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Category Archives: Tijuana
What do I need to know when crossing the San Diego – Tijuana border? By Miguel Sedano.
What do I have to do when crossing the border?
Select carefully the lane to enter the country:
• Nothing to Declare Lane
It is used when your exemptions do not exceed the permitted limits
• Self-declaration Lane
It is used when you bring goods worth more than the personal or family exemptions, or when the amounts of goods exceed those amounts allowed in your personal luggage
Upon crossing the border, your vehicle will activate the Automated Selection Mechanism (stop light). When crossing the border on foot you will be asked to activate the mechanism:
o The red light indicates that your luggage will be inspected
o The green light indicates that you can drive through the Customs facilities without inspection
If you or your vehicle has been selected for inspection, a Customs Inspector will conduct the examination. If the Customs Inspector finds goods that should have been declared and you did not do it, the Inspector will classify and appraise the goods and will impose the corresponding sanctions.
If you mistakenly choose the wrong lane, you may approach a Customs Inspector and ask for a classification and appraisal of your goods for the corresponding payment of duties and taxes.
Customs Inspection
In some cases the customs Automated Selection System (stoplight) may determine, without human intervention that your belongings will be subject to customs inspection.
This is a simple procedure. We would appreciate your cooperation in order to make it an agile one too. Please follow our customs personnel instructions. They must treat you with courtesy and respect while they ask you to open your luggage and proceed with its inspection. Also, they must handle your belongings with care. Remember that all persons entering Mexico are obliged to comply with Mexico’s customs provisions.
What can I bring in duty free?
• The items allowed in your personal luggage, according to the length of your trip
• Up to 75 USD per person in permitted goods, or its equivalent in other currencies. Passengers traveling with family members (spouse and children) may combine their personal exemptions only when arriving together on the same vehicle. In order to claim this additional exemption, passengers must have the corresponding commercial invoices or receipts available
• Beer, alcoholic beverages, manufactured tobacco and motor vehicle fuel (except for the fuel contained in the vehicle’s fuel tank) may not be included in this additional exemption
Which items may be included in my personal luggage exempt from duty?
1. Goods for personal use, such as clothing, footwear and personal toiletries and beauty products, as long as they are appropriate for the duration of the trip, including wedding party items.
2. Two photographic cameras or video recorders, 12 rolls of film or videocassettes; photographic material; two cellular telephones or radio phones; a portatil typewriter; an electronic calendar; a portable computer (laptop), notebook, omnibook or similar items; a copier or portable printer; a portable projector, and their accessories.
3. Two sports equipment, four rods, three speedboats with or without sails and their accessories, trophies or recognitions, provided that they can be transported normally and commonly by the passenger, one stair climber and bicycle
4. A portable radio for the recording or reproduction of sound or mixed tapes; or a digital sound reproducer or portable reproducer of compact discs and a portable reproducer of DVD’s, such as a pair of portable speakers, and their accessories.
5. Five laser disks, 10 DVD disks, 30 compact disks (CD) or magnetic tapes (audiocassettes), for the reproduction of sound and five storage devices or memory cards for any electronic equipment.
6. Books, magazines and printed documents.
7. Five toys, —included those that are collectible— and a video game console and videogames.
8. One device that permits measurement of arterial pressure and one for glucose, as well as medications of personal use; in the case of psychotropic’s the medical prescription should be shown.
9. One set of binoculars and a telescope.
10. Valises, trunks and suitcases necessary for the movement of goods.
11. Passengers over 18 years of age, may introduce a maximum of up to 20 packs of cigarettes, 25 cigars or 200 grams of tobacco and up to three liters of alcoholic beverages, and six liters of wine; in excess of the above, cannot be imported without complying with applicable regulations and restrictions.
12. Baby travel accessories, such as strollers and baby-walkers
13. Two musical instruments and its accessories.
14. A camping tent and camping equipment, as well as their accessories.
15. Handicapped or old travelers may introduce items for personal use, useful to have a better performance of their activities, such as walkers, wheelchairs, crutches and canes.
16. A set of tools including its case, it might have a hand drill, wire cutters, wrenches, dices, screwdrivers, current cables, among others.
17. Beddings, that will be able to include a set of matching sheets and pillowcases, a set of towels, a set of bath, a set of table linen and a set of kitchen.
18. Up to two dogs or cats, maybe introduced as well as their accessories, provided that the corresponding zoo sanitary import certificate issued by (SAGARPA) is presented to the customs officials.
In which cases should I pay taxes?
