# Married to a Mexican Wife - What's Needed for Me to be a Mexican Citizen?



## DenverDuck (Apr 28, 2011)

Married to a Mexican Wife - What's needed for me to also be a Mexican citizen (while keeping my US Citizenship)?

Still living in California but own property in Merida...

Anybody know if this is possible while living up here or do I need to reside in MX for a period?

Many thanks..... Duck


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

YOu would need to live in Mexico with a residence permit; probably a Residente Permanente obtained via the familial rules of INM. That status is lost if you reside in another country and they do keep track of your time out of country, entry, exit, etc.
Once you reside in Mexico with the appropriate visa, you may become eligible to apply to SRE for naturalization after two years residency.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Yes, as RV wrote, you will need to have lived here under permanent residency status for a couple of years at least with only short visits abroad. My wife is a recently naturalized Mexican citizen and, while I believe that that fact expedited the naturaliztion process in my case, I still had to have lived here as a permanent resident for a significant period of time in order to qualify for citizenship which process has just ended in my favor. I go to pick up my Carta de Naturalización tomorrow but I can tell you they scrutinized my passport for entry and exit stamps with great care to ascertain that I had not exited the country in the past two years beyond the time allowed. The people you would deal with at SRE in Jalisco and Chiapas are very pleasant for governmental functionariies but brook no nonsense. I can´t speak of SRE personnel elsewhere in Mexio but I can say that they are a lot more pleasant to de with than the personnel at INM - at least in those two stattes. They are meticulous in their applying of criteria permitting citizenship so move here full time under permanent residncy and keep good records of your comings and goings. 

If you follow through wth this process and have the proper documentation including a Mexican Passport and voter identification card, you will not regret having achieved naturalized citizen status. It is well worth the effort .


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## anndruu12 (Nov 27, 2012)

I am in the same situation has he. I was under the impression he would have to hold a residente temporal for 2 years (instead of 4 due to his marriage), and only then he would qualify for residente permanente. Is this not accurate? Or does his owning property make him immediately eligible for permanente?


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

By marriage, he needs only the RP for only 2 years.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

I'm a couple of weeks away from 2 years and plan to apply for citizenship soon. Hubby is Mexican.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

terrybahena said:


> I'm a couple of weeks away from 2 years and plan to apply for citizenship soon. Hubby is Mexican.


Great news! But you've been living in Mexico for the last two years, haven't you?, while the OP has been living in California, not having yet made the permanent move to Mexico.


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## BirthAbroad (May 18, 2014)

And if you have a Mexican child, there is no income or time requirement for permanent residence. You just take your child's acta de nacimiento, your passport and FMM. Nor do you need temporary residence first this way. Your status is changed to permanent resident (making you technically an immigrant) and you can legally work. You didn't mention kids but I thought I should mention it in case it was applicable.


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## DenverDuck (Apr 28, 2011)

Yes, we have 2 children. Both were born in the US, but have dual citizenship, both USA and Mexican passports.

Thanks much to all for the help.


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## BirthAbroad (May 18, 2014)

Then yes, getting permanent residence through your children is definitely the easiest way to do it, even according to the INM officer that processed my permanent residence. I am waiting on my permanent residence right now, like I said there was no income req or staying in Mexico for x years. Here in Chihuahua CHIH, it takes about a month and a half to
Be approved. There are not a lot of instructions online for filing, and the INM website is pretty useless. When you are ready to start, you will fill out the online application and print it out from INM.gov. You will need to take this printed document to a bank in Mexico and pay a 1000 peso filing fee. With originals and photocopies ready, you can visit a INM office to file your petition. When you are done, they will give you a tracking number and password. When it is approved you will need to bring photos as they tell you. You will then need to pay another 3940ish pesos. After that, any citizenship questions are handled with the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

BirthAbroad said:


> Then yes, getting permanent residence through your children is definitely the easiest way to do it, even according to the INM officer that processed my permanent residence. I am waiting on my permanent residence right now, like I said there was no income req or staying in Mexico for x years. Here in Chihuahua CHIH, it takes about a month and a half to
> Be approved. There are not a lot of instructions online for filing, and the INM website is pretty useless. When you are ready to start, you will fill out the online application and print it out from INM.gov. You will need to take this printed document to a bank in Mexico and pay a 1000 peso filing fee. With originals and photocopies ready, you can visit a INM office to file your petition. When you are done, they will give you a tracking number and password. When it is approved you will need to bring photos as they tell you. You will then need to pay another 3940ish pesos. After that, any citizenship questions are handled with the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores.


But the OP has not yet moved permanently to Mexico, so until he does, he cannot follow through with any of the information you have so kindly outlined here.


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