Citizenship
by Talley Ho 
, Playa la Ropa, Monday, July 08, 2024, 15:23 (853 days ago)
We decided that it was time for us to do it, our main motivation being that we plan to live here in Mexico forever and it is the right thing to do.
It turned out to be a LOT easier that we expected. There is a lot of paperwork and copies and they must be absolutely perfect. I was rejected the first time because the postal code on the Guerrero State criminal record check had one number wrong.
The process takes place in Mexico City. We made 11am appointments so we could take the first plane there with lots of time and then take the last one back so we would have time to play in the city.
Once your papers are absolutely perfect, if you are under 60, there is a 10 question history and culture exam, multiple choice. Then, for everyone a Spanish exam. Read 6 very short passages and answer the multiple choice question. Then, the oral that we were so concerned about. It is SO easy. What is your complete name, where did you come from, and why do you want to be Mexican. That's it. Not complete sentences, just checking to see if you understood the questions well enough to be able to answer them in simple terms.
A detail that may make things difficult for some is that you must be residents for at least 5 years, and you can only have been out of Mexico for 180 days during the two years prior to applying.
Best of all, all 20 possible history questions, all 6 stories that the reading questions could come from are all on line, with the answers. This information, and everything you need to know about the paperwork is on this website: https://www.mexicanizame.com/
We are now in the waiting phase, and there is a site where each person can check in and see how the paperwork is progressing.
We are thrilled to be almost Mexican!!!
Citizenship
by ZihuaRob 
, Zihuatanejo, México, Monday, July 08, 2024, 18:09 (852 days ago) @ Talley Ho
We decided that it was time for us to do it, our main motivation being that we plan to live here in Mexico forever and it is the right thing to do.
It turned out to be a LOT easier that we expected. There is a lot of paperwork and copies and they must be absolutely perfect. I was rejected the first time because the postal code on the Guerrero State criminal record check had one number wrong.
The process takes place in Mexico City. We made 11am appointments so we could take the first plane there with lots of time and then take the last one back so we would have time to play in the city.
Once your papers are absolutely perfect, if you are under 60, there is a 10 question history and culture exam, multiple choice. Then, for everyone a Spanish exam. Read 6 very short passages and answer the multiple choice question. Then, the oral that we were so concerned about. It is SO easy. What is your complete name, where did you come from, and why do you want to be Mexican. That's it. Not complete sentences, just checking to see if you understood the questions well enough to be able to answer them in simple terms.
A detail that may make things difficult for some is that you must be residents for at least 5 years, and you can only have been out of Mexico for 180 days during the two years prior to applying.
Best of all, all 20 possible history questions, all 6 stories that the reading questions could come from are all on line, with the answers. This information, and everything you need to know about the paperwork is on this website: https://www.mexicanizame.com/
We are now in the waiting phase, and there is a site where each person can check in and see how the paperwork is progressing.
We are thrilled to be almost Mexican!!!
I did mine in Acapulco after having wasted a few years playing the paper-pusher game whose rules finally changed and made things simpler and cheaper. There was still an office in Zihuatanejo back then where papers were checked, then when everything was correct the papers were sent to SRE office Acapulco. Upon approval they set an appointment for me to be there in front of television cameras with other foreigners getting naturalized. I took the bus there and back, arrived hours late on purpose. Met the head honcho, apologized profusely, got my picture taken, sang the himno nacional, told the head honcho "no manches, güey", had a good laugh, got my papers stamped and signed, and also applied for and received my Mexican passport that same day. Bummer you had to make an appointment for one thing then go back for the other all the way to CDMX.
Citizenship
by Padrino , Rosarito/Zihuatanejo, Tuesday, July 09, 2024, 09:05 (852 days ago) @ ZihuaRob
In general, we are taught to trust professionals such as doctors and lawyers. They are typically held to higher standards for ethics and responsibility than most occupations. When in Mexico, I have come to trust the medical professionals and believe that they have the patients' interests first and foremost in mind within the constraints endemic in their industry. However, from comments from Mexican acquaintances and friends, the horrible experiences of a good Mexican friend, and my own scant personal experiences, I can not say the same for the lawyers in Mexico. This is a serious problem. I don't pretend to be able to take out my own appendix and I don't want to have to navigate any legal system without the help of a competent and trustworthy legal professional. So here are a couple of legal questions thrown out to the lay world:
1) In general, do you trust lawyers in Mexico?
