Mexico: Information on the documents needed to apply for Mexican nationality and on the documents needed to obtain a passport

The following information was provided in a 19 September 1996 telephone interview with an official of the Embassy of the United States of Mexico in Ottawa.

The following procedures apply to individuals wishing to exercise a right to Mexican nationality by birth and do not reflect the process for the acquisition of citizenship or passports for immigrants, which are immigration and naturalization matters that are dealt with in separate processes.

A request for the recognition of Mexican nationality by birth is initiated by a written request made directly to the Secretary of External Relations in Mexico or the closest Mexican embassy or consulate, which in turn will forward the letter to the appropriate authorities. Subsequently, the requester must fill out an official request form and demonstrate their right to nationality.

The standard proof of a right to nationality is to provide a copy of the birth certificate of the mother or father, as well as the birth certificate of the applicant. In special circumstances when a birth certificate of the father or mother cannot be provided, one may be able to substitute a copy of the parent's passport or voter's certificate (credencial del elector), as both are documents which require proof of citizenship.

If not one of the three documents is available, the requester must go to the civil registry (registro civil) of the city in Mexico where the parent was born to obtain a copy of the parent's birth certificate. The birth certificate must be obtained in person from the civil registry, but it is permissible to name a third person to obtain the certificate in lieu of the requester (a relative, lawyer or notary is recommended). The applicant requesting the copy of the documents from the civil registry does not need to be the person who is named on the birth certificate. The fee for obtaining a copy of a birth certificate from a civil registry is approximately CDN$4.00.

According to an undated and unsigned facsimile in Spanish, received on 19 September 1996 from the Embassy of the United States of Mexico in Ottawa, to renew a passport the applicant must present themself in person before an embassy or consular official to fill out a request in duplicate, pay the applicable fees and present the following: (i) an expired passport; (ii) for males 18 to 40 years, a certificate of military service (cartilla del servicio militar); (iii) for individuals of the age of majority born outside the country of a Mexican mother or father, or born in Mexico to a foreign mother or father, a certificate of Mexican nationality (certificado de nacionalidad mexicana); (iv) for naturalized Mexicans, proof of naturalization (carta de naturalización); (v) three recent photographs.

To obtain a new passport, the individual does not need to present an expired passport, but must fulfil all of the other conditions and present a copy of their birth certificate.

The facsimile notes the following conditions. Parents of minors must submit photocopies of their identification documents and sign an authorization for the minor's passport. For Mexicans born outside of Mexico or born to non-Mexican parents, five-year passports are available if the individual is between three and fifteen years of age, but minors between the age of fifteen and eighteen can only receive a passport that is valid up to the day the minor turns nineteen. Minors of less than three years of age can only receive a passport valid for one year. Collective or family passports are no longer used. The fees for obtaining a one-year passport and five-year passport are approximately CDN$29.15 and CDN$74.95, respectively.

Please consult Response to Information Request MEX24718.E of 28 August 1996 which provides additional information on issuing passports to minors.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Embassy of the United States of Mexico, Ottawa. 19 September 1996. Telephone interview with official and facsimile sent to the DIRB.