Temporary Residency and TIP

It is real straight forward, but you won't like the answer, so do all the homework.

As long as you have temporary residency, your TIP is valid. Be sure to carry your temporary residency card with you when you are driving, and/or keep a copy of it in the car.

So, you will ask, how do I get my deposit back??? This is the bad news. The only way to get your deposit refunded is by turning in your TIP at the border, within the time frame on the paperwork, 180 days. With your temporary residency card you can cross the border without a TIP because you have that card, so you don't need to stop when you recross. You only needed the TIP to drive here to get your card.

The real issue is that your residency is issued by INM and the TIP is by Banjercito, and they are separate groups.

In theory, there is a way to send it to Mexico City and get it cancelled. In many years of moderating the traveling in Mexico forum for Good Sam, etc, I have never heard of anyone being successful.

If you decide to forfeit the deposit, that also means that you will be unable to get another TIP in your name. Depending upon your plans, that isn't a big deal, because if you go to permanent residency you can't legally drive a foreign plated vehicle anyway.

How often do these things get checked? Here very rarely. Once you are out of our municipality, frequently. Anywhere in Mexico your expired TIP with temporary residency is legal, and the officials know it. If you are driving a foreign plated vehicle with permanent residency and get stopped there is a very good chance you will at least have the vehicle impounded.