# Giving birth in Mexico



## Explorador (Nov 11, 2014)

Hello,

My wife is pregnant and we are heading to Mexico for business, if my wife gave birth in Mexico will my baby get a Mexican citizenship automatically? and how long does it take?


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

Yes and at the moment of birth. You will need to register the birth ar a Civil Registry where the birth certificate will be issued.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

*Happy Parenthood!!*

Yes, the registration is necessary for your claim to Mexican citizenship on your child's behalf. It is also required for the next step, which is just as crucial: take your baby as soon as possible to your country's embassy to register him/her as a citizen born abroad. This way, you will have an acceptable birth certificate from your own country for needed purposes of school, employment, etc.

Back in 1989 I sent my wife to Veracruz to be with family while I was in Honduras with the Army. I returned & arrived just the day before our first child's (daughter) birth. We registered the birth in the registro civil, then went to DF to register it in the US embassy, there. As part of the process, they also issued her a passport (with picture!) to go with another birth certificate.

My daughter is now 26 years old, but has never "asserted" her Mexican citizenship which would require her to go to a Mexican embassy or consulate to apply for a passport & matricula. At one time she considered studying in Mexico as a citizen, but abandoned the idea when she decided to get married, instead. Still, I don't know of any limitations or problems with her claiming citizenship in Mexico if she ever decided to act on the notion.

Funny, the only problem we ran into was several weeks afterward when we were returning to the US. An old guy (Mexican Customs official) was trying to hold us up in the airport because there was no entry stamped or documented of my daughters entry to Mexico...!! For a few tense minutes, it didn't seem to matter where I could show & compare for him my wife's original date of entry with the birth certificate & date of my daughter's birth. I don't know if there was really any legality to the challenge, but some "pesitos para un refresco" took care of the problem. There was no hold-up, at all, at the US point of entry.

I just saw something in the news a week or so ago of another couple that were held up (still?) for over a week with a similar situation. Just make sure to cover yourself as much as possible ahead of time. Good luck to you & may you have a beautiful & healthy baby!!


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

A person born in Mexico is automatically a citizen. They need not assert anything nor file any type of paperwork. The birth certificate Is proof of citizenship.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

But, it is wise to register births with the appropriate consulate or embassy, and to get both passports if one is a dual citizen. It will save hassles and open other options.


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

You register the birth abroad with the foreign government. For Mexico the birth certificate is sufficient. A Mexican passport is acquired at an SRE office while present in Mexico. Or at a Mexican embassy or consulate if outside the country.


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

Congratulations! I just went through this in Puebla. Our daughter is almost five months old. I wrote up a bunch of information on my blog if that is helpful: https://foxflat.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/giving-birth-in-mexico/ Feel free to email me too.


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## Explorador (Nov 11, 2014)

Thank you for your very kind replies, I really don't know what to say.

I'm thinking to hire a lawyer to help me in the process since my spanish is weak and I'm unfamiliar with the system.

Just one more question, from the time of the birth, how long does the process take? 

And is it enough to get 'only' a birth certificate for the baby in order to issue a Mexican passport from Mexico or any embassy around the world?


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

ktmarie said:


> Congratulations! I just went through this in Puebla. Our daughter is almost five months old. I wrote up a bunch of information on my blog if that is helpful: https://foxflat.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/giving-birth-in-mexico/ Feel free to email me too.


I really enjoyed reading your blog, ktmarie. In reference to forgetting certain aspects about giving birth, I've long been of the opinion that postpartum hormones include something which induces selective memory loss - or every child would be an only child!

Reading some of your other posts, I stumbled across a reference to "Watergate Salad" (pistachio pudding, pineapple and Cool Whip) - I'd totally forgotten about that particular concoction which certainly was part of the landscape of my childhood at family picnics and church potlucks. I guess that's another type of selective memory loss.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

I think a lawyer is more legal power than you need. A facilitator or interpreter should be quite enough to help you through the process of getting your baby’s Mexican birth certificate and passport.


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## KaiyanaM (Feb 10, 2015)

I'm an American living in TJ, I gave birth to my son here a few months ago. You'll need to register your child at the Registro Civil. 

Since I'm an American I needed to bring a translated version of my certified copy of my birth certificate and an apostille from the Lt. Governor of the state I was born in to certify that that birth cert is legit. I was born in Hawaii so I'm not sure if the apostille is needed if you were born in the continental US. 

Then you'll need to go the US Consulte to register a birth abroad.


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Explorador said:


> Thank you for your very kind replies, I really don't know what to say.
> 
> I'm thinking to hire a lawyer to help me in the process since my spanish is weak and I'm unfamiliar with the system.
> 
> ...


