Naturalization — This is the process of obtaining citizenship of another state. In relation to naturalization in Mexico, the process is approximately as follows. You choose the basis for naturalization, collect a package of papers according to the list according to this basis, and take it to the SRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico). After preliminary approval, you take exams on knowledge of the Spanish language, history and culture of Mexico. If you successfully pass the exams, you will receive a so-called «letter of naturalization» — certificate, which is the main document confirming your Mexican citizenship (and not a passport).
Here we will talk about all the reasons for obtaining Mexican citizenship by naturalization. You have the opportunity to have several such grounds at once. In this case, you must decide which one to choose in order to shorten the period from acquiring a resident card to the start of the naturalization procedure or to minimize the package of papers required for naturalization.
1. The procedure for obtaining citizenship by length of residence.Applies to anyone who has been a temporary or permanent resident in Mexico for 5 years and does not fall under the cases described below. This is usually the most common reason for obtaining Mexican citizenship, requiring a minimum set of documents and confirmations.
2. The procedure for obtaining citizenship by length of residence for a native of the Ibero-American state.This is the same as the previous basis, but you must be born in one of these countries and have its citizenship, and then naturalization can begin 2 years from the date of acquisition of the resident card, and not after 5 years.
3. Procedure for obtaining citizenship for direct descendants of a Mexican by birth.The procedure can begin 2 years after issuing a resident card. Following recent changes to the Nationality Law, this includes adult children of Mexicans not born in Mexico and their children.
4. Acquisition of citizenship of the mother or father of a Mexican by birth of a child in Mexico.It is possible to begin the procedure after 2 years of residence as a temporary or permanent resident. Anyone who comes to Mexico to give birth receives citizenship on this basis. A clarification is needed here: if you already had a resident card obtained through another country, after the birth of a child in Mexico, 2 years are counted from the moment such a card was issued for the first time.
5. The process of obtaining citizenship for outstanding individuals.This is for those who provided services or performed work in the cultural, social, scientific, technical, artistic, sports or business sphere. The naturalization procedure can begin after 2 years of residence as a temporary or permanent resident. Typically, the issuance of a residence permit for such individuals takes place under the auspices of the relevant ministries and within the framework of government quotas, and we do not cover this option in our publications.
6. Naturalization based on marriage to a Mexican by birth.The procedure can begin after 2 years of residence as a temporary or permanent resident. Please take into account — A Mexican citizen must have citizenship by birth, otherwise the period before the naturalization of his spouse will be 5 years.
7. Acquisition of citizenship for children.To exercise parental authority (the so-called patria potestas) or for adopted children of a Mexican — It is enough to show residence for 1 year as a temporary or permanent resident. If we are talking about the children of a foreign parent, then first the parent should obtain citizenship, and only then his children can acquire citizenship.
Please note: it is not possible to acquire Mexican citizenship immediately. Required to live 2 or 5 years as a temporary or permanent resident of Mexico.
When we write the period of “residence”, we do not mean that all these years you need to be physically in Mexico. This is the wording of the legislation. This means that you must be legally in the status of a temporary or permanent resident, and for this, your resident card must be valid throughout this period. However, in the case of marriage with a Mexican citizen, the law requires that the spouses reside in Mexico.
Acquiring citizenship by marriage to a Mexican or by birth of a child — These are cases where you sometimes have to choose which basis to apply. Let's say you received a residence permit for another reason, lived in this status for 3 years, and then married a Mexican citizen. Then you have the right to choose on what basis to apply for naturalization: 5 years from the date of receiving a residence permit or 2 years from the date of notification to the migration service and marriage. The first basis requires a smaller package of documentation.
We would like to remind you that 2 or 5 years from the date of first issue of a resident card — this is not always a clear deadline. This period is affected by your absence from Mexico in the last 2 years. According to the law, on the date of submitting documentation for naturalization, you should not have been absent from the country for a total of more than 6 months (180 days) over the past 2 years. If you were absent longer, you will have to wait until the period of absence complies with the legal requirement. Children are not required to leave Mexico at all in the year prior to naturalization.
