If you've flown into Mexico before, you probably remember the little paper slip — the Forma Migratoria Multiple, or FMM — that you filled in on the plane, got stamped, and then had to guard for your entire trip because you'd need it to leave the country. That era is ending. Since summer 2022, Mexico has been gradually retiring the paper FMM at ports of entry across the country, replacing it with a simple stamp in your passport.
The rollout is uneven by design. Some airports and land crossings still hand out and stamp the paper form; others have switched entirely to passport stamps. Which one you get depends purely on where you enter or exit. Either way, the substance of Mexico's immigration rules hasn't budged: visitors from visa-exempt countries still get up to 180 days, decided by the officer at the border, and anyone arriving on a residency visa still has 30 days to exchange it for a residency card.
For visitors, the practical shift is simple. If you're handed a paper FMM, complete it and keep your copy safe — you'll still need it to show when departing. If there's no paper form, the officer stamps your passport instead and writes in the number of days you've been granted. That stamped page becomes your proof of legal status, so don't lose track of it, and be ready to show it at the exit border check.
Arriving with a residency visa sticker? The same logic applies. If you get a paper FMM, hang onto it for your exchange appointment at the immigration office. If not, the officer will stamp your passport with the word "Canje" — the marker that triggers the visa-to-card exchange process — and that stamped page takes the paper form's place.
Foreign residents living in Mexico should also note the change on the way out. Residents have always had to register their departure at the immigration kiosk before leaving the country. At many ports, that registration is now done via a passport stamp rather than a paper FMM, so follow the guidance of the officer on duty at the kiosk.
Why does this matter for holidaymakers? Mostly it's one less piece of paper to babysit, and no more last-minute airport panic over a missing stub. But the transition period creates its own small trap: travellers who assume the old rules apply everywhere can get confused when one airport stamps a form and the next doesn't. The safe play is to take whatever you're given at the border — paper or stamp — treat it as your exit document, and keep that passport page clean and legible. If you applied for an FMM online ahead of time, keep following the online procedure for now, including printing your copy, until the system is fully digital.
The takeaway for anyone heading to Mexico in the coming months: nothing about how long you can stay or what you qualify for has changed, just the paperwork — and eventually, there'll be none of it.