2) Is it in the best interests of a foreigner hoping to make a life in Mexico to endeavor to become a Mexican citizen? Are there downsides to becoming a Mexican citizen?
As always, mil gracias to Rob for this wonderful forum and to my fellow Zihua-lovers for your advice, comments, and experiences.
Citizenship
by ZihuaRob , Zihuatanejo, México, Tuesday, July 09, 2024, 10:29 (852 days ago) @ Padrino
In general, we are taught to trust professionals such as doctors and lawyers. They are typically held to higher standards for ethics and responsibility than most occupations. When in Mexico, I have come to trust the medical professionals and believe that they have the patients' interests first and foremost in mind within the constraints endemic in their industry. However, from comments from Mexican acquaintances and friends, the horrible experiences of a good Mexican friend, and my own scant personal experiences, I can not say the same for the lawyers in Mexico. This is a serious problem. I don't pretend to be able to take out my own appendix and I don't want to have to navigate any legal system without the help of a competent and trustworthy legal professional. So here are a couple of legal questions thrown out to the lay world:
1) In general, do you trust lawyers in Mexico?
2) Is it in the best interests of a foreigner hoping to make a life in Mexico to endeavor to become a Mexican citizen? Are there downsides to becoming a Mexican citizen?
As always, mil gracias to Rob for this wonderful forum and to my fellow Zihua-lovers for your advice, comments, and experiences.
I don't find Mexican lawyers more or less trustworthy than U.S. lawyers. I was raised my first formative years very close to the U.S. legal system. Even thought I was going to go to law school before changing my mind, thank goodness. Clarence Thomas sets a pretty low ethical bar for U.S. Supreme Court Justices. Mexico's justice system has systemic problems, but it also has some very good judges. Using threats and influence, too many citizens get judges to twist "justice", and like the USA, the entire penal institution is "for-profit", starting with the custodians. AMLO now wants to change the rules to elect people for judgeships who have no experience as part of his Reforma Judicial, so that may soon change and obviously screw things up even worse.
I'm a Mexican citizen because this is where I live and work and have my family. I didn't travel here to vacation or retire. From my first day here 50 years ago it never occurred to me to speak English with locals or to live a separate social world.
Absolutely nothing I would remotely consider a "downside". Al contrario. 
The attorney who handled our home purchase was a crook. The one that we kept our RV at for many years is incredibly honest and good. Just like the states.
One benefit of being a citizen here is that you don't have to have a fideicomiso, waving an annual fee of 500 USD or more. You also can get a Mexican passport which opens a few more doors and allows entry into some countries that require a visa for US passports. You also get to enter at the short line when entering Mexico. For us, it was a matter of respect. We live here, we should belong here.
We have been able to find no reasons why we shouldn't have dual citizenship, US and Mexico, and we have seriously looked.
Citizenship
by lia , Wednesday, July 10, 2024, 14:27 (851 days ago) @ Talley Ho
May I ask how long and how much $ it took to complete?
Assembling the paperwork is the time consumer, we got our birth certificates and marriage certificate (which we didn't need) apostillized a couple of years ago. From the US, and now Canada, that takes time. The cost to have them translated by a certified translator was another 2,000 pesos. The rest is just making copies, getting things off line (think federal criminal record check) The state check needed an appointment here but was for the next day. Each of those cost 220 pesos.
The actual fee is about 9,000 pesos. Then you have to get to and from one of the 6 cities where it is done. Don't forget the cost of the taxi's too. The cost for our plane tickets varied dramatically with both sets of reservations made 2 weeks in advance for a Thursday, so no telling how it works.
The website tells you everything.
Citizenship
by Padrino , Rosarito/Zihuatanejo, Saturday, July 13, 2024, 09:52 (848 days ago) @ Talley Ho
Many Graces, TH and Rob for your thoughtful and useful comments. The observations about the history exam are especially helpful. I have been reading everything that I can find about the history of México in anticipation of the exam. It is a much sadder story than I had expected. However, it is good to know that I won't have to remember which Presidente de México abolished slavery and in what year did he do it. (Vicente Guerrero, 1829, thirty-five years before the U.S. followed suit.)
