Today was the day. Appointment at the Méxican Consulate – 11:00 am. My application for residency was completed. I had 12 months worth of statements from my retirement accounts. I had an apostilled copy of the deed for my house in Seattle, as well as a copy of the deed for my apartment in Mazatlán and the associated fideicomiso. Copy of my passport plus a passport photo – check. Cash to pay the processing fee, yes. Started to leave the house and realized that I also needed my passport! ¡Dios Mio!
I hate traffic in Seattle, and parking on Capital Hill (new location for the Méxican Consulate) is expensive and hard to come by, so I drove to a park and ride and did the bus shuffle. Only one transfer so it wasn’t too bad. Arrived 20 minutes early, but they buzzed me in and didn’t make me wait outside in the cold and rain (this is Seattle). Forty minutes later I was called to desk #6 where I started the process.
Asked and answered all the questions. Why do I want residency? [retirement]. Where will I live? [my apartment]. Handed over all the paperwork when asked. She refused to consider my home in Seattle as a retirement asset though – kept telling me that it had to be worth $5,000,000 dollars. No, I don’t think so – that would be property in México that may need to be that much – in PESOS, for permanent residency requirements. But I kept my mouth shut and took the temporary residency she offered. I’ve learned that it doesn’t pay to argue with people who have control over major events in your life. Paid my fee and then was told to wait up to 30 minutes for someone in México to give the final approval.
Forty-Five minutes later was called back up for photographs and fingerprinting. The visa stamp in my passport is going to be ready to pick up next Tuesday between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm!!! She also made me pick a date to return to Mazatlán, so I’ll be home on 4 February! Booked the flight when I got home, so now I just have to scramble to pack up all my kitchen wares and arrange transportation to the airport.
Big sigh of relief today, as without residency, all plans for retiring permanently in México would fall through. I had a mini-celebration at the Indian Buffet!
