When applying for Mexican citizenship, you must have a valid passport from the country of your nationality with a remaining validity of at least 45 days. The following statement is allowed to be read on social networks: «I received refugee status in Mexico. My passport has expired and I cannot go to the consulate of the country of my nationality to purchase a new one. As a refugee, I will receive a temporary Mexican passport, which I can use to travel and then apply for Mexican citizenship.
Mexico does not have temporary passports for foreigners. There is another document called the Documento de Identidad y Viaje, and it can actually replace a national passport when applying for Mexican citizenship. But only for refugees.
A temporary, or rather, emergency passport (pasaporte de emergencia) is issued by the Mexican consulate only to citizens of their country whose passport was lost or stolen during a trip abroad. It is a non-biometric passport with a 1-year validity and has the same options as a regular passport. Such a passport is issued within 1 day.
For foreigners with refugee status whose national passport has expired and who are not eligible to obtain a new passport, Mexico is able to issue an «Identity and Travel Document» (Documento de Identidad y Viaje). Such a document is issued by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) at the initiative of the refugee through a request to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR). The document looks almost like a Mexican passport, serves as temporary identification on Mexican territory and provides a way to leave and enter Mexico in the absence of another valid passport. It is similar to the Certificate of Return in other powers. You are expected to use another valid passport when outside of Mexico, including when returning to your country of origin if it is safe to do so. When entering this country, you have the opportunity to present your expired passport, and this power is obliged to accept you, since you are its citizen.
Such an ID card does not open the way to visit other countries and exit transit areas of airports; for this reason, it can only be used on direct flights or on transit flights without additional passport control. Validity period of the Certificate — 3 years, and once Mexican citizenship is acquired, the Certificate is revoked.
The Documento de Identidad y Viaje replaces the foreign passport when applying for Mexican citizenship for refugees. Minimum remaining validity period of the Certificate — 45 days, the same as for a foreign passport.