How to get Dual Mexican Citizenship 

Are you thinking of getting dual citizenship? And your ancestors are of Mexican origin? If you answered yes to both, then I highly recommend obtaining your Mexican citizenship! Not sure where to start? I’ll share the full process I went through to get mine. 

Documentation required to start:

• Your long-form birth certificate + 2 copies
• One or both of your parents’ birth certificates from Mexico + 2 copies
• Your valid US passport + 2 copies

When I went through the process to get mine, things were a little chaotic and unclear, so here are my recommendations for steps to make the process as efficient as possible. 

1. Make sure you have a long-form birth certificate.

This will include information from both of your parents. If, for whatever reason, your parents’ information does not match what is on their birth certificates, you will need to determine your options for correcting it. It could be as simple as getting their marriage certificate (plus copies, of course). 

2. The first step is to get your birth certificate apostilled.

In California, this is possible either in person or by mail. If you decide to do this in person, you must go to the California Secretary of State’s office in Sacramento or Los Angeles. Sometimes they have Pop-Up Shops in cities throughout the state. Check here to see if any are coming to a city near you. You can also do this by mail, but keep in mind that this takes about 3 weeks to get back to you. If you’re located in a different state, the process should be somewhat similar. 

3. Next is to get it translated into Spanish.

I went to Tijuana to start the paperwork process, so the person who runs copies at Ayuntamiento called over a notary they recommended. They charged me $40 USD, and it took about an hour. 

4. Required paperwork for the application

If you decide to complete the paperwork in Mexico, you need to file what is called a “Constancia de inexistencia de nacimento”. Since I went to Tijuana to do this, I went to the Secretaría General del Estado’s building on Av. Centenario 101, Zona Urbana Río, 22010 Tijuana, B.C. They ask for a copy of your birth certificate, your parents’ birth certificates, and your (US) passport. The only drawback is that you need to pay with a Mexican card, or if you pay by cash, you need to go to a different building a few blocks over. This cost me $476 pesos, which is about $27 USD. Going to the Secretaría General del Estado is the expedited option, since you can get the paperwork in about an hour, depending on how many people are there. If you’re not in a hurry, you can file the paperwork at El Registro Civil, and it will take about 3 weeks to be ready. 

5. File for citizenship.

So now that you have your birth certificate apostilled from the US, a translated version, and your Inexistencia paperwork, you can file for the actual citizenship. You must wait for this, as it takes about an hour to receive the document. There is no cost to get this portion of the paperwork. 

If you’re doing this in the US, you need to go to the nearest Mexican consulate. Appointments are required and can be booked through their website. 

To get your Mexican passport once you finalize your citizenship papers, you can also do this at your nearest consulate. A separate appointment is required. 

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