A TIP ON TEMPORARY IMPORT PERMITS (TIPS)
FOR MEXICO BOUND BOATS —
AND THE 'GET OUT OF JAIL CARD'
FOR THOSE WITH TIP PROBLEMS
While nobody is going to bust your chops for not having a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for your boat before you sail into Mexican waters, the Grand Poobah, Neil Shroyer of Marina de Paz, and others in the industry recommend that you get one before crossing the border.
The reasons are simple: it's so easy to get one that there is no reason not to get one before you cross the border. In addition, most marinas in Mexico won't let you in unless you have one, as they are required by law to have a copy of a TIP on file for every boat in their marina.
A Temporary Import Permit for Mexico is perhaps the greatest bargain in the world of sailing. They only cost about $50 and are good for 10 years! In many countries, you pay $50 or much more for a permit that's good for a week. Viva Mexico!
It's possible to get a TIP online at https://banjercito.com.mx/registroVehiculos/. Make sure you have your boat document number as well as your boat's engine serial number(s) handy. However, the website is not the most user-friendly, and it can take a little time — "between 60 and seven days" — for you to get your TIP in the mail.
The Grand Poobah thinks the much better solution is to get one from a Mexican consulate or a Banjercito, in which case the process should take well under an hour.
The only California consulates that issue TIPs are Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Bernardino. You cannot get a TIP from the consulates in Sacramento, San Francisco, or San Diego. You can't even get anybody to answer the phone at the consulate in San Diego.
Important: Make an appointment to getting a TIP at a consulate rather than just showing up. And remember your documentation, engine serial numbers, boat photo, and other paperwork.
For many people, we think the easiest way to get a tip is from the Banjercito at San Ysidro, just across the U.S. border. Here is how Peyton Robinson of C'est La Vie just got his, although in a slightly roundabout way:
GETTING A TIP AT OTAY MESA
"I looked up Banjercito on Google and found a Banjercito across the border from San Ysidro. I live in Chula Vista, so it was an easy trip by tram and walking across. I caught a taxi on the Mexican side of the pedestrian crossing, and for $25 US, the driver agreed to take me to the address, wait for me and drive me back to the pedestrian crossing."
"The Tijuana address for the Banjercito is Av Ramos Milan 1875, Morelos, 22056 Tijuana, BC, MX."
"I got there and the staff said I actually needed to go to the Banjercito at the other border crossing site of Otay Mesa. I was handed a small square of paper with this address on it: Modelo Banjercito Otay,
C. Fray Junipero Serra S/N, Sobre El Blvd. Bellas Artes, Fracc. Garita De Otay, Tijuana BC CP. 22430. Tel: 664-6245515"
"Fortunately, the taxi driver was willing to take me to the other address, but it was another $20 to add-on the trip." (Editor's Note: There is frequent bus service from downtown San Diego directly to the snazzy Otay Mesa border crossing, as it's just yards from the busy Tijuana Airport. The trip takes about 35 minutes).
"At the Otay office, there were three doors next to each other. I went into the center door, and a woman told me that I needed copies of my documents, and to get the copies I had to go to door number 1 on the left. I went to an older man behind door number 1 and said, "Copies?" He took my USCG certificate, my passport, and driver's license, and made copies for me. He charged me a dollar for the "optional" tip."
"I went back to the woman behind door number 2, and she looked through my copies, proclaimed them to be "okay", and sent me to door 3.
"The folks behind this door are official and have uniforms. They were nice and asked to see pictures of my boat. I paid about $60 via credit card and obtained my TIP. The driver took me back to the border. It was easy and all went well."
It's that quick and easy to get a TIP at the Otay Mesa Banjercito and you're done.
'GET OUT OF JAIL CARD' FOR THOSE WITH TIP PROBLEMS
For years we have been strongly urging people not to buy boats that have a current Temporary Import Permit (TIP) from Mexico. That's because the new buyer must have a TIP in his/her name, and they can't get a new TIP until the old 10-year TIP has been canceled.
Canceling a TIP required turning the physical manifestation of the old TIP, meaning the actual sticker itself, into Banjercito, the Mexican military bank which issues them, along with the boat's exit zarpe from Mexico.
In many boat buying situations, the seller had passed away and/or there wasn't an exit zarpe, and/or it couldn't be found. If left the new owner in a difficult situation.
There were workarounds to these problems, but they often involved lots of time and money.
There is now a much easier solution, reports Neil Shroyer of Marina del La Paz, an individual who keeps close tabs on these kinds of legal matters.
If you bought a boat and it still has a current TIP, it's easy to get a new one. All you have to do is take your boat to the Banjercito in Ensenada, La Paz, Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta — there is no Banjercito in Cabo San Lucas — with proof that the boat had left Mexico before you bought it. The kind of proof Banjercito requires is an exit visa from the United States issued by the Customs and Border Patrol or, we presume, the United States Coast Guard.
Their thinking is that having an exit document from the U.S. is proof that the boat was taken out of Mexico prior to the sale, which is all that Mexico cares about.
|
