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Hello from a former Canuck (Hamilton Ont). Glad to help another Canadian eh!
When you get to the border coming back by walking or car you are first checked by a Border Patrol agent. By car he would have the discretion to check the inside or trunk etc while asking where you were etc and if you are bringing back anything. A NO answer will guarantee a visit to a Secondary inspection of the car.
Everybody (especially Tourists) buy something for family. You are allowed to bring back many things....not sure of the $$$ amount but be HONEST and there will be NO problems.
Many yrs back was driving to and from Mexico City and was asked if I brought back anything to declare. I had two bottles of Liquor...1 for me and anther for my dad. We are limited to a total of 40oz back into the states. I had to pour one bottle down the drain. He said that if I had not declared anything they would tear my truck apart....since then even while living here am always asked about anything to declare.
Still have my old Canadian Passport that was cancelled when I became an American citizen.
Have read that we/I can declare Dual Citizenship if I apply for it....what's the scoop on that?
Steve (Former member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry) (WW11)
EDIT: With due respect to Willy702 his info is many decades old.
My info is decades old? Well here's the info from VisitMexico.com which is run by the government of Mexico:
Airports and entry requirements
According to Mexican government regulations, as of March, 2010, all U.S. citizens must show a valid passport, book or card, to enter Mexican territory, by any means of transportation, beyond the border zone (20 kilometers, 13 miles, from the border); no exceptions are made for children. No visa or tourist card is required for stays of less than 72 hours within the border zone.
My fellow Canuck is talking about TJ and NOT about entering Mexico via Texas, Arizona.
Any vehicle entering at TJ from any state other then Calif is always stopped at Secondary Inspection. My part time neighbor has a Wash state plated truck and they stop him every time.....and NO they NEVER ask for your US Passport which would be needed at any Airport into Mexico. I have flown into Mexico City from LAX and also from the TJ Airport many times as I lived in Mexico City with a Mexican wife. She was a senior executive in a large Govmt owned company.
As for the 20 mile/13 km that would apply at the Ariz and Texas Mexican area as they are close to the border.
Here in Baja the FREE ZONE extends down to a few miles south/east of Ensenada which is over 60 miles from the border.....Hell, I'm 29 miles below the border and that is 9 miles south of Rosarito alone....do your math.
They have NOT used that old 72hr tidbit since around the mid 1950's when I visited TJ with my 1st wife and small kids.
Will have to say that it is NOT always best to quote from some book or Internet cite as generally would not be current while first hand visual info will go a long way re accuracy..
Thank you for your tip, Willy. I sure can use that alibi just in case I get questioned by Mexican immigration.
Thank you also, Steve for the lengthy explanation of the "Free Zone." Mexican immigration rules sure is confusing but have a good idea now. I'm more confident now on my first crossing on foot to Mexico with both your input.
Regarding Canadian citizenship, Steve. Canada allows dual or even multiple citizenship. I am both a citizen and passport holder of the Philippines and Canada. And I have a friend who is American, Canadian and Philippine citizen at the same time.
Was it required to renounce your Canadian citizenship before becoming American? I'm just wondering because my friend was originally an American citizen before becoming Canadian and then a Philippine citizen. Canada does not require you to renounce your other citizenship to be a Canadian.
I don't know how you may re-acquire your Canadian citizenship if you're interested to have it back. At the moment, the Federal Government is making changes to the citizenship laws because of some scams that happened in the last few years. Maybe phone Citizenship and Immigration Canada if you want some information.
There are benefits to having a second passport. For example, I use my Philippine passport when traveling Southeast Asia so I can skip paying for the visa when visiting Vietnam or Cambodia, whereas Canadian passport holders have to pay to enter.
If possible, I would also like to acquire a Latin American passport too.
according to this, you were not given a tourist stamp when you entered tijuana, but instead was pointed to the airport where you will get it. what about if i'm crossing tijuana to stay for a week there and not go anywhere else (except some place closeby like rosarito and ensenada) or fly? does that mean i have to go to the airport to get the stamp?
You can pay your MXN$306 at the airport, but there is also a counter right as you cross the pedestrian zone into Tijuana.
Driving your own car requires liability insurance (which is very expensive). If you stay more than about 10 days, the daily rate begins to exceed the cost of buying yearly insurance for 4 Mexican states (Baja, Baja Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa) so you can drive to Mazatlan.
If you are taking taxis in Tijuana then the Taxi Libre is a metered cab where the fares are geared at Mexicans. The prices are dramatically lower than the Yellow cabs that gather around the border (la linea).
The city owned taxis (mostly old station wagons) function like buses. They follow arranged routes, and they pick up people until they have no seats left (including trundle seats in the back. They are threatening to eliminate this transportation mode and it may actually be gone as I write this. Fares are only slightly higher than bus fares. But without someone to help you, these taxis are difficult to learn as they are color coded.
Any info given here on entering TJ at the border that's over TWO yrs old is OBSOLETE as anyone entering today would NOT recognize it as being into TJ considering all of the road mods in TJ and the extensive construction on the US side.
The Marines problem is as a result of the signs and barricades dividing the lanes...mass number of cars and confusion.
I cross back into San Diego at least once a month and things are always changing.
Driving your own car requires liability insurance (which is very expensive). If you stay more than about 10 days, the daily rate begins to exceed the cost of buying yearly insurance for 4 Mexican states (Baja, Baja Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa) so you can drive to Mazatlan. The price of insurance depends on the company, just like in the US. It can be very little, or ore. I paid $140 for six months of liability insurance on a 94' Astrovan.
If you are taking taxis in Tijuana then the Taxi Libre is a metered cab where the fares are geared at Mexicans. The prices are dramatically lower than the Yellow cabs that gather around the border (la linea). I never saw a meter in any of the taxis when I took them.
The city owned taxis (mostly old station wagons) function like buses. They follow arranged routes, and they pick up people until they have no seats left (including trundle seats in the back. They are threatening to eliminate this transportation mode and it may actually be gone as I write this. Fares are only slightly higher than bus fares. But without someone to help you, these taxis are difficult to learn as they are color coded. The city owned taxis, aren't old station wagons, they're mostly Chevy Astrovans, which run forever, and I doubt if they'll ever be eliminated. If I had left my Astro on the street overnight, it would have been stolen, and turned into a taxi.
I concur with MOVED as the Ford 9 pass station wagons have Looonnnnng disappeared. I hated getting into that rear seat because of my leg problems. The current vans are okay and reliable.
Taxi Meters? Only ones I ever saw were when I lived in Mexico City that hardly ever worked right...lets see now...$20 to my hotel from the airport and only $8 back to the airport in a different cab. Told him he was honest and the reply was the meter said $8...gave him a $2 tip for his honesty. My hotel was a short distance away and they will cream you as a tourist at the airport.
Like I said before any info over TWO yrs re TJ will be OBSOLETE......I lived here in Rosarito over 18 yrs now.
My obsolete views re Mexico City are History for many viewers here that have never visited the place..... after all it is a HUGE place with a lot of Background History that anyone going there soon would see the current improvements.
I have visited many places during my Octagon time on this planet and would like to revisit some of them.
Two of them are Japan and North Korea in 1952...could tell you a lot of things about those places that have changed....(another thread).
Not many here are aware of Cabo being a small fishing village at the tip of Baja...could tell you a bit of the place as I've spent time there more then once. Contemplated buying a vacant lot for sale as a boat storage lot. Kicked myself in the rear many times since then as the lot was next door to todays large Pemex gas station.......should I go on?
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