If you are planning to move to Mexico, be prepared to be asked for your original birth certificate. For Mexicans, birth certificate — the main document, so when it comes to the rules for conducting any government processes, they do not make exceptions for foreigners.
Bring to Mexico only the original birth certificate, which must be certified with an apostille stamp. There is no need to make an official translation of the certificate before arriving in Mexico.
Marriage
In all states of Mexico, with the exception of Quintana Roo (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum), a birth certificate will be required to register a marriage. If you do not have one, you have the opportunity to prepare your marriage only in Quintana Roo — in this state, you only need a passport to register a marriage, but sometimes in addition to this they ask for its official translation into Spanish.
Childbirth in Mexico
In most Mexican states, birth certificates from both parents are required to register a newborn. The data on the parents will be transferred to the child’s birth certificate from their birth certificates, and the child’s surname will be formed from there (father’s surname + mother’s surname). If the surnames on the parents' birth certificates are old, another document is required confirming the parent's change of surname. This is a bad situation, because Registro civil offices (registry offices) do not always understand what a change of surname is (in Mexico, surnames are not changed), and the old surnames of the parents will still appear on the child’s birth certificate. And then, to prove your relationship with the child, you will always have to present a document confirming the change of surname by the parent.
All problems are resolved only through negotiations with Registro civil employees. If you don't have a birth certificate at all, explain that you are a non-resident, didn't know a birth certificate was needed, or go to their other office where they won't ask for a birth certificate. A child cannot NOT be registered without a parent’s birth certificate, otherwise this violates his rights, but this point must be explained.
Explain the name change to the Registro Civil office staff. Ask to add your last name from the passport, not from the birth certificate, on the child's birth certificate.
Or come to give birth or register a child in the state of Quintana Roo (Cancun). Here, parents' birth certificates are not needed to register a child.
Acquisition of citizenship (naturalization)
When applying for Mexican citizenship by naturalization, an original birth certificate is always required, no exceptions. It will be taken away from you forever.
Confirmation of relationship
A birth certificate is required whenever you are proving your relationship to a Mexican citizen or resident:
- for the parent whose child — citizen or resident of Mexico, you need a birth certificate for the child,
- for a minor child whose parent — Mexican citizen or resident, child's birth certificate required.
Most often we are talking about confirming kinship when:
- entering or leaving Mexico with a child,
- obtaining a resident visa by a relative,
- obtaining a visa at a foreign consulate in Mexico as a child,
- when a child applies for refugee status in Mexico,
- when applying for a residence permit at the Mexican Migration Service.
Other cases
Many government institutions also require a birth certificate when registering foreigners. In particular, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). Although we know of cases where registration of an adult foreigner in IMSS is possible without a birth certificate, to connect a child to insurance, his birth certificate will always be needed.
In addition, a birth certificate may be required in the following cases:
- admission to a Mexican educational institution, school or university,
- registration of an INAPAM senior citizen discount card,
- notarial actions.
Certificate requirements
A foreign birth certificate must only be in the original. It must be certified with an apostille stamp. In this case, it does not matter whether it is a new sample or an old one (book), the main thing is that it has an apostille. The original certificate and the apostille on it do not have a validity period.
If you changed your last name, you need another document, also apostilled. Most often this is a marriage certificate, an extract from the Civil Register about the maiden name, a certificate of name change, etc.
Upon entry into Mexico, these documents must be translated into Spanish by a licensed Mexican translator.
Do not bring a notarized copy of your birth certificate to Mexico, it is an invaluable document. It does not have the force of the original, and most often it will not be accepted.
The original birth certificate may be taken away. They always pick it up during naturalization, sometimes they pick it up when registering a child and when registering a marriage in Mexico (don’t give it away!), they never pick it up at the Mexican immigration service. The official translation of the certificate is always taken away. You are able to purchase a duplicate birth certificate, re-certificate or similar document in your home country that has the force of the original. Although the recertification invalidates the original, Mexico will never know about it.
We told you what to do with a Soviet-style birth certificate in this article.publications.