When a child is born in Mexico, he immediately becomes a citizen of this country. His parents are able to obtain permanent residence, and in a couple of years, in addition, become citizens. If you flew to Mexico for childbirth, it makes sense to apply for permanent residence immediately after the birth of the child and return to your homeland, already having the status of a resident of Mexico.
It is now possible to purchase a Mexican resident card in just a couple of weeks. Previously, the process of obtaining permanent residence after the birth of a child could take several months. Let’s say that the parents did not want to stay in Mexico for a long time or personal reasons forced them to return to their homeland without waiting to acquire a resident card. If you did not obtain permanent residence after the birth of a child in Mexico and left the country, this is not a problem.
You can start the process of obtaining permanent residence at any time later. This process is not limited by the age of the Mexican child; it is not necessary to deal with registration immediately after birth. However, your brothers and sisters must be minors at the time of obtaining their permanent residence permit. In addition to parents, grandparents also have the opportunity to obtain permanent residence.
To begin the process of obtaining a permanent residence permit for the birth of a child in Mexico while outside of Mexico, you should contact the Mexican consulate. The consulate will issue you a resident visa, with which you must enter Mexico and complete the process after entry. It is possible to calculate a convenient time of arrival in Mexico and return home based on the following chronology:
- contacting a diplomatic mission and obtaining a visa — 10 days
- entry into Mexico — within 180 days,
- submitting papers for a resident card — within 30 days,
- registration of a resident card — from two weeks to a month.
Mandatory documents
The following documentation must be provided to the Mexican Consulate:
- Questionnairefor a visa. It is universal for all types of visas. You must paste a recent photograph of a non-standard size 32x26 or 39x31 mm onto the application form. If the photo does not fit into the frame on the application form, it can be cropped.
- Passport, original and simple copy.
- Child's birth certificate issued in Mexico, original and simple copy.
- For parents: marriage certificate (optional).
- For minor brothers and sisters: birth certificate, original and simple copy.
- For grandparents: birth certificates of both parents of the child, original and simple copy.
The main task of registry documentation — confirm the relationship with the Mexican child. Additional evidence may be required, such as a parents' marriage certificate if one of them changed their last name and after marriage it differs from the one on their birth certificate, or an adoption document.
All documents not issued in Mexico must be apostilled and translated into Spanish or English. A simple translation is enough.
No confirmation of the financial viability of the child’s relatives — You won't need a Mexican citizen.
Submission of documents
You must make an appointment with the consular department. This can be done by email or through the systemMEXITEL. Contacts of all Mexican consulates can be found herelink. We would like to add that Mexitel does not work in consulates located in the CIS countries.
On the appointed day and time, come to the consulate and submit documents for a resident visa. Papers cannot be submitted by proxy. The visa regulations state that the presence of a Mexican citizenNecessarily. This means that you must take your child with you. But to complete the process of obtaining resident status, you have the right to go to Mexico without a child, leaving him at home in the care of relatives.
Other situations are also possible:
- mom and child in Mexico, dad — at home,
- parents with a child in Mexico, relatives — at home.
Then the process of obtaining a residence permit at the consulate and the list of documents will be slightly different.
You must pay a visa fee at the consulate. Most often, this can be done on site. The current amount of the visa fee can be clarifiedHere.
In addition, at the consulate you need to go through an interview and submit fingerprints. This is a formality, but it is impossible without it.
Visa issuance deadlines
Based on the rules for issuing consular visas, the maximum period for issuing a Mexico visa is 10 working days.
The visa will be issued on the same day if the visa application package is complete, the consular interview is completed successfully, and additional verification by the Mexican immigration service is not necessary.
If any documents are missing or completed incorrectly, you will have 10 days to correct or submit the missing papers.
The process ends with the issuance of a visa, which is affixed to the passport.
What's next
Once your visa is issued, you will have 180 days (the duration of the visa) to enter Mexico, followed by another 30 days during which you must contact the National Institute of Migration (INM) office in the country to complete the process of becoming a permanent resident of Mexico. Read more in thispublications.
If you do not plan to obtain Mexican citizenship in the next few years, after receiving a resident card, you can immediately fly to your homeland. The Mexican permanent resident card has no expiration date; you can use it to enter and leave Mexico without restrictions, and you can also be absent from the country for as long as you like.
But if you are planning to obtain Mexican citizenship, you should know that you can apply for naturalization two years after obtaining your permanent resident card. During the two years before filing, you can be absent from the country for no more than 180 days. However, you can apply for naturalization at any time later, but this can only be done on Mexican territory.
In another six months, after passing the exam, you will have the right to become a citizen of Mexico and obtain a Mexican passport.