FMM Requirements - Free 7-day Visitation Visa?

When we flew out of Tijuana they made us pay for every day past 6 days.

I've never heard of anything like this before, and it sounds like you were scammed.

There might be some confusion regarding the free 7-day visitation visa that is available at the border crossings in Tijuana. At the two border crossings, you can get a free 7-day visitation visa. It was not available at the Tijuana airport as of last year. Various websites claim that it is only available when crossing by land. When non-citizens walk across either of the two border crossings in Tijuana, they will be issued the free 7-day visitation visa. (If you are a Mexican citizen or have a permanent or temporary visa, you just keep walking. These are the majority of pedestrians each day.) If you drive across, no one will ask for nor offer this document. They may randomly stop your vehicle to check for items to be declared (or weapons being smuggled) but they won't ask for or offer a visa. Remember this is the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Tens of thousands of people cross every day. Gotta' love Mexico. Obviously the pedestrian agents and the vehicle agents don't talk much to each other.

The immigration officers at the airport most likely asked if they were staying 7 days or less and then tried to explain that if they had crossed at the border crossings, they could have gotten the free visa. Otherwise, you are required to buy the 6-month tourist visa. By the way, the Tijuana security officers no longer ask to see your visa when going through security into the airport, just your boarding pass. They also no longer ask to see your visa when leaving the airport upon your return, just your passport. One could conceivably forego buying the tourist visa when visiting Mexico but I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Heaven forbid anyone in the area you were visiting asks to see your visa. That might be an experience that you could tell your grandchildren but Your Humble Fellow Zihua Lover doesn't want to be one of those who live to tell the tale.

Many UnitedStaters use our Cross Border Express (CBX). It is very convenient but costly. You enter from the U.S., then walk across a bridge and are dropped off in the Tijuana airport. I don't use it myself but I am fairly sure that you are required to buy the 6-month tourist visa when using the CBX. If you are staying less than 7 days, it would be worthwhile to ask the Mexican agents issuing the 6-month tourist visas if they offer the free 7-day visas since you are crossing by land.