Originally posted by drop dead fred
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"A tourist card, also called an FMM ("Forma Migratoria Múltiple," previously referred to as an FMT), is a tourist permit that is required for all foreign citizen travelers to Mexico who will not be engaged in any type of remunerated work. Tourist cards may be valid for up to 180 days and allow the holder to remain in Mexico as a tourist for the allotted time. Be sure to hold on to your tourist card and keep it in a safe place, as you will need to hand it in when you are departing the country. Foreign nationals who will be working in Mexico are required to obtain a work visa from the National Immigration Institute (INM).
Border Zone
In the past, travelers who were remaining within the United States border zone for up to 72 hours did not need a tourist card. (The border zone, comprised of an area roughly 20 km into Mexico from the U.S. border and also included most of Baja California and the Sonora "free zone.") However, now the tourist card is required for all non-Mexican visitors to the country who will remain for fewer than six months.
Tourist Cards
There is a fee of about $23 USD for a tourist card. If you are traveling by air or on a cruise, the fee for your tourist card is included in the cost of your trip, and you will be given the card to fill out. If you are traveling over land you can pick up a tourist card at your point of entry or from a Mexican consulate before your departure. In this case, you will need to make the payment for your tourist card at a bank after your arrival in Mexico.
Mexico's National Immigration Institute (INM) now allows travelers to apply for a tourist card online up to 7 days before entering Mexico. You can fill in the form and, if traveling by land, pay for the tourist card online. If you'll be traveling by air, the fee is included in your airplane ticket, so no need to pay again. Just remember that the tourist card must be stamped by an immigration official when you enter Mexico, otherwise, it is not valid. Apply for a tourist card online on the website of Mexico's National Immigration Institute: online FMM application.
Upon arrival in Mexico, you will present the filled-in tourist card to the immigration official who will stamp it and write in the number of days that you are allowed to stay in the country. The maximum is 180 days or 6 months, but the time actually given is at the discretion of the immigration official (often only 30 to 60 days are granted initially), for longer stays, the tourist card would need to be extended.
You should keep your tourist card in a safe place, for example, tucked into the pages of your passport. Upon leaving the country you must surrender your tourist card to immigration officials. If you do not have your tourist card, or if your tourist card is expired, you may be fined."
If you do not arrive in Mexico by airplane, and you intend to travel beyond the ~35km ‘free zone’, complete the FMM Visitor’s permit at your port of entry to Mexico and pay the fee separately. You’ll need to present this FMM at the inland immigration check-point you’ll pass when you travel beyond the ‘free zone’.
Summary: It says that if you are staying longer than 72 hours OR traveling more than 20 miles from the border, you are required to have a tourist Visa (Like when you fly into cancun and fill out the paper) that will last up to 6 months, and keep it with your Passport. They are ~$20 at border, or can do online, but has to be stamped at the border per this site.
It also appears that they will check you at the "checkpoints" for it, but if you don't pass a checkpoint then the only issue I see, reading the info and laws is that a cop could hassle you if your outside the 20 miles border zone.
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