wrong payment, inm mistakes, visa application mexico, temporary resident visa, payment slip, name, correction, devolucion de pago
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I made a mistake with my visa payment in Mexico

Applying for a temporary resident visa for Mexico is easy, believe me, all the paperwork you need to get together and present to the embassy, the consular interview, all a piece of cake. Once you are entering Mexico the hardest part starts.
Although many (American and Canadian) people hire an attorney and pay a lot of money to let the visa being changed into a resident card, actually it is not that difficult at all. The only thing you need is Google translate and a lot of patience and common sense.

Now, having said that, I made a very expensive mistake when I went to pay for my resident card

I ended up paying my application fees twice in order to get my visa processed. Since neither immigration nor the bank emphasized how important it is to do it absolutely right.

I went to the bank near Immigration, and they process a lot of payment slips from the INM so one would think that the employee would tell us about the name, right? After all, they ask you is the name is spelt correctly, so they KNOW how important that name is.

In the Netherlands, you seldom use your birth name. You always use the name you are called in daily life even for official matters, so when she asked me if my name was correct and I saw my given name and surname, I signed the form. How am I to know?
I paid the fees 4148 pesos and went 2 days later back to immigration.

And there they told me my payment slip was not correct, my birth name was missing.

So what to do next?

In order to have your Resident Card processed in time, you simply have to make a new payment, there is no way around it. You can blame others, but in the end, you are the one responsible for handing in the correct paperwork.

If you are within the same day you made the payment, you can return to the bank and they will change the specifications for the payment. This is how I know the bank knows about the importance that the name is equal to the passport, and according to me, they should have typed likewise.  Since I was 2 days later, this could no longer be done.

The Immigration Officer told me I could get a refund, but I needed to file a request. And for that, I needed again: a whole lot of paperwork. 

What paperwork to collect for filing a refund?

  • a copy of your passport bio page
  • a copy of the NUT form given to you AFTER your application for Resident Card is finalized
  • a copy of the wrong booking
  • a copy of the correct booking (Make sure you keep a copy of that copy since you need that to collect your Resident Card)
  • a letter requesting a refund

An example of the letter is given to you by the immigration officer, you have to type it yourself and fill out the blanks: like booking number, bank, the method of payment etc.

On the copy of the incorrect payment slip you write the following:

Bajo protesta de decir verdad, que obra en  mi poder el recibo de pago bancario original,……your complete name as is in your passport, date and signature.

Sign what needs to be signed and return with all the copies to the Immigration office.

Do bring the original wrong payment slip as well, for she will stamp it as being handled.

I am told that I can go back within 15 days for the resolución. I have to ask at  “informacion” about the status of my revolucion de pago.

I keep my fingers crossed!