Use Mexican passport or U.S. passport?

[katygal]

We are moving to the area in February. I'm a U.S. citizen and will be applyng for an FM3 visa. My husband was born in DF and moved to the states some 34 years ago. He is now a U.S. citzen. He recently renewed his Mexican passport because we were closing on our property and we didn't want to set up a bank trust. Notario would not accept his birth certificate as proof of citizenship. We both travelled to MExico and back on our U.S. passports; never gave it a second thought.

Now, I'm wondering which passport he should use when we move down as retirees. If he uses the U.S. passport, he's entering on a tourist visa. But once we are in Mexico, it wouldn't make sense to get a FM3 visa. Yet, if he doesn't, his passport is stamped as a tourist for six months, right? So if he stays longer than six months, how will that affect our travel back to U.S. a couple of times each year? And, if we are paying income tax to Uncle Sam on our retirement income, does he also have to pay income tax to Mexico if he owns property as a Mexican citizen?


It all seemed so simple and now we are really confused. Are we over-thinking this? We would appreciate hearing from anyone with similar circumstances.

[mstevens]

No matter what passport your husband travels on, he does not require a visa* to remain in a country of which he's a citizen.

The same would apply to you if you had a US passport and another one and, for some reason, decided to enter the US on the other passport.

I cannot, for the life of me, think of any valid reason for a Mexican citizen who holds a Mexican passport to enter Mexico using a non-Mexican passport, but it's not really my business. The way one enters the country doesn't affect citizenship, tax liability, etc.

*Mexico doesn't give out visas at border crossings, to be technical about it. They assign a migratory status.

[Michael]

What would your husband gain by using a US passport to enter Mexico?

[Emosh73]

Originally Posted by mstevens

No matter what passport your husband travels on, he does not require a visa* to remain in a country of which he's a citizen.

The same would apply to you if you had a US passport and another one and, for some reason, decided to enter the US on the other passport.

I cannot, for the life of me, think of any valid reason for a Mexican citizen who holds a Mexican passport to enter Mexico using a non-Mexican passport, but it's not really my business. The way one enters the country doesn't affect citizenship, tax liability, etc.

*Mexico doesn't give out visas at border crossings, to be technical about it. They assign a migratory status.

Makes no sense to me as well. My Dad always travels with two passports (British and Belizean) and he uses the British to enter the USA or Europe and when he returns home to Belize he obviously uses the Belize passport.

Oh well