Get unlimited, non-expiring access to an ever-increasing library of resources as well as a vibrant community of members to help you reach your Spanish goals. Note- If you already paid for annual access ($100) via Buy Me a Coffee, contact me at feedback@qroo.us to receive a pay link for only $50 USD. Pay via Stripe If you prefer to pay via PayPal, write me at feedback@qroo.us The post Get a Lifetime Membership to the Qroo Spanish Crew! appeared first on Qroo Paul & Linda ..read more

In this video, I share information about a couple of useful traffic regulations in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo that might just help you avoid receiving a traffic ticket there. The post Driving in Cancun or the Riviera Maya? Download This! appeared first on Two Expats Mexico ..read more

In an effort to combat auto theft, the Mexican government has created a free phone app that allows people to check if a particular vehicle is reported stolen or not. The app is called ChecAuto MX and it is available for Android and iOS. You may not be able to download this app outside of Mexico. The two easiest ways to check a vehicle are by license plate number (placa) or the vehicle identification number (número de serie/NIV). It is not likely that you’ll have the other two numbers handy (folio or NCI). The app has a photo feature that ..read more

Today’s post for the folks who have been granted either temporary or permanent residency at a Mexican Consulate and are planning on going to Mexico to complete part two of the process. Some people think that it will be as easy as just showing up at immigration in Mexico, showing the agent your Mexican visa in your passport and then posing for some photos. It won’t be that easy. There will be procedures you will have to follow and additional forms (all in Spanish) that you will have to complete. My recommendation is to hire someone to assist you with the second part of the process. If you are g ..read more

Readers often ask me how they can permanently import their foreign plated vehicle to Mexico. When I say “permanently import”, I’m talking about getting Mexican license plates for it. For the purpose of this article, I’ll be referring to the process as nationalizing the vehicle. Hopefully, that will help to avoid any confusion between temporarily and permanently importing the vehicle. There is a lot of confusion when it comes to nationalizing vehicles because the requirements vary depending on geography. To keep this simple, I’m going to break the geographic regions down into two cate ..read more

One of the most common complaints that I hear from tourists to Mexico is how the Mexican car rental companies pressured them to purchase expensive insurance packages that substantially increased the daily rental rate. During the sales pitch, the representative for the car rental company will probably tell you that your existing car insurance back home does not provide any protection for cars rented abroad — a statement that is true in most cases. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to purchase the rental company’s most expensive insurance plan either. The key to saving money while still r ..read more

In today’s article, I’m going to tell you about the presidential decree in Mexico that created an affordable fast track to permanently import vehicles from the U.S. and Canada into 12 Mexican States. In case you were wondering, there are 31 federal states + Mexico city which is also considered a federal entity. Permanently importing a used vehicle, also know as nationalizing it, into Mexico is not the easiest thing to do. The requirements are very strict in terms of the type and age of the vehicle. For example, In most of Mexico, the vehicle will have to be either 8 or 9 years old prior to the ..read more

If you are applying for Mexican residency, the Mexican consulate may require that copies of important documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates to be apostilled. I’m stressing the word may in that last sentence because this requirement seems to differ from one Mexican consulate to the next. The best thing to do is to email the consulate where you plan to apply and ask them what documentation they require. So, let’s say you’ve done all that and now you need to obtain an apostille for, let’s say, your marriage license issued in Florida. In Florida, the Secreta ..read more

SAT is Mexico’s version of the IRS and it is short for el Servicio de Administración Tributaria. In years past, most expats didn’t have to deal with SAT but that all changed this year following some significant changes to Mexico’s fiscal law. One of those changes made it mandatory for “everyone” over the age of 18 to get an RFC. RFC is short for el Registro Federal de Contribuyentes. It is an alphanumeric tax identifier that is similar to a social security number in the States but is used in more fiscal situations in Mexico. I’ll dedicate a future article to explaining RFCs in more detail ..read more

When we first moved to Mexico, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the baggers in grocery stores were senior citizens. At first, I assumed that they were paid employees of the store, but I later learned that they are all unpaid volunteers. The only money they make comes from the tips that they receive from shoppers. Some Background In Mexico, many senior citizens need additional income to make ends meet but it’s not easy for them to find employment. To help alleviate this problem, the Mexican government created a program in 2003 where people over the age of 60 could work as volunteers bagg ..read more