The question of how to obtain Mexican citizenship is one of the most frequently asked questions to us. During the conversation, it turns out that the person does not plan to live in Mexico, and only needs a passport to use its options for visa-free travel. When you start explaining that in order to acquire citizenship, you must first obtain resident status and then pass citizenship exams, interest disappears.
We are accustomed to advising clients on the intricacies of Mexican immigration law. And for this reason, we explain to them that acquiring a passport and obtaining citizenship — two big differences. It's no secret that you can buy a Mexican passport. And when it runs out, and this is in a maximum of 10 years, you will have to buy a new one. In Mexico, it is better not to use such a passport, but it is suitable for travel, except when applying to the Mexican consulate.
Mexican citizenship can probably also be purchased. There are stories on the Internet about how it suddenly turned out that the father was Mexican. Your father died a long time ago, but there is an opportunity to prove that he is your father… When we first arrived in Mexico almost 8 years ago, we were told that in Belize you can buy a birth certificate, allegedly you were once born there to a Mexican father, and through your father you can obtain Mexican citizenship. We don't know how it all works. Under any circumstances, such schemes are inaccessible to ordinary foreigners and are fraught with exposure.
The path to Mexican citizenship should always begin with the acquisition of a residence permit, in other words, with temporary or permanent residence. To obtain residency status in Mexico, you need to have a basis. High income, buying real estate in Mexico, getting a job, marrying a Mexican, having a child, etc. — all the grounds for obtaining a residence permit are described in detail in publications on our website. In particular, inthis.
Any resident status, temporary or permanent, obtained on any basis, leads to Mexican citizenship.
Once you obtain residency status, you must live in Mexico for a certain number of years. «Live» does not mean constantly being in the country, although you will have to be there for the last 2 years. Then you can begin the naturalization procedure, which will lead you to citizenship.
It should take 2 or 5 years from issuing a resident card for the first time to applying for citizenship. This period depends only on the basis for obtaining a residence permit. This period does not depend on whether your resident status is temporary or permanent. Minimum period for citizenship — 2 years, this is when the basis for obtaining a residence permit is considered to be marriage to a Mexican or the birth of a child in Mexico. These bases can also be purchased. Fictitious marriage — Still, no matter what, your spouse really exists and he should accompany you when applying for citizenship. But acquiring citizenship based on the birth of a non-existent child is now almost impossible. You will have the child's birth certificate, but you will not have primary birth documents (nacido vivo with doctor's data), and they will not be in the database, which is what they will be asked for. You, of course, will still be able to apply for citizenship after 5 years on a general basis, and not after 2, but if you received permanent residence on the basis of a certificate issued somewhere in Chiapas or Veracruz, then there will be problems in this case too.
The main document proving Mexican citizenship is a birth certificate for native-born Mexicans or a letter of naturalization for naturalized Mexicans. Not a passport! When you come to apply for a new passport to replace your expired one, you are asked for a letter of naturalization. It is not possible to receive a letter of naturalization without going through the naturalization procedure. Even for money.
The naturalization process has its own subtleties. You can now obtain a police clearance certificate online. You need to pass 2 exams, on knowledge of the Spanish language and on the history and culture of Mexico. You do not have to take the history and culture exam if you are under 18 or over 65 years old. The outcome of a successful naturalization procedure is a letter of naturalization.
In total, the entire path to obtaining Mexican citizenship can be represented as follows:
- have or form a basis for obtaining a residence permit,
- obtain resident status in Mexico, draw up a resident card,
- live in the country for 2 or 5 years, of which the last 2 years — almost forever
- go through the naturalization procedure, pass exams,
- purchase a letter of naturalization.
How to start the naturalization procedure and what papers are needed for this, readHere.
We wanted to briefly tell you how to acquire Mexican citizenship. If you have the impression that this article is about “everything can be bought in Mexico”, you should also understand that in Mexico it is possible to pay, but not get the expected result. Therefore, the most reliable way to acquire Mexican citizenship — plan in advance, follow the conditions and do everything correctly from the beginning. 5 years before obtaining citizenship — not such a long period of time, but then there will be no problems with such citizenship.
