Did you know that Mexican law requires foreign nationals living in Mexico to register a change of home address with the INM office within 90 days of moving?
It was news to us when we renewed our temporary residency visas in Guadalajara back in June. And despite being physically in an INM office upon learning of the requirement, we were told we needed to schedule a separate appointment to take care of it.
So I jumped right on it and got into line at INM Guadalajara info desk to request another appointment, and was given a date two weeks out.
The friendly folks at the help desk provided no guidance on how the procedure works other than telling me I had to take care of it in person. With two weeks to wait before coming back, I did some research on the topic and asked around to figure out what’s required, and am so glad I did!
The process of changing your address of record with INM is surprisingly labor-intensive. Let’s walk through the steps now so that if you ever need to do this, you get it right the first time.
Step 1 – Schedule the Appointment
At INM Guadalajara, all appointments must be requested in person as there is no way to make them online. I suggest visiting on a weekday afternoon between 1-3 PM to take care of this, as it avoids the hordes that descend on INM each morning to deal with visa issues.
For a bureaucracy that still requires all visitors to mask up before entering for fear of spreading Covid-19, I cannot fathom why INM hasn’t enabled remote scheduling to limit the number of people coming to their offices to complete this basic task. But whatever, don’t use logic just do what they want.
Step 2 – Complete the Forms
Once you have an appointment on the books, the next step is to visit INM’s website to complete the required forms.
1. To get started visit https://www.gob.mx/inm
2. Once the page loads scroll to the section titled “Nuestros servicios.” (Our Services)
3. Under “Trámites de Regulación Migratoria” (Immigration Regulation Procedures) click the “Ir al sitio” (go to website) button, which takes you to: https://www.inm.gob.mx/mpublic/publico/inm-tramites.html
4. Click on the big, red “Tramites Migratorios” button on the left side of the page.
5. On the next page titled “Immigration Procedures” you can translate into six different languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean by clicking on the tiny globe next to the “Language” menu in the upper right corner of the page.
However, note that only page headers can be translated. Because the buttons are images, text within those images will remain in Spanish regardless of the language you’ve chosen.
We’ll proceed now with the Spanglish version.
To continue, scroll down to the second row of options in red titled “Notices About Changes.“
7. To notify INM of a change of address, click on”Notificación de cambio de domicilio.“
8. This loads a new page titled “Notice on Change of Domicile by Temporary and Permanent Residents.”
Below the green “Application” header click on the graphic that says “Solicitud.” It’s actually a stealth button that when clicked loads a form page you need to fill out.
9. The next page reverts back to 100% Spanish. If you do not read Spanish, by using Chrome on your computer you can apply the browser’s English translation.
The next step is to select the type of “Tramite” (procedure) you want to complete.
To change your home address, select “Notificar cambios” in the first field and “Notificacion de cambio de domicilio” in the second field, as shown below.
10. In the next step you’ll need to enter data from your residency visa to confirm your identity. There are two ways to proceed.
Option 1 is to check the box that says “Conozco mi NUE” (I know my NUE) and enter this number from your visa card. This option requires completing an annoying CAPTCHA puzzle, so I’d opt to skip it.
Option 2 is to enter your CURP number (also found on your residency visa). No CAPTCHA puzzle required. Huzzah!
11. Now, enter your first and middle names under “Nombre(s)” and last name under “Apellido”, followed by sex, date of birth (formatted as day/month/year), nationality, and civil status.
Under “Nacionalidad actual,” U.S. citizens choose “Estadounidense”, while Canadian citizens choose “Canadiense.”
For “Estado civil actual” see translations below.
12. Next, enter your country of birth and state/province of birth.
13. Now, you must verify your identity using details from your passport.
14. Finally, INM asks you to provide your new address in Mexico.
In addition to entering your new address, you must provide the old address that INM has on file. Be sure to enter the old address exactly as it was provided previously, i.e. do not leave out any details such as an apartment number.
My husband forgot to include the apartment number of our old address and had to redo the entire form for the INM bureaucrat handling his paperwork. My forms were exactly the same but I had no issues working with a different agent. That’s Mexico for you.
15. Now, add your email address in both fields.
16. The next section titled “En su caso, persona autorizada…” can be skipped, unless you paid a fixer to complete this paperwork.
“Comentarios” is an optional field to provide any other information you think is useful. I’d recommend leaving it blank.
Finally, when all of the required fields have been completed click “Guardar” to generate the form with your data. DO NOT hit “Limpiar” as it will erase everything you’ve entered!
Next, you’ll see a PDF of the form that you will need to print and sign.
Step 3 – Your Letter Requesting the Change
The form you just completed is not sufficient to complete this task. You must also create a letter requesting the address change. To do this, reload:
https://www.inm.gob.mx/mpublic/publico/inm-tramites.html
Repeat steps 4-7 above until you reach the page titled Notificación de Cambio de Domicilio por parte de Residentes Temporales y Permanentes” (Notice on Changes of Domicile by Temporary and Permanent Residents).
Then scroll down to the green header titled “Requistos” (Requirements) and click on it.
This opens a new section on the page where you must choose one of two options. The first green link is for letters requesting a change of address by an adult. (The second green link is for requesting a change of address for a child.)
Click on the first link.
Next you’ll see a popup overlaying the page to enter the Mexican state where you live, your nationality, full name, the date of the address change, and your current and former addresses.
When filling this in, remember that INM requires you to report a change of address within 90 days of moving. And while I’m not advocating that anyone lie on their forms, INM has no practical of verifying the actual date of your move. This entry is on the honor system.
The first address line above is for your OLD address while the second address line is for your NEW one.
To submit the info, complete yet another CAPTCHA puzzle and hit the “Generar” button on the left. This will generate a PDF of the letter. Be sure to print and sign the letter.
Step 4 – Your Appointment to Complete the Change
When your appointment date with INM arrives, here’s a checklist of what to bring with you:
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- Original Passport
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- Copy of Passport information page
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- Original Residency Visa card
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- Copy of Residency Visa card with images of the front and back on the same page
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- Print out of the 3-page form you completed in Step 2
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- Print out of the letter you completed in Step 3
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- Mask (required to get in the door of Guadalajara INM in Summer 2023)
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- OPTIONAL: CFE (electric) or Siapa (water) bill. There’s a chance the INM will ask for some proof of your new address, so have one if these handy just in case. The bill does not have to be in your name! And it’s best to have a recent bill so that you don’t inadvertently suggest you’ve lived in the new location for more than 90 days.
What happens if you don’t do it?
If you blow off the change of address requirement (I won’t lie — it crossed my mind), INM may fine you the equivalent of several hundred US dollars.
You can also be fined if you miss the 90-day window to notify them.
We avoided paying a fine — but since these are legal obligations for all foreign residents in Mexico, do whatever you can to comply with them!
What else does INM want to know about you?
In addition to notifying immigration of a change of address, you are also legally required to let them know within 90 days if any of these other situations change for you as a foreign immigrant:
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- Name change
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- Job change
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- Marital status change
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- Nationality change
If you need to do any of these, select from the options displayed above under Step 2, #7 to access the required forms. Like a change of address, I assume those updates would also require an in-person appointment to complete, at least in Jalisco.
Go forth and prosper in your paper pushing!