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 News from Around Banderas Bay | August 2005 
Foreigners Living in Vallarta Find Help! at Portugal Bar
 PVNN
| | Last Saturday, around 120 US and Canadian citizens who live here in Vallarta met at Portugal Bar to meet with Bonnie Sumlin, General Director of HELP!, a Mexican Civil Association that helps foreign residents obtain Mexican citizenship. |
Puerto Vallarta - On Saturday, August 20th, around 120 US and Canadian citizens who live here in Vallarta gathered together at Portugal Bar to meet with Bonnie Sumlin, General Director of HELP!, a Mexican Civil Association that helps foreign residents obtain Mexican citizenship, among other things.
HELP!, The Manzanillo Foreign Community Assn., AC, is a non-profit and non-salary organization and does not solicit funds for any purpose, yet Bonnie and other members of HELP! have been assisting foreigners in Mexico for more than 8 years, and helping "Gringos" to become Mexican Citizens is only one of the services they provide.
The primary purpose of HELP! is to assist people who are visiting and living for any length of time in the Manzanillo area by providing them with the most up to date information available regarding emergency service for illness, legal matters, immigration problems, etc.
But while based in Manzanillo, the organization is unique in that its charter with the Mexican government permits them to sponsor any type of civil, social or recreational activity anywhere in Mexico. In fact, Bonnie Sumlin was elected General Director of HELP! because of her work within the foreign and Mexican communities and because of her excellent relations with all of the mexican government agencies.
Some of the other services they provide are assisting with FM3s, FM2s, installing their members into the Mexican Social Security Plan that is open to foreigners for a yearly nominal fee, and assisting with any other translation services, such as police reports and Fideicomiso status for properties in your name.
This year alone, the Association HELP! has helped at least 40 members who will be receiving their Certification as Mexican Citizens in mid-September at the Governor’s Palace in the Capital of Colima, and more than 40 more are expected to receive their Mexican Citizenship by the end of next month.
And while most of the recipients have been from the Manzanillo area, some of the recent recipients are from the Puerto Vallarta area, including T.J. Hartung, Angela Corelis, Marcie Hammond, Sandra Leonard and Richard and Pat Bendix, who all attended last Saturday's meeting in Puerto Vallarta.
During the meeting at Portugal Bar, General Director Bonnie Sumlin touched upon a variety of topics relating to foreigners living in Mexico. Many members of Puerto Vallarta's foreign community not only found out if they are qualified to apply for Mexican citizenship and learned about the documentation required to do so, but they also had their questions answered and concerns about pending legal problems addressed by Ms. Sumlin.
HELP! is a Mexican Civil Association that invites everyone to join and be informed. Members and contributors receive a quarterly newsletter, "As the Palapa Spins," which keeps you up-to-date on new laws that concern foreigners living in Mexico. For more information, visit www.HelpinMexico.com or contact representatives of the Association in Puerto Vallarta, Gary Howard and Ken Touchet at 221-5970. |
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