Living & Lifestyle
March 29, 2022

Mexico Newsletter —
April 2022

This month: Clock change and Easter, New guide to driving in Mexico, Springtime climates, Key points about residency renewals, lifestyle & leisure updates...

by Matthew Harrup
Mexico Letter Box

Welcome to your Mexperience Mexico Newsletter for April 2022, sharing the latest updates as well as ideas, inspiration, and connections to help you discover the abundance of lifestyle and leisure options available for you in Mexico.

April highlights in Mexico

Spring is breaking out across Mexico. Daylight hours, though never that short, are lengthening after the spring equinox, and the Jacaranda trees are in full bloom, expressing themselves with elegant canopies that fall and carpet the parks, roadsides, lanes, and gardens where they dwell in attractive hues of violet.

Part-time winter residents are preparing their return home. Here in Mexico, visitors and full-time residents are making plans for travel and leisure as one of the big holiday periods of the year approaches.

Outside, gardeners redouble their efforts to alleviate parched soils which, although tempered by occasional rain storms, remain insufficiently refreshened during this, the peak phase of the dry season and look with anticipation to May and June, when the seasonal rains will return.

Driving and road trips in Mexico

Driving your own vehicle across Mexico’s extensive and well-developed road network provides an ideal way for you to explore these diverse lands.

  • Free eBook: We’ve just added a new free eBook title to our collection of Mexico eBooks: a comprehensive guide to Driving & Road Trips in Mexico that helps you to plan and prepare for safe and enjoyable driving and road trips in Mexico.
  • Catch-up with the latest updates about Driving in Mexico
  • Learn about being properly insured when you drive in Mexico to cover liabilities, breakdowns, and medical incidents while you’re on the road.

Clock moves and Easter

Easter Sunday falls ‘late’ this year —April 17th— a couple of weeks after the clocks are moved forward by one hour across most of Mexico.

  • Some regions in the north of the country moved their clocks forward on March 13th; but most of Mexico moves its clocks forward on Sunday, April 3rd.
  • Easter is one of Mexico’s ‘big three’ holidays, alongside Christmas and Día de los Muertos; it’s a period when families travel to take time away together, with coastal resorts and popular colonial cities being traditionally busy, and giving Mexico City a break from its usual congestion.

Residency permit renewals

We’ve been getting quite a few emails from readers asking about residency permit renewals.  Our article about renewing your residency card gives a detailed overview of the procedures; here are three key points that most people ask about:

  • You must renew your Residente Temporal permit in the 30-day window before the card’s expiry date
  • After four consecutive years of holding temporary residency status, you may apply to convert that to permanent residency
  • You do not normally have to demonstrate economic solvency when you apply for renewal(s); in the unlikely event that you are asked to do so, the immigration office will apply UMA multiples to the calculation, and not multiples based on minimum wage.

Immigration Assistance

When you need assistance with your residency permit application or renewals, regularization procedures, expired permits, or troubleshooting, consider using our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service.

Wind storms

The months which bridge the seasons are often subject to changeable weather, especially wind storms that can appear suddenly, and vanish abruptly.  Some wind storms can be quite gusty, and seasoned homeowners know to keep an eye on structures and trees during these times.  A good home insurance policy can mitigate the financial costs if a gust causes a tree to fall into your neighbor’s property or causes structural damage to your own.

Mexico lifestyle & leisure updates

Browse monthly highlights and updates about living and lifestyle which help you to explore and realize your lifestyle plans, and discover leisure opportunities in Mexico.

Immigration and residency

Applications for Mexican citizenship (naturalization) that were suspended in 2020 have been reopened by Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry, the SRE.  This article about applying for Mexican citizenship shares an overview of the process.

Immigration Assistance

When you need assistance with your residency permit application or renewals, regularization procedures, expired permits, or troubleshooting, consider using our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service.

Lifestyle planning

Our Mexico Lifestyle Planning section offers local knowledge, insights, inspiration, and ideas to help you consider choices and make your Mexico lifestyle plans.

Mexico home life

Our Mexico Home Life section shares local knowledge, ideas, and inspiration to help you discover opportunities and settle-in well to your home living spaces in Mexico.

Insurance coverages

A range of Mexico-related insurance services exist that can mitigate the effect and expense of unforeseen events and mishaps when you’re here

Property and dwelling spaces

Local insights and advice to help you find, settle-in and manage your home and dwelling spaces in Mexico

Your leisure time

Whether you’re visiting Mexico or living here, there’s an abundance of travel and leisure options for you to explore and experience.

Mexico-US land border

Entering Mexico: Mexico does not require visitors to show proof of vaccination to enter the country.  Tourist permits (FMMs) and temporary import permits for vehicles (TIPs) are being issued as normal.

Entering the US from Mexico: The land border restrictions imposed by the US on visitors by land from Mexico, introduced in March 2020 due to Covid-19 have been lifted, but only for visitors who can show an approved vaccination certificate. US Citizens and US legal residents do not need to show this certificate. This article describes the reopening of the Mexico-US land border.

Spanish language study

Learning or improving your Spanish will enhance your experiences in Mexico, if you’re visiting, and especially if you’re living here.

Mexico Assistance Services

Connect to helpful Mexico Assistance Services that enable you to realize your Mexico plans.

IMMIGRATION ASSISTANCE

  • When you need help applying for residency, or help renewing your existing residency permit (or working through a ‘regularization’ procedure after a mishap), consider using our Mexico Immigration Assistance Service, that offers detailed consultancy, personalized advice, and practical help through the process.

INSURANCE COVERAGES

REAL ESTATE ASSISTANCE

LANGUAGE STUDY

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

LIFESTYLE ASSISTANCE

LEISURE ASSISTANCE

MEXICO EBOOKS LIBRARY

  • Our Mexico eBooks Library offers you a collection of carefully composed eBooks with helpful insights and local knowledge about Mexico—all titles are offered as free downloads.

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Matthew Harrup is founder and editor of Mexperience

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