then shut the trunk. There were no official looking buildings nearby and when asked, “Where do we go now?” the customs officer looked blankly at us then flicked his hand for us to go.
If you didn’t know that permits and visas are required for yourself and your vehicle, you could get screwed when trying to leave Mexico. If you don’t have proper documentation you could end up in a Mexican prison. There are about 40 official US/Mexican border crossings, and only five — Tijuana, Ensenada, Tecate, Mexicali and La Paz — that have the necessary documentation to grant permits for foreign-plated cars.
We knew we needed a permiso de importacion temporal de vehiculos (a temporary vehicle import permit) but did not know where to get it. Luckily, after a few laps around a very disorganized traffic circle, we spotted a sign that looked promising and headed towards it. This brought us to the next sign and the next, eventually leading us to a rather puny immigration building. Travelers looking to cross the border in a foreign car should be aware that at the Tijuana crossing, these signs are small and easy to miss, but it’s imperative that the permit is received before straying too far from the border zone, or “Free Trade Zone,” where no permits are required. Once you leave this zone the permit is necessary.
At immigration, we managed to use a mixture of sign language and really bad Spanish to find the necessary person. Fortunately for us, he was in a jolly mood and spoke fluent English. The documentation that is required to bring your vehicle into Mexico is as follows:
- A tourist card also known as a FMT (you need this before you get the car permit and if you plan to say in Mexico for awhile ask for the full 6 months allocated)
- The original title and/or registration of the vehicle (we made sure both of our names were on it just in case)
- A credit card to pay the $29 dollar importation fee (if you don’t have one you have to make a deposit equal to the amount of the car)
- Passport
- Driver’s License
- Carta Promesa Retorno which states that you will return your car to the country of origin
- Permiso de importacion temporal de vehiculos which states you are bringing your car in for personal use and will not leave it or sell it in Mexico. Make sure that this gets canceled once you leave the country.
- If you want to save a few dollars, make three copies of everything that you can ahead of time, like your passport and car registration. The officials will make two copies of everything and charge an obscene amount for them.
There are two important things to note. The first being that the person whose name is on the car-importation permit must be in the car regardless of who is driving. Should you be stopped without this person the results could be impoundment, a fine, or even jail. The other important thing to consider is purchasing Mexican auto insurance. Even if your insurance company provides coverage in Mexico, it might not be recognized once you cross the border. Sanborn’s Mexican Insurance provides coverage, bail bonds and legal aid should it be required. Those involved in an accident without insurance might be…you guessed it, sent to jail.
We muddled our way through the paperwork and the back and forth between our official and Banjercito (the army bank where you are expected to pay the fees). Once it was all said and done, we received the permit with a huge sticker to post just beside the rearview mirror so everyone will know we are permitted to drive Marlin around Mexico. We thanked the official and on our way out Tom asked if he had any advice about traveling in Mexico, his words were, ” Don’t piss in the street, don’t drive drunk and eat lots of fish.” Right…I think we can handle that.
For more information about driving in Mexico, please check out the information here.
“No Wrong Turns” chronicles Kelsey and her husband’s road trip — in real time — from Canada to the southern tip of South America in their trusty red VW Golf named Marlin.