Belize/Mexico Border Scam

The Belize/Mexico border is well-known for  scamming money out of unsuspecting tourists.  There is usually an entrance fee to Mexico of around $20, but you don’t have to pay this if you are re-entering Mexico from Belize. However, many people at the Belize/Mexico border are told they must pay this fee, and not knowing any better, they go ahead and pay.

The best way to avoid this scam is not to stop at the immigration booth at all.  If you have kept your FMM card, and it hasn’t expired, you should have no problem with this because you are entering Mexico with a valid FMM card.  If you are walking, just walk past like you know what you are doing.  (Well, now you do.)  If you are riding in a taxi, then just get your driver to drop you off somewhere past the booth.  If you are on a bus, the bus will stop at this booth, so you will have no choice.  But, you don’t have to get off of the bus.  Just duck down and don’t even bother dealing with immigration.  It may seem bizarre, but even the Mexican consul says that this is the right thing to do.  

When you are exiting Mexico, the officials often try to extort an exit fee of $20 as well, but you don’t have to pay this if you arrived by air as this was included in your air ticket.  You also don’t need to pay this if you arrived by land and already paid the fee.  The border officials are actually not supposed to collect this fee at all.  If you haven’t paid, the officials are supposed to send you to a bank that can accept the fee.   Just remember, when crossing the Belize/Mexico border, there is NO tourist tax for leaving Mexico.

For more information on travel in Belize, check out our partner website, This Way To Paradise.