We will have a session about these procedures during orientation. Please note it is your responsibility as a student to attend or ask for guidance in case you do not go to the session.

Not attending is not an excuse for not taking the procedure seriously or not starting it on time.

VISAS
All international students must have a student visa. There are two ways in which you can obtain it:

1. Applying for it in your home country at a Mexican embassy or consulate.
2. Upon arrival to Mexico, exchanging an FMM for a student visa.

If your stay at UDEM is for a year and you decide to apply for the student visa in your home country, it will be extremely important that you request and notify them that your visa must be granted for 365 days. The acceptance letter from UDEM will confirm this information. If you do not explicitly request this, your visa will be granted for 180 days.

No matter if you applied for the student visa in your home country or not, in your flight to Mexico you will receive a Multiple Migration Form (FMM Forma Migratoria Múltiple), which you must complete and present to the migration officer in the airport. You must keep this form because you will need it to start a procedure. It is very important that both your FMM and your passport are stamped by the migration officer. It they do not have the stamp you will be penalized later on.

All exchange students (no matter if you have the student visa or not) must start a migration procedure within 30 days of your arrival to Mexico. This procedure is done with your passport, FMM and other requirements we will explain during orientation session. If you do not start the procedure within 30 days, you will receive a fine of $1,200 MXP for each month of delay:

• If you already have your student visa, you must register your visa within 30 days of your arrival to Mexico, counting as day one the day you arrived.
• If you do not have the student visa, you must change your FMM for a student visa and register it within 30 days of your arrival to Mexico, counting as day one the day you arrived.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

May I start the procedure as late as I want?
No. Once you enter the country, you will only have 30 days to start the procedure. Being late means getting a fine even if you only delay for one day.

How will they know if I am late?
The immigration officers will stamp your FMM upon arrival. This stamp will state the exact day you entered the country. It is from that date that you should count the 30 days you have to start the procedure. It is very important that you obtain this stamp because missing it will not help to start the procedure late, it will just help you earn a second fine; please make sure to get the stamp upon arrival.

What happens if I do not start my procedure and at the end of the semester I return home?
Many things could happen, the most important one being that you will not receive your final transcript.

If I already have a student visa, should I bring with me some of the documents I used to obtain it?
No, unless you obtained your visa within the same month you travel. If so, please bring your proof of economic solvency with you. One of the things that you will need to render is a proof of economic solvency. The easiest thing to do is to bring a credit card (or a debit card) and then print a bank statement from internet (that has the bank logo, your name, recent date, and the equivalent to at least 5,000 MXP). What the immigration office wants to see is that you actually have enough money to support yourself without working during your sojourn.

The immigration office will NOT accept a simple letter written to you by your bank or your parents as a proof of economic solvency. If you bring this sort of letter you will need to translate it to Spanish by an expert and then obtain the apostille (La Haya stamp) which can only be obtained by the State Department office located in the region you live in.

Will it be easy for me to get all the documents I need in order to start to procedure?
Yes. All documents can be obtained once you have settled down in Monterrey. Besides the proof of economic solvency, you will be required to deliver a proof of residence (lease contract, utility bill, and identification from the owner), a certificate of enrollment (which can be obtained at the registrar¿s office), photographs (with very specific requirements).

Upon arrival we will suggest a place to take them because if they don¿t comply with the requirements they will be rejected. You must also cover the fees asked by the immigration office, and fill out some special forms.

Will someone help me during this process?
Yes. The International Office will always be there to explain you things you do not clearly understand. Even more, the International Office offers students the service of filling out the paperwork and going to the immigration office as many times as required for your procedure to be over for a $450 MXP fee ($36 USD approx). During orientation days we will have a session about these procedures and we will explain the process as well as all requirements.

How long will the procedure take?
Once your file includes all the necessary documents, and all the requirements are fulfilled, the process will take from 4 to 6 weeks, regardless if you are doing the registration or changing your status from a tourist visa to a student visa. Please take into account that this period starts counting from the moment you deliver all documents as requested; complying with all the requirements.

How much will the procedure cost?
The current costs (they may vary without notification) are:
If you do not obtained the student visa in your home country, the cost for obtaining the student visa is $1,160 MXP.

If you arrive with the student visa already the registration will cost $669 MXP.
These costs DO NOT include the $450 MXP fee if you do the procedure through the International Office.

What will happen if the consulate grants my visa for one semester and I am staying for a year?
Once in Mexico, we will not be able to change the period for which your visa was approved. You will have to renew your visa or exit the country and come back with a new FMM, which you will have to change to new student visa.

What happens if I am planning to stay in Mexico longer than my visa is valid?
Your visa will be authorized ONLY to study at UDEM. When your studies are done, you can not engage in any other activity with that visa. If you are planning to stay in Mexico for more than 30 days after your studies are finished, you will have to exit the country and obtain a tourist visa on your way back. We will explain how to do this later on.

Will I be able to travel out of Mexico with my student visa?
Yes, once your visa is registered you are free to travel out of the country as you please. However, while the process is in progress, you are not allowed to travel out of the country; you can only travel within Mexico. Please do not make plans to travel until your procedure is concluded.

Will I be able to work during my exchange?
No. According to immigration laws, a person can only have one migratory status; in this case you can only be a student and not a worker. However, you can register in an internship, which in some cases can offer the student a small compensation.


If you have any doubts regarding this procedure, please contact us at andrea.garza@udem.edu.mx, we will make sure to answer your questions.