Can a child — foreign citizen to obtain Mexican citizenship? On some sites you have the opportunity to read the following answer: until you reach the age of majority — does not have the opportunity. But this is not true.
Article 16 of the Regulations to the Nationality Law does state that in order to acquire Mexican citizenship by naturalization, the applicant (el interesado) must be of age and enjoy his civil rights. Adult — this is from 18 years old. The question is who is considered an «applicant».
Although Mexican law always defines special rights for children and adolescents, giving them the highest priority, a non-resident minor does not have the opportunity to initiate immigration procedures or obtain citizenship without the mediation of the Mexican authorities or parents or legal guardian. Children have the opportunity to obtain a residence permit in Mexico only after one of their parents becomes a resident of the country, confirming their relationship with this parent with a birth certificate. Even if they meet the same criteria for obtaining a residence permit as the parent. For example, a parent and children have previously been to Mexico together, all have the same entry stamps in their passports with the same dates, and they all meet the criteria for acquiring a residence permit under the settlement program. However, children can receive their resident cards only after their parent receives their resident card. In this case, the initiator of the child’s registration of a resident card is the parent: he proves his parental rights and signs all the papers for the child.
In the same way, a parent should be the initiator of registration of citizenship for his child, in other words, the applicant. And for this, the parent must be a citizen of Mexico. In other words, parent first — a foreign citizen must undergo the naturalization procedure and acquire Mexican citizenship, and only then can his child undergo the naturalization procedure and acquire citizenship. These are two sequential, not simultaneous processes.
These are children born outside of Mexico before their parents became Mexican citizens through naturalization. If a child was born after the parent acquired Mexican citizenship, starting in 2021, he is automatically considered a citizen of the country.
The exception we are not considering here is — a child without parents who has received resident status as a refugee. Such a child is entitled to acquire Mexican citizenship only upon reaching the age of majority.
Here are some conditions for starting naturalization processes for foreign minors.
The DNN-3 application that follows to begin the procedure must be downloaded, completed and signed by one of the parents. So, the parent is the initiator of the process of acquiring citizenship by the child and thereby the «applicant».
The parent must be a Mexican citizen, as evidenced by the parent's provision of a Letter of Naturalization (the primary document proving Mexican citizenship for naturalized aliens).
To undergo the naturalization process, the child must be a resident of Mexico. In this case, the remaining validity of his resident card must be at least 6 months. Let us remind you that the card of a temporary or permanent resident of Mexico who has not reached the age of majority always has an expiration date. If the card is valid for less than six months, you must first obtain a new card and then begin the naturalization procedure. Another feature: you cannot request a card for a new term until the current card has expired.
A child is able to apply for Mexican citizenship immediately after one of his parents receives such citizenship. The requirement that children must be a resident of Mexico for 2 or 5 years before acquiring citizenship does not apply to children. In fact, the period from the start of the naturalization procedure to the acquisition of a Letter of Naturalization is six months or more. To summarize, the child has the right to begin the naturalization procedure at least six months after the parent.
If the child's other parent is not a Mexican citizen, he or she must provide consent for the child to become a Mexican citizen.
At the time of the beginning of the child’s naturalization stages, he must remain in Mexico for a period of 1 year without leaving the country. By comparison, adults may leave Mexico prior to naturalization, but are not required to have been absent from the country for a total of more than 6 months (180-182 days) in the past 2 years.
Children are exempt from taking the Mexican history and culture exam, but they must take a Spanish language test.
When a child becomes an adult, he is required to begin the naturalization procedure on his own according to the criteria for adults, in other words, be a resident for 5 years, not be absent from Mexico for more than 6 months in the last 2 years, pass exams in history and culture, language proficiency, etc. He does not require parental participation in the process.
We told you how to apply for Mexican citizenship, including for a child, in thispublications.