Cancun Becomes the First Mexican City to Get Rid of Mandatory Customs Forms

No one likes waiting in hours-long customs lines at the start of their vacation, but that’s the experience many visitors to Cancun have had. Until last week, that is. As of Aug. 20, 2022, after almost six months of painfully long waits, government officials scrapped mandatory customs forms and tourist cards (Forma Migratoria Múltiple or FMM) at Cancun International Airport after much pleading from tourism operators.

According to comments in the Cancun Sun by Sergio González Rubiera, executive president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies in Quintana Roo, getting rid of customs forms could reduce immigration times to mere minutes instead of hours. “Normal tourists who come on vacation will not have to fill out any form, either printed or electronic, and everyone will be granted a residence permit for 180 days,” said Rubiera.

The end of tourist cards will be a relief to forgetful travelers since losing the paper card can result in a $25 fee and extend your airport wait time even further. Instead, visitors will get a stamp valid for 180 days and will be sent on their way. However, there are some exceptions to the new rule. Travelers from countries that only offer 30-day visas, like Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela, will still need to fill out the arrival forms. Exceptions aside, FMM will only be used for exceptional cases like work visas or student visas, and even then, the paper forms are gone for good.

If the pilot program in Cancun is a success, the new regulations will apply to other Mexican airports like Los Cabos and Guadalajara.