• Remember that you are entitled to bring in up to US$300 worth of goods in addition to the goods included in your personal luggage, and that you are allowed to combine this amount with family members
• If you exceed this exemption, or if your family’s combined amount exceeds the combined exemption, you must pay duties and taxes. There is a flat 15% rate of duties and taxes, which is applied only to the amount exceeding the exemption (individual or combined). You must fill out a payment form, which is available at the Customs counter
• If the value of the goods surpasses three thousand dollars (per family member) after subtracting the US$300 exemption, or if any of the goods is subject to non-tariff regulations or restrictions, you must hire the services of a customs broker. Private brokerage services are always available at the airport
• From November 1st, 2009 until January 10th, 2010 you will be able to import goods in the mentioned procedure, as long as its value does not exceed 3,000 dollars
• If you bring a desktop computer, you may pay duties and taxes by filling out a payment form as long as the value of the computer and its peripherals and accessories do not exceed US$4,000. If the total value of the computer and its peripherals and accessories exceeds US$4,000 you must hire the services of a customs broker
Which other items must be declared?
• Animals, agricultural products and medications
• If you are carrying more than US$10,000, or its equivalent in other currencies, in cash, checks, money orders or any other monetary instrument, or a combination of them, you must declare the amount exceeding US$10,000. You will not have to pay duties or taxes, but you must declare it on the Customs Declaration form. Failing to declare it is a violation of Mexican Law and such violation is sanctioned with administrative and even criminal penalties
Which goods are restricted?
• Firearms and ammunition. In order to import firearms and cartridges you must secure an import permit from the Ministry of Economy and from the Ministry of National Defense.
For further information please visit the following websites: www.economia.gob.mx and www.sedena.gob.mx.
Which goods are prohibited?
In accordance with the Law of the General Taxes of Import and Export, the following products are prohibited for the import and/or export:
• Alive predator fish, in their states of young fish, youthful and adult
• Totoaba, fresh or cooled (fish)
• Frozen Totoaba (fish)
• Turtle eggs or any class
• Poppy seeds (Narcotic)
• Flour of poppy seeds (Narcotic)
• Seeds and spores of marijuana (Cannabis indica), even though when they are mixed with other seeds
• Marijuana (Cannabis indica)
• Juice and extracts of opium, prepared to smoke
• Extracts and juice derived from marijuana (Cannabis indica)
• Mucilage and condensed products derived from the marijuana (Cannabis indica)
• Stamps or printed transfers in colors or in black and white, displayed for their sale in envelopes or packages, even when they include chewing gum, candies or any other type of articles, containing drawings, figures or illustrations that represent childhood in a degrading or ridiculous way, on attitudes of incitement to violence, to self-destruction or in any other form of antisocial behavior, known like Garbage Pail Kids, for example, printed by any company or commercial denomination.
• Thallium sulfate
• Insecticide (Isodrin or Aldrin)
• Insecticide (Heptaclor or Drinox)
• Insecticide (Endrin or Mendrin or Nendrin or Hexadrin)
• Insecticide (Leptophos)
• Heroin, base or hydrochloride of diacetylmorphine
• Medication prepared with marijuana (Cannabis indica)
• Medication prepared with acetylmorphine or of its salts or derivatives
• Skins of turtle or doggerhead turtle
• Goods that have been declared as archaeological monuments by the Secretariat of Public Education
For effects of the Customs Law, the import or export of prohibited merchandises is causal so that the customs authorities come to a precautionary detrain from said merchandises and the means of transport. Likewise, it constitutes an infraction related to the import or exports of this type of merchandise and is sanctioned with a fine: Therefore, these merchandises happen to be property of the Federal State, regardless of the penal sanctions establishes by the Penal Code.
If all this information seems to complicated for you, at Palacio del Mar only 35 minutes south of the border you will have a 24/7 concierge service that will be more than happy to assist you with any small or big request.
If you want to discover the only truly concierge service in the Rosarito area, as well as all the amenities of a 5 star resort, just call Miguel Sedano (619-200-7408) or email (Miguel.sedano@bajarealestategroup.net) for a private tour of Palacio del Mar Condos & Spa.
Construction Begins At San Diego Border Crossing
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, AP
December 17, 2009
SAN DIEGO — The federal government has begun replacing the nation’s busiest border crossing, promising shorter waits into California for tens of thousands of people who enter daily from Tijuana, Mexico.
