# New guy in need of help moving back to Mexico



## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay, just wanted to say I am a new guy here. 

Originally born in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur MX before moving to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco MX and then moving to the San Francisco Bay Area where I have been for the last 25 years.

I am now wanting to move back to Puerto Vallarta to be with my father and family after being separated for 25 years from them. But before I go back I would like to figure out how to establish my Mexican Citizenship. Not sure if having a Mexican Passport from when I was a months old or not will help or not?

I have my Birth Certificate, needed it to get my paperwork done for my US Citizenship since I was born to a US Citizen outside of the US which is my mom. My dad stayed behind due to my parents getting a divorce. 

Not sure if this is something that should be done here in the US, my local consulate is in San Jose I believe and or in San Francisco.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I suspect that you could renew your Mexican passport at your nearest Mexican consulate. Call them and tell them what other documentation you have and I am sure they will be able to help you.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> I suspect that you could renew your Mexican passport at your nearest Mexican consulate. Call them and tell them what other documentation you have and I am sure they will be able to help you.


Sweet!

I have been reading up on different things like wiki and mexico matters about dual citizenship and what not but I am already a recognized citizen of the US, so I guess doing this will be easier. 

Also will I have to let the State Dept. know I am leaving for say 1 year +/- a few months because I plan on coming back to the SF Bay Area to visit my adopted family for holiday's and what not, and I was not sure about that?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

As a US citizen, you will need a US passport.
As a Mexican citizen, you will need a Mexican passport.
In each country, you will come under the laws of that country and cannot seek assistance from the other.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> As a US citizen, you will need a US passport.
> As a Mexican citizen, you will need a Mexican passport.
> In each country, you will come under the laws of that country and cannot seek assistance from the other.


That is what I understood so far, but trying to get my Mexican Passport seems to be a pita for me right now. Not sure if I can fly down to PV using my my US Passport go through the Visa process and then visit the nearest office in Jalisco or Nayarit to get me a new Mexican Passport. 

My main problem is me speaking little to no spanish, I know, I know I was born and raised there for the first 8 years of my life and I cannot speak a lick of it now. 

I am trying to get all my ducks in a row, so that I can work for my family's business doing scuba diving trips and other sea related trips 

My original plan was to go down for 6 months and try to figure out things while I was down there. There is no law as far as I can see that says my father can not give me money while I hang out with him and aid in his business, right? :confused2: 

So yeah I just want to do things the right way that will make both countries happy, I am worried that I will get taxed or penalized for Obamacare while I do not technically live in the US and what not. I plan on getting my own medical coverage while in Mexico if it is possible to do so.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

If you intend to resume a "normal" life in Mexico, which includes living there, working there, etc., my suggestion is that you locate an attorney in Vallarta who is experienced in immigration matters so that he/she can assist you not only with the birth/citizenship/residency documents but with tax documents as well. I think it will be worth what should be a relatively low cost.


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Playing Both sides of the Border*

I don't think you're going to have any problems, but need to step through the process.

I don't think while in Mexico, you're going to be taxed for not having a Medical Insurance Program in the USA. But that depends if you are presently working and leave for Mexico mid year or not? I think they is a Income Qualification saying if you make less than $13K per year you don't have to pay for it, but would be covered under Medical? But, But, But, will actually have to wait and see how the new Obama Care is actually applied.

When in PV, if your Dad lives on the Nayarit side of the Bay, like I think you hinted at mentioning Nayarit? Well the Passport Office is in Tepic at Park Alameda on the west side of the Park. I think it averages 2-3 days to get your new Mexican Passport. I think it's an excellent thing you have your old Passport from when you were very little - It proves your Mexican Citizenship.

I don't think you'll need to pay any Abogados for any of these services - just take your Documentation in to the Mexican Passport Office and apply for a new one. I'm sure you can find someone in line there in Tepic that speaks Spanish/English that can help you out with the Passport Clerk. I doubt since you haven't mentioned it that you relinquished your Mexican Citizenship? You were born in Mexico so you are a dual National. Most Mexican Nationals who get US Citizenship don't relinguish their Mexican Citizenship.

You can stay at cheap but clean hotels here in Tepic, while you transact your business. Hotel Alicia right on main street Ave. Mexico by the Plaza Municipal is a business hotel for around $300.00 m.n. And there are cheap hotels right by the main bus station on Carr. Insurentes. Can catch First Class Buses up almost any hour from Pto. Vallarta for about $150.00 m.n. Each way.

There is a Mexican Consulate Office I believe in Pto. Vallarta so call them first to see if they can transact your Mexican Passport first.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

I would of quoted both messages but I am on S3 right now and don't think I could of figured it out. With that said I appreciate the feedback very much.

