MX Airports Removed from FMM | Update: Air FMM Terminated

For years, all tourists arriving in Mexico have been required to fill out their FMM form to get a tourist card. This helped Mexico track who arrived in the country and where they were. Earlier this year, though, Mexico began to change the requirements around this card. 

Here’s what travelers need to know to make sure they have the right paperwork upon arrival.

Mexico Removes Various Airports from the Tourist Card Requirement

Tourists flying into several airports in Mexico no longer need to fill out tourist cards.

The affected airports are Mexico City: Benito Juarez, Jalisco: Puerto Vallarta, Quintana Roo: Cancun, Baja California Sur: Los Cabos, and Baja California Sur: La Paz.

These are some of the busiest airports in Mexico. Eliminating the card here makes it faster and easier to enter Mexico. It’s important to note that travelers arriving at other airports will still need to fill out the card. They can do this online before they leave to make sure everything is ready when they arrive.

If travelers are arriving at one of these airports but departing from a different one, they will need to have a tourist card to show upon departure. They can fill out the form by hand upon arrival at their airport, since filling it out online is no longer possible. Immigration officials will be able to help them do this.

Travelers who need to obtain a visa in order to visit Mexico will also still need to fill out the tourist card upon arrival. They will follow the same procedure outlined above. Finally, people who do not qualify as visitors to Mexico will need to follow their normal procedures upon arrival to Mexico.

This includes permanent residents, students, people on work visas in Mexico, and others. Most of these travelers know what to do upon arrival and their procedure has not changed.

Travelers Arriving in Cancun No Longer Need the FMM

Cancun is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Its beaches, snorkeling, scuba diving, and nightlife make it a place that many around the world want to visit. Now, visiting Cancun is easier than it ever was before. People who arrive at Cancun’s airport no longer need to complete the tourist card, so their arrivals and departures will be easier.

Without the FMM for Mexico, travelers may experience faster trips through customs and fewer problems trying to access the card electronically. They will be able to get to their hotel faster and enjoy the beaches, pools, fine dining, and more, quicker than ever before.

Mexico City Visitors Do Not Require a Tourist Card

Similarly, travelers to Mexico City won’t have to complete a tourist card anymore. They can enjoy the culture and nightlife without having to deal with so much hassle at the airport. People visit Mexico City for a wide variety of reasons.

Some go to see family, others to experience history, and others because they want to see art and culture. No matter a traveler’s reason for visiting Mexico City, they will find the process easier than ever at this time. As long as they qualify, they no longer need to worry about completing their FMM.

This allows them to spend less time in the airport and more time enjoying everything Mexico City has to offer.

How Many Airports Were Removed?

At this time, five airports no longer require an FMM for entry from many travelers. However, this may be subject to change. The Mexican government has not notified the international community of its intentions regarding these changes. They may choose to expand the program, or they may not.

Travelers can check to see if they need the tourist card by accessing the application. If their arrival airport is listed in the dropdown menu there, they need to complete it. If they are concerned about needing an FMM, they can also check online to see if requirements have changed since the last time they looked.

Why Are Airports Being Removed?

It is unknown exactly why these airports were removed from FMM requirements in Mexico. What is known is that these are some of the most popular international airports in the country. Many people believe the requirement has been changed to facilitate easier travel to Mexico. It makes entry faster and easier for travelers.

Post-pandemic travel to Mexico is high and many believe it may soon exceed previous numbers. With this many people passing through its airports, Mexico wants to make sure they have easy, quick access to the parts of the country they are most excited to see.

Some tourist experts believe that eliminating the FMM for Mexico will make lines as much as 50% shorter as people go through customs and immigration. It might also draw travelers to Mexico. While the tourist card is not hard to fill out, it does take time, especially since each traveler needs their own.

Not having to fill it out might make some people more likely to visit Mexico. If there is literally no paperwork hassle, people might choose it over other countries for their next vacation. There has been some talk online that eliminating the tourist card might somehow facilitate drug trafficking or might even have been done by request of the cartels in Mexico.

However, there is no evidence that this is true. Most traffickers have their tried-and-true ways of getting drugs out of Mexico and using commercial international flights is not not part of that. In addition, the Mexican government has been working to crack down on these cartels, at great risk, sometimes, to the politicians and experts leading the effort.

Giving them this, if it is what they wanted, would not help those efforts and does not seem like something that current Mexican officials would get behind. Travelers may see these topics discussed if they look for information about these changes online. However, these seem to be rumors that are not based on valid information.

They also don’t make sense given what is known of the Mexican government and current ruling policies. Therefore, it seems likely these changes were made specifically to help travelers and make visiting Mexico easier.

Travelers don’t need to be any more worried about safety than they were before this policy was put into place.

Who Still Needs a Tourist Card for Mexico?

At this time, travelers arriving in Mexico in any way outside of the five airports listed above need to fill out the tourist card. As mentioned above, if the arrival location is listed on the dropdown menu on the FMM application, then travelers need to complete it.

If it’s not listed, they do not need to complete it before arrival. They may, however, need to fill it out after they get to Mexico. When this is the case, for people arriving on a formal visa or those leaving out of a different airport, forms are available upon arrival. 

Immigration officials can also answer questions about who needs a tourist card and how to get one if it is needed. Travelers can ask at the airport to get the answers they need.

Tourist Card for Land Arrivals

As of the writing of this article, tourist cards for Mexico are still essential for people arriving via land, rather than by air.  Once again, the best way to check this is to access the application and see if the land crossing is available in the dropdown menu.

If it’s there, the FMM is required for that entry. 

If Mexico makes any more changes to this card, they may simply remove border crossings from this menu. In this case, travelers won’t have to fill it out anymore. However, there’s no information pointing toward what Mexico plans to do in the future. Travelers can stay updated as they plan their trip to see if changes are forthcoming.

Conclusion

Many people traveling to Mexico will be thrilled to find out that their travel is easier than it has been before. Several of the most popular airports no longer require the FMM upon arrival.  This makes travel to Mexico simpler and easier than it has been in the past.