Mexico land departure tax?

I heard something about a god-damned departure tax payable when you leave Mexico by land, or payable at a bank beforehand or something daft like that. I have searched but I cannot find anything definitive about thes. I have got the 180-day tourist card, and I thought all I need to do is turn in that and get an exit stamp in my passport. Can someone please clarify?

You really don't need to do anything at all. Many don't turn in their FMT. It is a good practice and they'll take it but there is no exit stamp or tax. If you have brought a vehicle you'll want to turn in your sticker and get a receipt and keep it.

There is no exit tax, but there is a tourist tax for your FMT, about US$20, that you can pay at a bank. You should do this right away to avoid trouble down the road.

And just why is it such a big deal to pay the "god-damned departure tax" anyway? You are visiting another country and supposedly enjoying what that country has to offer, why should they let you do it for free? Many countries charge a departure tax. How about the $95+ the US government charges in taxes to fly to Mexico?

What one hears+ is not always accurate. The payment for the tourist card - a form of visa fee - covers all fees due the Mexican government for individuals when entering/exiting by land. I don't know much about fees assessed for vehicles, if any. Actually, that per-person entry fee is low, judging by what I've paid in other countries (more than US$100 for entry into Brazil (and the other way around for Brazilians, too). Additional taxes, fees and/or surcharges are assessed by airlines, airports, security and taxing bodies, etc., when making a trip into Mexico by air. The United States government +does not+ charge "$95" in taxes on tickets for flights to Mexico - as asserted in #3.

Surely if this guy's got his "180 day tourist card" he doesn't need to go to a bank or pay any more? No exit stamp required - just leave (as #1 said in the first place).

#5, if he came by land (implied in his question), he does have to pay. The cost of the FMT is included in the price of a plane ticket, but when entering by land or sea, one must pay at a bank. Some, but not all, immigration modules at the border have an adjacent bank window where the FMT can be paid.

Here's my understanding of the fees if arriving by plane:

On the plane, you should be issued with a form called Forma Migratoria Para Turista, Transmigrante, Visitante Personade Negocios o Visitante Consejero – Internacion Aerea (in English: Migratory Form for Foreign Tourist, Transmigrant, Business Visitor or Councilor Visitor – Entrance by Air). Fill it out on the plane before presenting it to immigration on arrival. Immigration will keep the top part of the form and you keep the bottom part with your passport. The fee for the form is usually included in the cost of the airline ticket, so nothing to pay on arrival in Mexico and nothing to pay at a bank. The FMT allows a maximum stay of 180 days and the immigration officer will write in the actual number of days you can stay; it will be between 30 and 180 days depending on your nationality. If you don’t get a form on the plane, ask some questions (or ask your ticket issuer when you buy your ticket).

If you arrive by land, you will get a similar form but you will have to pay the fee at a bank before you depart Mexico.

This is what happens when you leave Mexico and go to Belize...
When you cross the border to Belize, you have to report to a small immigration booth on the Mexican side of the border. They will ask you (in Spanish) for MXP100. If you pay, you keep the FMT which will allow you to re-enter Mexico within the allotted time (30 to 180 days) without paying a new re-entry fee.

You may choose not to pay the MXP100, but you hand over your part of the form and the next time you enter Mexico, you will have to pay a higher fee (it's something like MXP280) for a new FMT. And that fee isn't paid at the border, but at a bank.

So relax, no departure tax. You already paid to get in!

I believe some posters have said the Mex. government is now insisting that the FMT fee be paid before leaving the border area, that is, the 15 or 50 km area near the border. So, when one receives the FMT if it is possible to do so, pay ASAP, don't wait until you go back. Some folks do enter at small centers which do not have a bank anywhere near; others may enter when the banks are closed.

It is not at all a departure tax. It is the fee for the FMT, and allegedly is intended to be used for tourist enhancement purposes. Hee, hee.

$20 is a bargain for entering Mexico. The US charges Mexican applicants for a tourist visa $130 USD just to apply, no refunds if denied. Then they state plainly that possession of a visa does NOT guarantee admittance; that is up to the immigration people at the port of entry. So you can travel hundreds of miles to a consulate., pay $130, buy a plane ticket, and still get turned back at the border.

I agree that the tourist card charge for Canadians and people from the United States is a 'bargain,' compared to the charges other countries apply to visitors. The reason for the tighter controls on tourists from Mexico should be clear to all. Immigration agents in the USA are emplowered as are their brethern agents in other countries - including in Mexico.

Thanks, issue now clarified. The tax I heard about was for those without tourist card or hoping to reenter Mexico.

I agree that countries are free to set whatever visa/entry charges they want to in order to deter visitors; however according to my perhaps naive sense of fair play, an exit charge is below the belt (c.f. Belize). It's not pure evil like the Saudi exit visa, however.

Please clarify!

I came to Mexico across the land border with Guatemala at La Mesilla and Cuauhtemoc. They gave me this form that says $262 pesos, but doesn´t explain it at all.

I plan on staying in Mexico for several days before returning to Guatemala. I have heard I need to pay this fee to a bank before leaving Mexico, only if I stay for more than 7 days. But this border is small and has no banks! So i would have to backtrack to find a bank.

If anyone knows anything, please inform me, becuase I don´t want to get stuck at this small border town.

The form is the FMT (see my previous post). You have to pay the fee at a bank before you depart Mexico; it's not supposed to be paid at the border. The FMT forms that I've had, show a list of banks where the fee can be paid. I don't know what to do if there are no banks.

I'm not sure of the length of time you can stay in Mexico without paying the fee; I've heard 3 days, but I haven't found anything on the internet from an official source. How's your Spanish? Can you ask at the border?

Assuming you pay the fee, and now ready to depart Mexico, there should be no fee for departure. The official might ask for 100 or 200 pesos, but that will be for a double entry stamp.

If you don't intend to return to Mexico, just say "no regressa", hand in the form, and move on.

If you intend to return to Mexico, pay the fee and get the stamp. That will allow you to re-enter Mexico without paying anything.

If you haven't paid the fee, I don't know what will happen. Anybody??

For Americans http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements states that you need an FMT unless you are staying less than 3 days AND you are within the U.S. border zone. So you need an FMT (or get fine on exit) and you need to pay for it at a bank.

John500, you have made a few "crossing from Canada to Mexico and back to Canada" references above; is there a Canada/Mexico border that I'm unaware of?

All of the Mexico borders are riddled with corruption & I'm fed up. At Chetumal, they now charge a greedy $200 pesos for a "multiple entry" stamp. What recourse do you have? Telling them "well it says online that there is no fee for a multiple entry stamp" isn't going to get you very far. Any of the other borders I've crossed through over the past year (Cd Cuauhtemoc, Tenosique, Tapachula) have all told me that a "multiple entry" stamp doesn't even exist, and you must pay $262 each & every time you visit the country.

None of these border facilities can provide me with written rules & regulations--not even in Spanish--for the FMT as it pertains to visiting travelers. Very frustrating.

All that is a thing of the past now that the FMT has been replaced by the FMM which is automatically good for 180 days of multiple entries.

So, two years later.. Do I need to visit a bank before departing or not?

Yes, I think so, if there is no bank at the crossing. Ask, it may be at the immigration building and not be visible to a first timer. I just went through the FM-3 thing last June, and there was a schedule fee in the laws for FMM.