Tourist Visa?

[StevoDaDevo 0]

Hay guys (and Slagnado),

Heading down to Cabo in 3(!!) weeks and was wondering about tourist visas. Do we really need to get one and where in Tecate can this be done? Cost?

Thanks in advance!

[SteelRain 0]

Hay guys (and Slagnado),

Heading down to Cabo in 3(!!) weeks and was wondering about tourist visas. Do we really need to get one and where in Tecate can this be done? Cost?

Thanks in advance!

You should have one just to be safe.

Cross into Tecate and go straight down the hill about 1/2 of a block on the right hand side there is an Immigration office there. Get the paperwork, fill it out in the office and get directions to the bank (3 blocks away) go pay the fees and get the stamp + receipt. GO back to the office and turn in the stuff from the bank and they give you a Visa. I think it is good for 6 months.

For Cabo it is best to have it just to be safe. If you go into Baja Sur you may be asked to provide it if you are travelling by land (which you are). It takes 45 minutes to get everything completed and costs about $20. Totally worth it, IMHO.

.

Feel free to hit me up if you need anything.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Hay guys (and Slagnado),

Heading down to Cabo in 3(!!) weeks and was wondering about tourist visas. Do we really need to get one and where in Tecate can this be done? Cost?

Thanks in advance!

When do you plan to go to Tecare to pick one up?

Tacos + visa!

[StevoDaDevo 0]

What happens if I forget to get one and am asked for one?

[paulmbowers 236]

My (limited) understanding is that Baja does not need tourist visas.

[Goofy Footer 539]

What happens if I forget to get one and am asked for one?

I've read that guys are sent to Guerro Negro where it can be a half day wasted running back and forth for official stamps/approval/copies.

When I went to Cabo, we walked across at TJ and got out paperwork done. Some tacos and beer made the visit worthwhile.

[StevoDaDevo 0]

What happens if I forget to get one and am asked for one?

I've read that guys are sent to Guerro Negro where it can be a half day wasted running back and forth for official stamps/approval/copies.

When I went to Cabo, we walked across at TJ and got out paperwork done. Some tacos and beer made the visit worthwhile.

Well I can get mine but the other riders aren't local so that wouldn't save any time. I do love street tacos and beer though!

[2Wheels 0]

You're supposed to have a tourist visa if you go more than 25 miles from the border in Mexico. Ensenada is an exception. You can go to Ensenada without a tourist visa even though it's more than 25 miles from the border.

There's an Immigration and Agricultural checkpoint on Federal Highway 1 in Baja California Sur just north of Guerrero Negro. I've never been through there when the Immigration checkpoint is open but the Ag checkpoint has been open most of the times I've been that way. The Ag checkpoint is like the Ag checkpoint between California and Arizona. They just ask you if you're bringing certain kinds of fruits and vegetables and they spray the bottom of your car with insecticide. If you're on a bike, they don't spray the bike.

I've read that if Immigration is open and you don't have a visa, they send you back to Ensenada to get a Tourist Visa. Like I said, it's been closed every time I've been through there so I've never had the opportunity to ask what they do when someone shows up without a visa.

San Ysidro is way faster at processing visas than Tecate. The bank has a window right next to the Immigration Window and the whole process takes about five minutes, but the pedestrian lines coming back are almost always humungous. In Tecate, the process takes an hour or two depending on how long the lines at the bank are, but there's no wait to come back through pedestrian.

When you go to the bank in Tecate, have your fee ready in pesos. There's a law that you have to pay the fee in pesos but the bank can change your dollars and then accept the fee in pesos. One time in Tecate, the cashier told me I had to pay in pesos and she couldn't accept dollars. No, she couldn't change the dollars and then take the fee in pesos. I think she was new on the job. Luckily between me and my wife, we had enough to pay the fee in pesos and didn't have to wait in line again. So just in case you run into someone like her, take a few pesos with you.

[StevoDaDevo 0]

You're supposed to have a tourist visa if you go more than 25 miles from the border in Mexico. Ensenada is an exception. You can go to Ensenada without a tourist visa even though it's more than 25 miles from the border.

There's an Immigration and Agricultural checkpoint on Federal Highway 1 in Baja California Sur just north of Guerrero Negro. I've never been through there when the Immigration checkpoint is open but the Ag checkpoint has been open most of the times I've been that way. The Ag checkpoint is like the Ag checkpoint between California and Arizona. They just ask you if you're bringing certain kinds of fruits and vegetables and they spray the bottom of your car with insecticide. If you're on a bike, they don't spray the bike.

I've read that if Immigration is open and you don't have a visa, they send you back to Ensenada to get a Tourist Visa. Like I said, it's been closed every time I've been through there so I've never had the opportunity to ask what they do when someone shows up without a visa.

San Ysidro is way faster at processing visas than Tecate. The bank has a window right next to the Immigration Window and the whole process takes about five minutes, but the pedestrian lines coming back are almost always humungous. In Tecate, the process takes an hour or two depending on how long the lines at the bank are, but there's no wait to come back through pedestrian.