Existing Tijuana - San Ysidro Border Crossing
The $577 million blueprint unveiled Thursday calls for increasing the number of lanes into San Diego to 30 from 24 and equipping each lane with two inspection booths instead of one. Six existing lanes into Tijuana will be moved slightly to the west.
Construction is scheduled to finish in September 2015, though the date hinges on money. Congress has funded about half – $293 million – none of it from the federal stimulus package.
Waiting times for the 50,000 vehicles that enter San Diego daily often reach two hours, clogging Tijuana roads. And as the Mexican government has beefed up inspections for guns and cash this year, motorists can wait more than an hour on California Interstates 5 and 805 to enter Tijuana.
Waits for California-bound motorists will drop significantly, but it’s too early to say by how much, said Oscar Preciado, the program manager for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. read more »
One man’s war zone is another’s paradise
Originally Posted on the L.A. Times.
By Richard Marosi
December 14, 2009
From the insulated safety of Baja’s luxurious seaside gated communities, American expatriates say reports of kidnappings and violent drug cartels seem a world away.
Beach in Rosarito
Reporting from Rosarito Beach, Mexico – Bob and Carol Dawson love living in Baja California, but the region’s violent reputation has put them on the defensive. They have been called delusional and reckless — all because they choose to live in an oceanfront gated community about 30 or 40 miles and a world away from the U.S. border.
Americans living in this part of Mexico are often grilled, half-jokingly, about their sanity. They get asked whether they’ve seen decapitated heads rolling down the street. Friends wonder whether they wear bulletproof vests or drive around in armored cars.
When the Dawsons moved here in 1999 to retire, they were enticed by the area’s charm and peacefulness. They bought an expansive home with ocean views for $175,000. “Live like a millionaire without a million bucks” is the local real estate mantra.
In recent years, the tranquility has been eclipsed by the mayhem of battles between the Mexican government and organized crime. Military trucks brimming with heavily armed soldiers have rumbled through the manicured grounds of luxury developments; gunmen pepper local police stations with automatic-weapon fire; and Baja California’s most notorious crime boss once eluded authorities by running through a beach popular among American retirees. read more »
Mexican, U.S. Officials Meet In Santa Ana For 2nd Mayors of the Californias Summit
Mexican, U.S. Officials Meet In Santa Ana For 2nd Mayors of the Californias Summit
SANTA ANA, CA. Government and law enforcement officials from both sides of the border met at the Santa Ana Police headquarters December 4 for the 2nd Binational Mayors of the Californias Summit.
The goal of the meetings is to increase cooperation between officials from Southern California and Baja, a region that combined represents one of the world’s larger economies as well having many other shared interests.
Among cities represented were Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada, Tecate, Santa Ana, Brea, South El Monte, West Covina, La Habra, Redondo Beach and Fullerton at the event co-hosted by Santa Ana groups and Rosarito.
Workshops at the daylong summit included ones on security, infrastructure and the economy. The importance of sharing information and efforts in the closely linked region was stressed.
“The border does not exist when we talk about air quality, when we talk about water quality,” said Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulito in explaining the need for increased cooperation. read more »
Tijuana’s Blue Tarp School Captures The Imagination
The Park Dale Players will perform the new musical based on the children’s book “Armando and the Blue Tarp School” on Saturday, November 14, 2009, at UCSD. Blue Tarp School (audio MP3)
For more info on the School contact Marilyn K. Simon, resident of Calafia Condos.
Above: "Armando and the Blue Tarp School" is a children's book that will be adapted into a new musical by the Park Dale Players at UCSD.
MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): I’m Maureen Cavanaugh, and you’re listening to These Days on KPBS. As bad as our economy is right now, sometimes it’s also important to remember how prosperous we really are living in the United States. Even during hard times, there are things we take for granted that people don’t have in many parts of the world, for instance, schools with computers and books and desks and walls. Several years ago, a teacher named David Lynch started an unusual school at a dump in Tijuana. He gathered some of that city’s poorest children together on a big blue tarp and started teaching. The story found its way to many news organizations and David Lynch was able to start a foundation to help establish other schools. And, the story of that blue tarp school is now the subject of both a children’s book and a children’s musical. I’d like to welcome my guests. Edith Fine, co-author of the children’s book, “Armando and the Blue Tarp School.” Edith, welcome to These Days.
EDITH FINE (Author): Thanks, Maureen, hi.
CAVANAUGH: And Pat Lydersen is playwright for the musical adaptation of “Armando and the Blue Tarp School,” to be performed by the Park Dale Players, a group of local young actors. Pat, welcome to These Days.