I only mentioned Nayarit because PV is literally on the border with it. I have a place to stay at already so no need to stay at a hotel. I came to the US with my mom but did not use either a US Passport or a Mexican Passport either as it was a time where travel between the two was more laxed.

I have never denounced or told Mexico I did not want to be a Citizen even when I obtained my US Citizenship abot 15 or so years ago. I have not served in the military or in any kind of office that would go against the laws of Mexico. All I want to do is move back to Mexico and resume a life with my biological family and do the right thing so that I do not lose my US or Mexican Citizenship.

I will keep everyone updated and I appreciate all the help thus far.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Also there is no worry since I have not worked since before the end of last year, so I guess I am good there.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay just got home from doing errands and on the way home I received a call from Mexico Matters who stated all I have to do is go to the Residency Office in Pitillal or Puerto Vallarta and activate my Residency since I am a Citizen of Mexico. So all I need to do is figure out where this said office is at in Pitillal or Puerto Vallarta so that I can get my dad or stepmom to go in and get some info for me so that I can just fly in get situated and go register. I guess I will e-mail Jose from Mexico Matters so that I can get the name or the office name that he mentioned. I did not have a piece of paper to write on and the napkin I had was not letting me write on it.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

A question for JuanitoM: What is Mexico Matters?


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> A question for JuanitoM: What is Mexico Matters?


It is a website I found via google when I searched how to do dual citizenship, before I found this site via google  I believe it is a guy that lives in Los Angeles and or in Mexico that has a website that has some info regarding National and Citizenship info. I saw that there was a number to call, so I did and I got a call back. Now I need to get a hold of my dad tomorrow after my class and give him the good news


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

JuanitoM said:


> It is a website I found via google when I searched how to do dual citizenship, before I found this site via google  I believe it is a guy that lives in Los Angeles and or in Mexico that has a website that has some info regarding National and Citizenship info. I saw that there was a number to call, so I did and I got a call back. Now I need to get a hold of my dad tomorrow after my class and give him the good news


I advise you not to accept what the Mexico Matters guru tells you as the gospel truth. You need to make inquiries at the Mexican Consulate nearest you in the States and then at the appropriate offices in Mexico when you get here.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

JuanitoM said:


> Okay just got home from doing errands and on the way home I received a call from Mexico Matters who stated all I have to do is go to the Residency Office in Pitillal or Puerto Vallarta and activate my Residency since I am a Citizen of Mexico. So all I need to do is figure out where this said office is at in Pitillal or Puerto Vallarta so that I can get my dad or stepmom to go in and get some info for me so that I can just fly in get situated and go register. I guess I will e-mail Jose from Mexico Matters so that I can get the name or the office name that he mentioned. I did not have a piece of paper to write on and the napkin I had was not letting me write on it.


I've never heard of a Residency Office. Did José explain what it was? It all sounds a bit vague to me.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Yeah, I hear you. Going to take a day to go to the Consulate nearest me and then take a friend that speaks spanish to help me out. I guess I got a little carried away for a minute, this whole reclaiming my Mexican Citizenship thing s just wearing me out. Thanks again for the reply Verde


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## cscscs007 (Jan 8, 2011)

This is my understanding of this situation, but you should have your dad do some of this at the municipal office where he is at.
Since you have a Mexico birth certificate it is already recorded. To go to Mexico I would get a Mexico passport as Mexico requires that on Mexico soil you must declare mexican citizenship. Using your US passport would be declaring you are a US citizen. There should be a number to call to set up an appointment to go to the Mexico consulate office and get your passport. Ask them what you will need to bring with you and how many copies of each. When you go to your appointment they will process everything right there and issue you a passport the same day (they always have for my wife and several of her sisters).
In Mexico you should have to go to the municipal office to get a CURP number and I believe a Mexico ID issued. The ones I have talked to about this said it was easy to do. 
When I made the appointments for my wife I had to call is 1 (877) 639-4835. They were very helpful in telling me what she needed to bring to renew her passport. Make sure to tell them your passport is expired as the procedure requires a little more documentation that you will need to bring with you. If you walk in some consulates will turn you away, some will make you wait in line after those who have appointments. 
The phone number can be called 24 hours a day. I hope this is of some help to you, but the ones who would be able to assist you with what you need would be the consulate office.
I wish you the best.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

cscscs007 said:


> This is my understanding of this situation, but you should have your dad do some of this at the municipal office where he is at.
> Since you have a Mexico birth certificate it is already recorded. To go to Mexico I would get a Mexico passport as Mexico requires that on Mexico soil you must declare mexican citizenship. Using your US passport would be declaring you are a US citizen. There should be a number to call to set up an appointment to go to the Mexico consulate office and get your passport. Ask them what you will need to bring with you and how many copies of each. When you go to your appointment they will process everything right there and issue you a passport the same day (they always have for my wife and several of her sisters).
> In Mexico you should have to go to the municipal office to get a CURP number and I believe a Mexico ID issued. The ones I have talked to about this said it was easy to do.
> When I made the appointments for my wife I had to call is 1 (877) 639-4835. They were very helpful in telling me what she needed to bring to renew her passport. Make sure to tell them your passport is expired as the procedure requires a little more documentation that you will need to bring with you. If you walk in some consulates will turn you away, some will make you wait in line after those who have appointments.
> ...


