Question: What Documents Do I Need for Mexico Travel?
Answer: To visit Mexico by land or sea until June 1, 2009, you can use a passport or you can use proof of US citizenship, like an embossed birth certificate, with a government issued photo id (more on those below). Regardless of id choice, you also need a tourist card. (You don't need a passport, but you can -- and probably should -- use a passport instead of the combo of a birth certificate with id.) To return from Mexico by air after the new passport deadline of January 23, 2007, you need a passport, period, and Mexico tourist card.
- Learn about Mexico travel and passport rules for Americans for 2007, 2008 and 2009
- Learn about the documentation you will need to drive into Mexico in a car
Identification Acceptable for Crossing US/Mexico Borders by Land
You will need a combination of proof of US citizenship, like a birth certificate, *and* driver's license or other state-issued photo id, or a passport only, to visit or return from Mexico by land until June 1, 2009 (when you will need a passport or PASS card). If using a birth certificate as identification, you should have the original, with an embossed state seal.
- Do I need a passport to visit Mexico in 2008?
You need a passport to return to the US from Mexico by air after the passport deadline of January 23, 2007. If traveling to Mexico over land, you don't need a passport until June 1, 2009 (or you can use a cheaper PASS card). That passport deadline will supposedly not be changed again -- get a passport now, regardless, unless you want to apply for the PASS card (and you can apply for a PASS passport card beginning February 1, 2008).
- What's up with the new PASS passport substitute? Read the news.
- Passport Deadline Legislation History
- Learn how to expedite a passport application
Get a Mexico Tourist Card
A Mexico tourist card, also called an FMT, is a government form declaring that you have stated the purpose of your visit to Mexico to be tourism, and which must be carried while you are visitng Mexico. Although more than one kind of Mexico visa exists, this is a simple declaration of your intention to vacation in Mexico for not more than 180 days.If you are driving to Mexico, you can get a tourist card at or near the border. If you are flying to Mexico, you will get a tourist card on the plane.
Where Will I Need to Show My Documents in Mexico?
Whenever you cross the Mexico border, you will need to show your travel documents.- If you are flying into Mexico, you will need to show your travel documents to Mexico customs agents before you leave the airport. You may have to show your travel documents again before picking up your luggage. When you leave Mexico by plane, you will need to show your travel documents before you pass through security and before you board the plane.
- If you are driving into Mexico, you will need to show your identification before you cross the border. You will get a tourist card at or very close to the border. If you are driving out of Mexico, you will need to show all your travel documentation before you can cross back into the US.
Keep Track of Your ID and Tourist Card
You will need to turn your tourist card in when you leave Mexico, and you will need ID at different points during your Mexico visit -- when cashing traveler's checks or using a credit card, for instance.Keep your id and your tourist card together -- try keeping both in a passport holder.
Return to CurrentPassport Rules and Changes | Return to Mexico Travel
More Student Travel Q&A