For many years, getting registered for an RFC (tax ID) number was a process done online using the taxpayer's CURP number; however, due to identity theft prevention issues, the process has changed and it now has to be done in person at SAT's offices, by appointment only.
Getting an appointment
SAT has also changed their appointment system which used to be as simple as entering the taxpayer's information, the office of their choice and choosing a day and time for the appointment, while allowing to switch between offices without having to start the process over. The way the new appointment system works is the following:
Email addresses can only be used once (at Equilibrium, we have been using Apple's "Hide my email" feature to generate different addresses linked to ours' to overcome this)
After inputting the taxpayer's name, CURP number, and email address, a token number is sent to the registered email and it is needed to be able to see the calendar.
An office is selected, if there is appointment availability, a time and date are chosen and an confirmation email is automatically sent.
If there is no availability, the system gives the user the option to add the appointment request to their "virtual queue", if the option is declined, the process needs to be restarted to be able to see availability at other offices.
When the virtual queue option is accepted, the taxpayer is virtually in line for an appointment and, when there is an opening, an email is automatically sent stating the time and date that have been assigned by the system. The only options then are to go back to the queue (this option is only available once) or to accept whatever time and date was automatically given. If the appointment is accepted by the taxpayer, they need to confirm on SAT's website within 24 hours of receiving the appointment's confirmation. This requires a very similar process involving a token number that is sent to the registered email address.
While on the virtual queue, the taxpayer can see where they stand in line; this, again requires a token number sent to the email and the system will display they are X out of X people in line.
If you want to get an appointment, you can click here to go to SAT's appointment online system.
Temporary residents
This change has also resulted in a new issue for temporary residents. In the past, people would get their RFC number online and then use their registration documents to apply for permission to work with Immigration. It is important to remember that Immigration considers earning any type of income as work, and so temporary residents need to be allowed to work in the country. This is not an issue for permantent residents as that type of residency automatically includes permission to work and Immigration only needs to be notified of the change in the conditions under which residency was first granted.
The current problem is:
Immigration's first requirement to be able to apply for permission to work when the applicant does not have a job offer from a Mexican employer is the RFC registration's documents.
Some SAT offices do not accept temporary resident cards as official IDs when they do not show permission to work granted by Immigration. This has been the case at the Puerto Vallarta office for a few years now and it is also seems to be the criteria at other offices.
This creates a loop that has been successfully resolved by our Immigration attorney partner by doing a pre-registration process with SAT for which the applicant gets an official receipt issued by SAT and then making a case to Immigration that the RFC application has been started and will be completed upon approval of the permission to work which gets granted subject to delivering the actual RFC registration's paperwork as soon as the process is completed. IMPORTANT UPDATE: THE PUERTO VALLARTA IMMIGRATION OFFICE HAS CHANGED THEIR FLEXIBILITY CRITERIA, YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION HERE
If you want to contact our Immigration attorney, María Lazareno, you can email her directly by clicking here, or by emailing her at maria@klmexico.com
If you want to discuss the process for getting an RFC number, you can book an initial consultation by clicking here .