LATEST RESOLUTION FOR

MEXICAN FOREIGN BOAT TIPS FROM PRE-2005

The Ocean Posse is pleased to share information directly from a recent success story.  As reported in our October 20, 2024 newsletter there is hope yet for foreign flagged vessels  that were issued TIP’s (Temporary Import Permits) and are now attempting to enter Mexican waters.  Last year all vessels with open TIPs from before 2005 were flat out turned back and refused entry because the office that had issued the TIPs had been dissolved and therefore any TIPS issued by this office that had not been properly closed were not able to be resolved.  This year Sally & Michael Aldridge on SV SWEETHEEART took this matter into their own hands with conviction and seem to have found a solution.  Sally shares below what worked for them so that others may have similar success.

Oct 17 2024 by Sally and Michael Aldridge on S/V Sweetheart

Canceling pre 2005 Aduana TIPs in Ensenada

We had two pre 2005 TIPs to cancel, one in 2001, and the other in 2004

On Oct 16,  we walked across the border at PedEast at San Ysidro in the morning and caught the ABC bus down to Ensenada from Tijuana because we didn’t want to mess with driving a vehicle across the border and dealing with a motor vehicle TIP and insurance (too many TIPs already !) Walking over the border turned out to be super easy, with no lines and the bus is nearby and is comfortable and inexpensive.

When in Ensenada (we got there at around 10:30am) we started with the

Banjercito Ensenada

On Ave Teniente Jose Azueta

(Building marked with a thin red line on attached image)

We spoke to Elia Beatriz Urquidi Cobos, who is a manager there

She speaks great English

We showed her relevant boat documentation as per the attached form from the Mexican consulate in Sacramento.

Elia made 3 copies of each, and also verified and checked the report in her system. 

Elia explained we needed to go to the Aduana office down the street to start the process. 

At this point Elia stepped outside to direct us and she and the manager of the Aduana, Jorge Badille spoke in person on the street. Not sure if they just “ran into each other” or whether this was planned, but it turned out to be a very fruitful conversation. Jorge reviewed our documents right there, and confirmed that everything was in order, and told Elia what else we needed to do

Which was the following:

Write a letter to the Aduana asking for the TIPs to be cancelled 

Including the tip number, previous owner names etc.

State that we are the new owners

Print it

Sign it 

Make 3 copies

We went to the tourist information office around the corner to do this and they were very helpful and made print outs and copies for us for free.

Then we went to the Aduana de Ensenada with all the paperwork. The office is marked with thick red line on the image and address is here.  Blvd, P.º Olas Altas 110, Recinto Portuario, 22800 Ensenada, B.C., Mexico

This office is behind a heavy layer of security and they told us that only one person can go through, so Michael, my husband, did this for us as he is the appointed “manager” of our LLC. He spoke to the woman at the desk and she asked for the letter to be in Spanish, so she translated it for Michael and he wrote it out by hand and she stamped it. She told him it would take one week to get the TIP cancellations done.

We then showed the stamped letter to Elia back at the Banjercito, but she said she actually needs a printed and stamped image of a “cancellation screen” from Aduana to get the process going on the Banjercito side. She said once she has that, she can send it to the Mexico City Banjercito and it could be canceled out of the system intraday, depending on time differences.

So we went back to Jorge at the Aduana to ask for that and he committed to doing just that the next day. Jorge promised to email it to Elia it at 10am the next morning, so we stayed overnight just to make sure that happened. 

We stayed at the Hotel Coral, as it was a good chance to speak with Fito Espinoza, the dock master, who is very experienced with TIPs and immigration. He suggested we stay on it till it is done. He was very interested to hear about the results of our efforts as it will allow him to help many other boats. 

Michael went back to the Aduana office the next day at 10am on 10/17 and he stayed there until he had the right docs in hand.

At this point we have now cancelled the two old TIPs ! 

We then took those pages to Elia who scanned them and sent them to her superiors. The old tips were cleared out of the Banjercito system within a few hours and we were able to successfully apply for a new TIP that day. Again we sat in the office until this was all done (about 30 mins) and we now have the TIP in hand.

Summary: The Sacramento consulate was correct: It is now possible to cancel pre 2005 TIPs with the Aduana in Ensenada, and the Banjercito in Ensenada can get it cleared from their system with the right documentation from Aduana (see attached process from the Mexican consulate in Sacramento).  Fito confirmed this is exactly how the process worked in the past, but he did not know it was working again at this time, and neither did BC Connections. 

Jorge (Aduana Ensenada manager) and Elia (Banjercito Ensenada manager) are competent people who seem to have a good working relationship and they are collaborating together to make it happen. It helps that these offices are down the street from each other. Not sure if it’s dumb luck and they have started canceling old TIPs again at just the right time for us, or we are geniuses. Either way, we will take it !

There are no charges for the process of TIP cancellation and it can be done by the boat owner through the official channels without an agent in one or two days. Be prepared for multiple visits to each office.

Hopefully this bodes well for other boats in this situation. 

Feel free to send any questions to sally.aldridge@mac.com

THANK YOU SV SWEETHEART FOR SHARING YOUR SUCCESS!