You don't need a lawyer to register a child. If you speak enough Spanish to go by day to day that should be enough to fill any forms and present any documents that may be required. Start asking in the hospital where the child will be born, they will be very familiar with the procedure. If language is an issue just get yourself somebody that can translate.


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

maesonna said:


> I think a lawyer is more legal power than you need. A facilitator or interpreter should be quite enough to help you through the process of getting your baby’s Mexican birth certificate and passport.


I respectfully disagree, having just gone through this. We hired a lawyer on the advice of our (Mexican) doctor. Her services were extremely affordable and she saved us hours of bureaucratic work at the local registration office. Our doctor said that he also hires a lawyer to handle his own kids' birth certificates, as it's worth the cost.


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

Explorador said:


> Thank you for your very kind replies, I really don't know what to say.
> 
> I'm thinking to hire a lawyer to help me in the process since my spanish is weak and I'm unfamiliar with the system.
> 
> ...



You fill out paperwork in the hospital that you then take (or have a lawyer take) to the local Civil Registration to apply for the birth certificate. We needed copies of our own birth certificates and our marriage certificate. I want to say that we met our lawyer when our daughter was a couple days old, handed over all of our forms, and the lawyer had the birth certificate to give back to us within a few days. We paid extra to get a few official copies of the birth certificate, thinking it would be easier than trying to track down official copies later on in her life. 

In order to get a Mexican passport (which we ended up not doing for her), we needed to first apply for her CURP, which is like a government registration number. Getting the CURP was pretty painless, but then we just ran out of time in country...the passport office didn't have any open appointments until after we were scheduled to have left. Here is some more info: trm-pas-Primera vez_Menores de edad


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

ojosazules11 said:


> I really enjoyed reading your blog, ktmarie. In reference to forgetting certain aspects about giving birth, I've long been of the opinion that postpartum hormones include something which induces selective memory loss - or every child would be an only child!
> 
> Reading some of your other posts, I stumbled across a reference to "Watergate Salad" (pistachio pudding, pineapple and Cool Whip) - I'd totally forgotten about that particular concoction which certainly was part of the landscape of my childhood at family picnics and church potlucks. I guess that's another type of selective memory loss.


Ahhh yes...the sheer number and variety of jello or coolwhip-based "salads" I consumed as a child would shock my east coast friends


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

ktmarie said:


> I respectfully disagree, having just gone through this. We hired a lawyer on the advice of our (Mexican) doctor. Her services were extremely affordable and she saved us hours of bureaucratic work at the local registration office. Our doctor said that he also hires a lawyer to handle his own kids' birth certificates, as it's worth the cost.


That is interesting. My 3 children were all born in Guadalajara and there was no need whatsoever for hiring a lawyer. I have 16 nieces and nephews, and 6 great nices and nephews and no one has needed a lawyer. Outside of the time spent in line waiting I don't think it took anyone more than an hour to register the birth of a child.


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

Sure...I am sure lots of Mexicans and expats handle the paperwork sans lawyer without trouble. I was just responding to the original poster's desire to hire one. I think that if it makes him feel less stressed, then it's not a bad idea. 

For all of the paperwork that goes smoothly in this regard, there are also cases where it doesn't. I'd heard of expats whose local offices tried to tell them that they needed to return to the u.s. And get copies of their parental birth certificates officially translated into Spanish, etc. Sounds crazy but based on our experience getting resident visas, it sounded believable enough that $40 for a lawyer sounded like a great deal. And it was. Our Spanish, like that of the original poster, was also relatively weak.


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## Cristobal (Nov 25, 2014)

ktmarie said:


> Sure...I am sure lots of Mexicans and expats handle the paperwork sans lawyer without trouble. I was just responding to the original poster's desire to hire one. I think that if it makes him feel less stressed, then it's not a bad idea.
> 
> For all of the paperwork that goes smoothly in this regard, there are also cases where it doesn't. I'd heard of expats whose local offices tried to tell them that they needed to return to the u.s. And get copies of their parental birth certificates officially translated into Spanish, etc. Sounds crazy but based on our experience getting resident visas, it sounded believable enough that $40 for a lawyer sounded like a great deal. And it was. Our Spanish, like that of the original poster, was also relatively weak.


Again, and without being argumentative, it sounds odd that your doctor also uses a lawyer for this simple procedure. BTW my oldest child is a practicing Mexican attorney.


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## ktmarie (May 11, 2014)

Perhaps the offices in different states and cities are varying degrees of (dis)organized, crowded, prompt, etc.


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