Sweet! So glad I ran into this site, I look forward to making my move soon. Thanks for the info, I will call it tomorrow in between classes.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

JuanitoM said:


> Yeah, I hear you. Going to take a day to go to the Consulate nearest me and then take a friend that speaks spanish to help me out. I guess I got a little carried away for a minute, this whole reclaiming my Mexican Citizenship thing s just wearing me out. Thanks again for the reply Verde


It's understandable that you got carried away. Not only will you be reclaiming your Mexican citizenship but also half of your self! Good luck with everything!


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you, or your father, need to obtain copies of birth records in Mexico, the office you seek is the appropriate Registro Publico in the municipalidad where the birth took place. They may also issue the CURP (clave unico de registro personal, or something like that), which is similar to a social security card. Then, you will want to register to vote with the federal elections officials and get your voter card, which is also an important ID for Mexican citizens.


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay here is some info I just found while talking to my sister on aim, what a crazy world we live in. She told me I could look up my CURP record online with just a few easy questions, so I googled CURP and I was directed to consulta curp which came back with a result of "Not Existence" after I filled in all the info I was asked of me. So I guess I filed something with that office and after reading some of what was on there I googled it and came up with this site called RENAPO.

On RENAPO I followed a few of the directions and came up with this:

If you have never requested your CURP

Print your certificate "Not Existence" Serch for your CURP
Go to the module closest to your home, locate it in:
Interactive directory of modules CURP
Present your birth certificate and an official identification
The procedure takes 5 minutes and is free

I tried to click on the link in the Interactive directory of modules CURP but it showed up as error 404 page not found type of message which came up on a gobernacion website page.

So I googled again for curp modules and was directed to another site which asked for some info which asked that one of these two options be used 

curp poblacion abierta - I chose this one since I was born there and I was not able to ask my sister.

tramite de curp unicamente a extranjeros

which led me to this up with this:

OFICIALIA 01 DE REGISTRO CIVIL DE PUERTO VALLARTA, JALISCO

PERU No. 201 CP. 45680 Col. CENTRO Municipio PUERTO VALLARTA Edo. JALISCO

So I guess my next venture is trying to figure out what I will need to do in order to get an official identification so that I can establish my CURP, lol!

I hope to be able to help out others that are in my situation with this info, as I have had a lot of good info given to me while on here in the short time I have been here.


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## cscscs007 (Jan 8, 2011)

I would suggest going to Rollybrook's website. In the directory he has CURP listed, and it is full of information in regards to CURP and the requirements. Reading through his website will answer many, many of your questions as it is indeed an excellent source of information. He has done an excellent job of putting it all together.

CURP


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

cscscs007 said:


> I would suggest going to Rollybrook's website. In the directory he has CURP listed, and it is full of information in regards to CURP and the requirements. Reading through his website will answer many, many of your questions as it is indeed an excellent source of information. He has done an excellent job of putting it all together.
> 
> CURP


As good as Rolly's site is, none of that will apply to the OP since he is not an immigrant to Mexico like most of us but rather a Mexican citizen by birth.

It is looking like a trip to Mexico will be in order for you, JuanitoM. 

Head to Cabo San Lucas, get a few certified copies of your birth certificate (they require copies of the birth certificate of Mexican citizens for just about EVERYTHING you do here!). The birth certificate proves that you are a Mexican national for all other purposes. Sounds like a nice excuse for a trip to Cabo San Lucas!

Once you have that, you can get a passport and an IFE, the voter registration card. Both of those things are frequently required for various "tramites". Then head to the registro civil and register for a CURP. I'm not sure if there is a special order you need to do those steps in - maybe the CURP should be step one after the birth certificate, I'm not sure, but a visit to the local registro civil will answer that question.

Once you have all of those documents, you should be about as officially re-Mexicanized as you can be!


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## JuanitoM (Mar 22, 2013)

circle110 said:


> As good as Rolly's site is, none of that will apply to the OP since he is not an immigrant to Mexico like most of us but rather a Mexican citizen by birth.
> 
> It is looking like a trip to Mexico will be in order for you, JuanitoM.
> 
> ...


I already have a copy of my BC that I mailed away for back in 1998 so that I could establish my US Citizenship, so hopefully I should be able to go straight to Puerto Vallarta and visit the CURP office and or see how to go about getting my Official ID.

Thank you and also thanks to cscscs007 for the replies


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