When you go to the bank in Tecate, have your fee ready in pesos. There's a law that you have to pay the fee in pesos but the bank can change your dollars and then accept the fee in pesos. One time in Tecate, the cashier told me I had to pay in pesos and she couldn't accept dollars. No, she couldn't change the dollars and then take the fee in pesos. I think she was new on the job. Luckily between me and my wife, we had enough to pay the fee in pesos and didn't have to wait in line again. So just in case you run into someone like her, take a few pesos with you.

Thanks for that. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry!

[slagnado 0]

When I went further south on a bike, I happened to already have one from a Cabo trip. Bruce, chime in you go down there every year.

I looked this up at the Mexican Consulate on India Street, there hours are from 7:00 AM-11:OO AM and you must apply in person:

LINK: http://consulmex.sre...to-visit-mexico

TOURIST VISA REQUIREMENTS

1. Application for Mexican Visa (at the end of this page).

2. Passport or valid identity document proving your nationality (original and one copy).

3. If you are not a United States citizen, you must present a US alien permanent resident card (green card) or a U.S. valid visa or stamp from DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and I-94 (if applicable) signed I-797

4. One passport size picture front view white background.

5. Documents proving your economic solvency (banking account statements, three last statments) by means of which justifies receive monthly income by the amount of one thousand three hundred dollars ($ 1300.00).

[Goofy Footer 539]

2wheels and other baja vets, have you ever been asked to show your tourist visa outside the checkpoint at Guerro Negro?

ie, what if you just rode dirt around GN? Are there other checkpoints where one might be asked to present their visa? Might local law enforcement ask for it?

(I'm not trying to evade the law - I'll absolutely have a visa for visiting - I'm more curious to how they enforce it.)

[StevoDaDevo 0]

Adding a poll.

[kato 53]

so I'm guessing I shouldn't worry too much about this "visa" for a trip to Mike's Ranch?

[Bruce 0]

2wheels and other baja vets, have you ever been asked to show your tourist visa outside the checkpoint at Guerro Negro?

ie, what if you just rode dirt around GN? Are there other checkpoints where one might be asked to present their visa? Might local law enforcement ask for it?

(I'm not trying to evade the law - I'll absolutely have a visa for visiting - I'm more curious to how they enforce it.)

I've been to Cabo maybe 10 times on a bike. We got tourist visas the first few times, but no one ever checked (or seemed to know what they were). So, we stopped getting them. Last year, we crossed on the La Paz ferry to the mainland to go to Copper Canyon. We had them that time, but still....no one ever checked.

If you are going to get one, do it at the San Ysidro crossing. The visa window is right next to the bank window. Takes 5 minutes.

[kkug 146]

I got one at the New San Yesidro crossing at thanksgiving. Painless because after i just keep going to Ensenada.

When I passed Baja Sur they did not stop me for immigrationn. Be prepared for a ton of checkpoints thow --painless-- they now serve snackss

Visa is good for 6 months. I would get one just to show a little respect.

[2Wheels 0]

2wheels and other baja vets, have you ever been asked to show your tourist visa outside the checkpoint at Guerro Negro?

ie, what if you just rode dirt around GN? Are there other checkpoints where one might be asked to present their visa? Might local law enforcement ask for it?

(I'm not trying to evade the law - I'll absolutely have a visa for visiting - I'm more curious to how they enforce it.)

The only time I've ever been asked for a tourist visa in Mexico was getting on a commercial flight in Tijuana. If you don't have one, I think they send you to Immigration and you get it right there at the airport. I'm not sure, I already had a visa. The guy must have thought I was gringo-looking and he asked me for my visa. I think he was surprised I had one.

I don't see what's to stop the local police to ask you to for your tourist visa. I don't think they do, but what would you say to them if they did? I'd just show them my visa. When you drive down on Hwy 1, it seems like you go through endless Army checkpoints, but they've never asked me for a tourist visa. As far as I know, the only enforcement is at the airport and at the immigration checkpoint north of Guerrero Negro that never seems to be open.

I've driven to San Quintín and a little beyond lots of times without a visa. You're supposed to have one, but I've never had a problem. My aunt and uncle have had a house near San Quintín for about thirty years and they've never been bothered about visas either.

[Andrewdavis34 0]

I was down near Loreto, then over to the Pacific side camping with my family for almost two weeks in early Jan of this year. We did not bother getting Visas this trip. In fact the office was closed when we rolled by at 9:00 am in the morning southbound. They were open on the way north and did not ask for them . They share a spot on Mex 1 with the agricultural office which sprays the bottom of your car. Both officials were very polite and just chatted with my wife. Fortunately she speaks fluent Spanish. I have made 4-5 trip south of Guerro Negro in the last 3 years and never been asked for a visa.

I think this is a low priority for the Mexican government at this time. They are trying to make travel as painless as possible. If for whatever reason you were to get stopped and required to get your visa. You can buy them there.

[StevoDaDevo 0]

Thanks for all the replies and real life experiences. I think we're going to roll the dice on this one.