Mexican visa scam affects passengers and agents

Warning to travel agents: Many passengers faced difficulty in issuing a Mexican visa due to an electronic malfunction in the system of the National Institute of Migration in Mexico, they resorted to all possible ways to obtain it. And in desperation, they end up accessing fake pages on the Internet that promise a Mexican visa quickly and easily, for a fee. It turns out that there are scammers who issue fake visas, and when boarding into Mexico with them, passengers are not allowed to enter the North American country and are deported.

“This scam has been applied a lot on Facebook and Instagram and it takes a lot of attention to the pages that advertise Mexican Visa Immediately! Or the like, because it deceives the passengers,” he says Accounts Executive at FRT Operadora, Luciano Teixeira.

According to him, this happens to many people. who come up at the last minute. “I also know of a case where the passengers were already at the airport and could no longer board the plane because the agency provided the wrong form. So, in desperation, they ended up paying for a fake form, which even has a barcode, making with the agencies to trust the document , then plates the passengers without knowing he has a fake visa and only finds out on his arrival in Mexico, when he is arrested and deported, leaving him incommunicado afterwards, without a mobile phone and passport,” warns Teixeira.

In fact, the fake Mexican visas are so well made that they even passed the audit of the airlines. Scammers request passenger information online and print a fake visa. But they do it so perfectly that the document ends up being scanned by the airlines, as they just do a quick check of the information at the time of boarding.“Tell me, AT Travel Director, Lillian Zanon.

According to her, cases of fake visas reported by Mexican immigration occur very frequently and it is necessary to alert travel agents to prevent this from happening. “Even because many agents, with the intent of helping passengers, end up using this Mexican visa issuance through third parties,” Lillian says. This is in addition to boarding the plane with a fake visa, the passenger ends up missing on the plane, because upon arrival in Mexico he has to return to Brazil.

Luciano Teixeira agrees with Lilian: “We are asking travel agents to set up a network to disseminate this information, in order to be as vigilant as possible when issuing fake Mexican visas.”

The visa must be issued before booking the hotel and flight

Many passengers who have already booked a hotel and flight ticket and have a set date for their trip to Mexico, end up leaving the visa to be issued at the last minute, and because they are unable to issue the card electronically due to a system failure, even resort to the fake visa in desperation.

For this reason, the Consulate General of Mexico in São Paulo suggests to travelers heading to Mexico that Do not buy airline tickets or make hotel or flight reservations without first issuing an electronic authorization or visa to travel to the country.

Therefore, given that the electronic version has ceased to function, the Mexican visa should only be requested in person at the Mexican consulate or through the scheduling system https://citas.sre.gob.mx/. It is important to note that the consulate will only issue visas to people who have made this appointment.

Finally, it should be noted that travelers with a valid visa for the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, or the Schengen Area can enter Mexico without the need for an electronic permit or a visa.

How do you know if a Mexican visa is fake?

To validate your issued Mexican visa, simply access this link And in the item “Type of consultation”, select the option “Contacto tecnico del portal (Webmaster)”. Then fill in the form fields with your information and the text area with the following message (in Spanish):

Good evening, Please, I ask for your support to verify the electronic authorization number for Brazilians to enter Mexico (the format created on their website).

Approval ID: