In answer to the reader’s question, we would like to talk about the time frame for which you are able to leave Mexico during the process of obtaining a residence permit, after obtaining a resident card, or after acquiring Mexican citizenship through naturalization.
In the process of acquiring resident status
Now in most states of Mexico, the process of acquiring resident status, temporary or permanent, for the first time takes no more than a month, or even just a couple of days. This refers to the period from the first contact with the office of the National Institute of Migration to register for the submission of papers until the acquisition of a Mexican resident card. We don’t think it’s rational to leave Mexico for this period.
If you still need to urgently leave the state, you should purchase an exit permit from the National Institute of Migration. How to get it, how to properly prepare departure and return, we told in thisarticle. You will be given 60 calendar days that you can be absent from Mexico.
Under all circumstances, you must return to Mexico by the designated date when you will be fingerprinted. This designated date will be based on your requested period of absence from Mexico, in other words, after you are due to return to the country. Failure to appear without a valid reason will mean termination of the migration process for obtaining resident status.
After purchasing a resident card
The temporary resident card (residente temporal) is valid until the date indicated on it. Usually, for the first time it is 1 year, but variations are possible. For example, temporary resident status due to marriage is issued for 2 years at once. After the card expires, it must either be renewed for another period or obtain permanent residence in Mexico.
A permanent resident card (residente permanente) most often does not have a specified validity period for adults, except in a few cases, since permanent residence in Mexico itself does not have an expiration date and does not need to be renewed. But if the card expires (such a column is provided there), then after its expiration the card must be renewed or replaced.
For children under 3 years of age, the permanent resident card is reissued annually, then up to 18 years of age it is valid for 4 years, after 18 years of age — does not have an expiration date, as stated above.
Once you receive your resident card, you can safely leave Mexico; no exit permits are required. But the exit and entry itself should be properly processed — see thispublication. You are allowed to be away from Mexico for as long as you need. But only within the card's validity period + 60 days.
Deadline to return to Mexico — card expiration date + 55 calendar days. Deadline for submitting documentation for card renewal — another 5 days from the date of entry using an expired card. Violation of any of these deadlines is fraught with loss of resident status.
If you were in Mexico, you would be required to apply to renew your resident card before its expiration date — without penalty, or within 60 days after the expiration date — with a fine. If you were abroad, no fine will be applied within 60 days after the card expires.
Since the permanent resident card does not have an expiration date (unless it is indicated on the card), no one forces you to stay in Mexico all the time. You can be absent for the rest of your life.
But if you plan to undergo the naturalization procedure and obtain Mexican citizenship, at the time of submitting documents for naturalization you must be absent from the country in totalno more than 180 calendar days over the last 2 years. These days of absence in Mexico are calculated by day according to the migration stamps in the passport; very often a corresponding request is sent to the migration service. If you have been away for more than 180 days, simply wait a little longer before applying for naturalization.
Naturalized Mexican
Unlike citizenship acquired by birth, citizenship by naturalization can be lost if its holder has been absent from Mexico for more than 5 years (more precisely, «lived abroad for more than 5 years»). Once every five years you need to come to the country for at least one day.
The Mexican Ministry of Overseas Affairs may revoke your letter (certificate) of naturalization. But first it must notify you that it intends to revoke your citizenship. You will have 15 (hereinafter — business) days to express your disagreement and explain your reasons, then 45 days to review your explanations. If they are not accepted, within another 60 days a decision is made to deprive of citizenship and cancel the letter of naturalization. The decision comes into force immediately and is not subject to appeal.