PAT LYDERSEN (Playwright): Thank you.
CAVANAUGH: Now, Edith, if you could, tell us just a little bit more about David Lynch’s Blue Tarp School. When did he start it and how did you hear about it? read more »
Finally Some Good News on Travel in Mexico
Drug cartels. Murders. The news is often bad out of Mexico. Peter Ferry journeys beyond the headlines.
Finally Some Good News on Travel in Mexico
Poor old Mexico. Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down! Just when the price of oil plummets, American jobs dry up, and the fear of drug violence cuts tourism in half, along comes swine flu to cut it in half again.
OK, it’s time for a little good news. In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control lifted its recommendation against travel to Mexico; the swine flu isn’t so bad after all, and it probably didn’t come here from Mexico in the first place.
And now a little more good news. Drug violence is not a threat to ordinary tourists like you and me. This is according to the Mexican government, the U.S. State Department and me. Let me give you a little background.
I had driven to, in and around Mexico with impunity and pleasure, but that was years ago. Now I was planning two road trips, one from the border to central Mexico, another from Mexico City to Cuernavaca to Oaxaca and back, and my friends were alarmed.
“What about the drug war?” read more »
Readers chime in with memories of Mexico
By Logan Jenkins – San Diego Union Tribune
Rosarito Beach Fishing Pier
As you’ll see, I’m not alone in my self-imposed exile from Mexico, the bleating theme of last Monday’s column.
But my aging gringo ballad, freighted with nostalgia but spooked by narco-terror and congestion at the border, misses what’s verdad on the ground, many were quick to point out.
“You do not have to miss Mexico,” lectured Diane Kane of San Diego. “After years of living in and traveling to Baja, neither we nor any of our friends have any negative experiences to report. . . . In fact, we have had nothing but polite, friendly dealings with the locals.”
For a reality check, Kane prescribed a weekend at the Rosarito Beach Condo Hotel and a wine-tasting tour to renew this native son’s faith in what always seemed to be San Diego’s equal (if not better) geographic and cultural half.
Robert Gutierrez of Escondido sounded a similar theme.
“Both my family and I have so many wonderful memories that would never have occurred if I had allowed the warnings of people, whose only knowledge of Mexico is gained from newspapers and television, to have kept me on this side of the border.” read more »
San Diego To Assist Baja California In Training New Tourist Police Force
San Diego To Assist Baja California In Training New Tourist Police Force
ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The San Diego Police Department will help train members of a new Mexican metropolitan tourist police force that will patrol from Tijuana to Ensenada.
The training agreement was formalized in a letter of intent signed Monday at San Diego City Hall by Mayor Jerry Sanders and mayors of the Baja California cities of Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada.
The new force will patrol primarily the 50-mile coastal tourist corridor from the U.S.-Mexico border to Ensenada. Exact size of the force and other details will be developed in the next few weeks prior to the start of training.
The goal is to have the force in operation by early next year. It will be designed primarily to deal with visitors from the U.S., Baja’s traditional main market.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on our working relationship with our friends to the south,” Sanders said, adding that the economies of the two regions are closely tied and both benefit from binational tourism. read more »
USA: California medical tourism association formed to promote Baja
Baja California Medical Tourism Association (BCMTA)
Baja California Medical Tourism Association (BCMTA) is a State of California non-profit mutual benefit association. It is the only association outside the Republic of Mexico totally dedicated to advocating and promoting medical services for the entire state of Baja California. BCMTA will represent all of Baja California not just one location or cluster
BCMTA aims to help provide medical service seekers access to Baja California’s highest quality, affordable and compassionate medical services. It has offices in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, USA.From the Mexico border north through the Greater Los Angeles Region there are 24 million residents.
The huge number of Americans traveling to Mexico has seen many agencies; hospitals and clinics open to medical tourists, or set up specifically for them. While many offer excellent care at reasonable prices, some are taking advantage of the modern equivalent of the California gold rush.
Choosing a clinic or hospital is a lottery, and incompetent or dishonest surgeons and agencies cheat a few unlucky medical tourists. BCMTA wants to offer a “Seal of Approval” to people seeking medical services, information and referrals in the Western United States, with emphasis in California’s vast Hispanic and non-Hispanic population. BCMTA wants to make available a network of highly accredited health care providers dedicated to the practice of providing treatment with healing in mind and dedicated to wellness programmes. The organization believes that the practice of medicine requires of its practitioners an advanced level of competence and above reproach moral values. BCMTA considers for membership only those who meet this code of values. read more »
