The freelancers and Digital Nomads are the potential jobs that people might choose, especially during this pandemic. The permanent job will become uncertainty for a long-term period. Then, ‘working by project’ or do the work digitally will be the best choice. In responding to this, many countries already open for the freelancer to work in their country legally. Some countries allow the freelancers with tourist visa to work there but currently, they offer the visa for freelancer and Digital Nomads.

I already talked about Estonia as one of the countries that offer the Digital Nomads visa in my article with the title “Finding a Home | Estonia Launch Digital Nomad Visa”. And I got the updated news from the newsletter of e-resident.gov.ee of Estonia that they launch the world’s first digital nomad visa on 1^st August 2020. If you have no travel ban due to the #Covid-19 pandemic from your home country, you can apply for this #DigitalNomad visa.

The next country that I will talk about is Mexico. I have read the article from Huffpost (2017) with the title “It’s Easy to Be a Freelancer in Mexico”. It is really surprised me. Beside of that, it is also stated that Mexico city is one of favorite city for freelancer who decided to do their work on the road. The other thing that amaze me is most freelancer in Mexico are on tourist visa. Is that still valid until today? Why this city becomes the favorite place for freelancer?

Mexico is a Country or a City?

Mexico is a country of southern North America and Mexico city is the capital city of Mexico. Mexico itself is bordering with the Carribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico; between Belize and the US; ad bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and the US (Source : sistercities.lacity.org).

The population in Mexico is 100,349,766 and it is the third largest country in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina.

Life in Mexico

At first, I only know about life in Mexico from Telenovela. And I get interested to search for more information related with living in Mexico. The limited numbers of middle class between the rich and poor people are happening in Mexico. It means that the society class is characterized by extremes wealth and extreme poverty. I think this is one of the important information prior arriving in Mexico, because we have to prepare how to face the different culture.

In terms of the cost of living in Mexico, it is lower than the living cost in north of the border. Some of the expatriates informed that their living cost in Mexico is half of the expenses in US, which is great! It means that they can do more savings.

The other benefit that can be obtained for expatriate is the National healthcare plan. They are able to participate in this type of medical care while living in Mexico. Besides of that benefit, expat (the other name of expatriate) can meet a lot of friendly people in the street. Overall, there are a lot of good things that we can experience while living in Mexico, which make this country the most popular retirement destination, especially for the expat from US.

For people who want to enjoy the Mexico’s culture, they might go to Mexico city and Guadalajara. Because, they offer numbers of show that relate with the culture, such as opera, symphony, ballet and theater. And the other thing that there are a lot of art galleries, museum and universities as well. On the other hand, Merida, Veracruz, Campeche and Guanajuato, as the historic Colonial Cities, display the colonial heritage in the spectacular architecture.

Why People Move to Mexico?

Maybe some of the reasons can be valid for people who work as a freelancer and also for people who want to explore the geographical options. Based on the article from Mexperience with the title “Working Freelance in Mexico”, there are some reasons that can be pleasure while living in Mexico.

• The best climate in a year-round period
• People are able to experience a great culture
• As stated in the article, Mexico has the best-developed telecommunications network in Latin America with a high speed data connection, best WiFi service, and high-speed mobile internet. Those services are highly needed for people who work as a freelancer and #DigitalNomad.
• As being mentioned above, the cost of living in Mexico is low and we are able to save more money for living.
• The public transport in Mexico is already qualified. And if we want to catch a taxi, the cost is also not expensive.
• There is the probability to set up a company in Mexico or stay working distance with the office location in our home countries. Both choices are great! However, to get the proper way and stay in legal, you might contact the professional advice for set up a company in Mexico. And the other way, if we decided to work distance as a freelancer, it is better if we prepare our vision, plan and adapting in the new place to live. The guidance link for Working in Mexico can be accessed through this LINK.

What is a Temporary Resident Visa?

Ok, let’s talk about the visa that allow a freelancer or #DigitalNomad to work in Mexico. This is the legal documents that we should have for staying and working in Mexico legally. We need to have a Temporary Resident Visa if we want to stay in Mexico for more than 180 days up to 4 years. And if we want to stay longer than 4 years, then we need to apply for a Permanent Residence Visa.

What are the requirements that we should prepary to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa in Mexico?

This requirements are based from the website of Relaciones Exteriores and I will make the point simple as possible.

• We need to fill the Visa Application form and sign it. The form should be printed in a double-sided format. The form can be downloaded through this LINK.
• Prepare the passport or valid travel and identity document, both original and a photocopy document. The page that should be photocopied is the page that contain the photograph and personal data.
• Prepare the original and a photocopy of the migratory document, which proving our legal migratory status in Canada. This is valid for a not Canadian citizen.
• The photograph with the following requirements : Measurement of 3.9 cm x 3.1 cm; uncovered face; don’t wear eyeglasses; frontal view; a colour photograph; and a white background is a must.
• The information about fees that should be paid can be seen in this LINK.

Those are the major requirements. However, we need to submit another required documents. The whole lists are explained in the website of Relaciones Exteriores as above.

What are the Challenge Things Living in Mexico?

With a lot of potential things that can be gathered while living in Mexico city or CDMX, we still need to consider some points that can be categorized as a challenge. This might not the negative things if we already prepare in advance. What are they?

• Crime – I think this matter are commonly happened in many places that is not only in Mexico. We need to be aware of the theft and robbery in many places. It is better if we ask for local’s advice about the safe places to visit.
• Pollution – The air pollution and a water quality are not in a good quality. However, the air pollution has improved a lot from time to time, even though CDMX was claimed as the most polluted city in 1992 (the U.N version). In terms of water, I think we need to consider to drink water from bottle or purified water to safe our stomach from anything bad might happened.
• As I mention above that the public transportation is Mexico is already qualified. The challenge thing is the capacity that should be compromised by increased demand.
• The plateau in CDMX is very unique and challenging because it is surrounded by mountains with the high of 6,000 feet and it is on top of an ancient lake. The other challenge thing is the susceptibility of the city to earthquakes.

So, What do I think About Doing the Freelancing in Mexico?

I think this is very interesting choice. By having some challenges that should be compromised while living in Mexico, there are also a lot of benefits that can be gathered by expat (or expatriate), freelancers and #DigitalNomad. For me, the culture might be other thing that challenge myself, especially in adapting with it.

By applying a Temporary Resident Visa, the approved applicants can stay in Mexico for up to 4 years. They can stay and work legally. So, it would be better choice of visa for people who have the flexible place to stay for work.

After writing about Estonia and Mexico, I think both countries are already understanding about the trend of #DigitalNomad and freelancer as the jobs that are continually increased from period to period. And they accept these jobs by offering specific visa to allow them working and staying legally in those countries. That is so good, which means we have the opportunity to live everywhere based on our life preference.

If you have any story or input about living in Mexico or the factors that should be considered to work in Mexico, please share the story with us. Thanks for reading.

Sources

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/its-easy-to-be-a-freelancer-in-mexico_b_5a0ae058e4b060fb7e59d399
• https://mexlaw.ca/10-things-need-know-temporary-visa-mexico/
• https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/leamington/index.php/non-mexicans/visas/115-temporary-resident-visa
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico
• https://internationalliving.com/countries/mexico/living-in-mexico/
• https://www.mexperience.com/working-freelance-in-mexico/
• https://www.mexperience.com/lifestyle/working-in-mexico/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City

Published by nikensmartini

I am just a girl who loves all beauty stuffs and traveling. And I am really addicted to a hot cappuccino. View all posts by nikensmartini