# From overseas



## Seagypsy (Aug 13, 2014)

Hi there, I am new on the forum, and hope someone can help. I am not an expat in Mexico but I recently spent 16 months in Mexico aboard our sailboat. We explored the Pacific Coast and the Sea of Cortez.

I need some advice:

My husband and I are Canadian. Since our time in Mexico we have sailed throughout the South Pacific and are now in New Zealand. We are applying for residency in NZ. Because we traveled in Mexico for over a year, we are required to get Federal Police certificates from there for our residency application. We have almost all the documentation required, but how do we deal with getting a Power of Attorney sorted from overseas? Thanks in advance for any help on this subject. Cheers, Kyra

PS The consulate have supplied us with a Power of attorney template that requires a signature from the grantor, acceptee, and two witnesses. And of course it needs to be notarized.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You might be able to get some more specific advice from the nearest Mexican consulate in NZ.
All I know is that expats in Mexico, who wish to become naturalized, must go to Mexico City in person to obtain such certificates.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

You have an interesting problem and the problem arises from your application to obtain a New Zealand residency permit rather than any obstacle raised by the Mexican authorities. The federal pólice certificates attesting to the fact that you were not aprehended nor recorded in Mexico for engaging in any criminal activities while resident in Mexico is only required in Mexico for applicants for naturalized citizenship in Mexico and not for a less demanding residency permit in this country. I am unclear as to your residency status in Mexico when you were sailing about here in the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific. Did you actually obtain residency permits or live here under tourist permits? 

As RV wrote, if you were a resident in Mexico seeking to become a naturalized citizen of Mexico, you would be required to appear in person with the proper papers supplied by SRE at the designated pólice headquarters in Mexico City to obtain this certificate and you would not be permitted to assign this task to a third person or an attorney with or without a "power of attorney" designation or at least that is what I was told when successfully applying for Mexican citizenship recently. If a physical journey to mexico City is required of Mexican expat residents, why would that requirement be waived or modified for applicants in New Zealand needing the certificate to obtain residency status in that country? 

RV is right that you may find help at a mexican consulate in New Zealand but you may need to seek advice from a Mexican immigration attorney to clarify what you must do to proceed in order to satisfy New Zealand´s requirements. Thank God, Mexico doesn´t have any such draconian rule requiring obtaining residency or citizenship in Mexico or most of us who have spent a bit of time as residents in a number of countries around the globe at times over a year in several, here and there, would be up the creek without a paddle. 

Maybe you should seek a more reasonable country in which to reside. 

Good luck to you.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

To get a constancia de no antecedentes penales federal you need to present yoursefl in person in Coyacan Mexico City with a passport , a birth certificate translated by an official translator.
For people who are from countries who are part of the convention you need the birth certificate apostilled, Canada is not part of that agreement so whatever you do when you have to have a paper apostilled and amproof of residence like autility bill showing your address in Mexico.
Since you were living on a boat I am not sure how you do that. You should ask the Mexican consulate in NZ how to get that constancia in your case.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

If you were on your boat, maybe you weren't considered to be "in Mexico." Just a thought.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I was going to say maybe they were not residents so get the records from the last place you can prove you were a resident and see what happens. Maybe it is too late but maybe it is not.

I would think that if you were travelling and going from place to place you were a tourist and your place of residence is the place you were voting or had a residence..Did you have a temporary resident visa in Mexico? If not you were not a resident so skip the details on Mexico.

If you had an FM3 what was the address given and do you have any bill or paper proving you were there at the time.?


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

When immigrating to Canada, you have to get a police clearance from every place you lived continuously for 6 months or more, regardless of residency status in that country. I have a Mexican friend who applied for Canadian residency inland without returning to Mexico. I'll ask her how she got her police clearance.

The "Certificado de No Antecedentes Penales" can be applied for online, at least in the 3 states I just checked (Edo. Mexico, Morelos and Veracruz). The trick is going to be how to pick it up. The government website in Veracruz states you can have a relative with a signed power of attorney (carta poder) pick it up on your behalf. I'd check with the Mexican Consulate in New Zealand if it can be forwarded to them and then you can pick it up from them showing proper identification. I'm sure you are not the first people who are living in other countries who have needed this from Mexico, so the Consulate would be able to advise you how to get the letter once you've done the online application and payment.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Seagypsy said:


> Hi there, I am new on the forum, and hope someone can help. I am not an expat in Mexico but I recently spent 16 months in Mexico aboard our sailboat. We explored the Pacific Coast and the Sea of Cortez.
> 
> I need some advice:
> 
> ...


Re-reading your original post, I see you aren't asking about applying for the actual Antecedentes No Penales but the Power of Attorney, which is likely so someone can pick up those Antecedentes on your behalf. Do you have any trusted contacts in Mexico?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

The applying on line is irrelevant, since it takes no time to get it, the picking up is the problem but I would think if the person does not know anyone in Mexico a lawyer in DF will be happy to do it for a fee. Yes maybe the consulate can get it forwarded and maybe not, you would think that in Mexico they could get it forwarded to the state you live in .


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## Seagypsy (Aug 13, 2014)

Hello all, than you everyone for your replies! 

I should clarify a few things: we had FM3s in spite of living on our sailboat (it's common in La Paz to use the lawyer's address in La Paz Marina). We were definitely residents.

It is possible to get a certificate from overseas as I received the instructions from the Mexican Consulate here. They write a letter that goes with the application. I have all the necessary documents. The consulate couldn't answer my questions beyond the letter they drafted up for us. The only issue is finding out (I can't seem to get answers to specific questions from the Mexican departments I have written to, my Spanish is rusty so I'm sure that doesn't help.) so again,the only issue is how to get a power of attorney done, for example do they accept digital signatures etc. 

I do know a couple of expats I am in contact with, and am trying to see if the lawyer who helped us out with our FM3s can answer my questions.

Bureaucracy in any country can get convoluted, I appreciate feedback, just know that yes I can get a police certificate from oversesas. These are the instructions if you are interested..
http://embamex.sre.gob.mx/nuevazelandia/images/pdf/reqext.pdf
If you scroll down you'll see there is a template for the power of attorney.

If I hear back from the lawyer I will let you know what he said, someone here said they might know a person who went through the same process, if you find out more I would love to hear what they had to say.

Cheers from the land of Kiwis,
Kyra


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Ok so what you need is the constancia de datos registrales and it says that you can request that one from the Procuradoria in Baja Sur or Norte, Can you get the lawyer whose address you used get it for you ? That would be the simplest way to go. 

At least this constancia you can get from the state and you do not need to go to DF like you do when you apply for the other certification, that is a plus.


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