As many of you know, Jorge and I had our civil ceremony last month... so now we're legally married! (finally haha) I thought it might be useful to go over the steps we went through since it requires some time coordination between Registro Civil and immigration. 1. First, Jorge went to Registro Civil to ask about what they needed from us. I'm sorry that I don't have the exact list, but everything on there was documentation we already had, except for permission from immigration and a paper stating that Jorge is not currently married. 2. To get his paper stating he is single, Jorge went to Registro Civil yet again with his information. They informed him it would take a few weeks or months to process (there's a waiting list and the paper comes from Chetumal). If you pay extra, you can get this paper more quickly. Friends of ours have paid $800 pesos to get it within a few days. We paid $500 to get it in 2 weeks, but lucky us, it arrived a week early! Jorge went back to Registro Civil to pick it up. 3. While he was at Registro Civil to pick up his paper, Jorge also made a date for our wedding. We decided to hold it at the Registro Civil because it's cheaper. (Hiring a judge to go to your home or an event location costs around $1000 - $4000 extra pesos, depending on the judge, day and time.) He was given a form to fill out and told to turn it in 3 days before the wedding date. 4. With this done, I gathered up my papers to get permission from immigration. Here's what I had to turn in: The appropriate form filled out electronically at Inicio - Instituto Nacional de Migración My passport: original and copy My FM3: original and copy A letter signed by Jorge and myself (in Spanish), stating that we have nothing to prevent us from being married, the number of the Registro Civil where we will be married, state, municipio, city, and the date given to us by Registro Civil. Official ID for the Mexican fiance (we used his IFE card): original and copy Payment of $2658 pesos Letter from your legal representative, if you're using one (we used a lawyer) 5. I received the permission from INM after about a week. Remember that I used a lawyer for this, so I can't really comment on how things were done at INM. It does seem that these kinds of changes are expedited more than a simple renewal, which is good because we had a strict deadline. 6. Once you receive permission from INM, you have to be married within 30 days. (This is why I mentioned previously that it's important to time things well... Registo Civil gives you a specific date, so your permission from INM must be received not only before that date, but also it can't come more than 30 days before that date. Luckily we had no hiccups.) 7. Three days prior to the wedding date, we had to turn in the following at Registro Civil: My official document with permission from INM 2 copies of official ID for your 4 witnesses (2 for the bride, and 2 for the groom) We used their IFE cards. 2 copies of offical ID for the bride and groom The paper mentioned in step 3, which asks for addresses, parent information, DOB, etc. This paper also requires signatures from all 4 witnesses as well as the bride and groom. $1,300 pesos. This price is for a foreigner marrying a Mexican. For 2 Mexicans, the price is only $300. I believe that for 2 foreigners, the price is higher. 8. On the morning of the wedding, we brought the original IDs for ourselves and our witnesses, along with a copy of the paper we had turned in at Registro Civil a few days prior. After 30 seconds, we were all checked in and were able to go into the small chapel. 9. The ceremony was very short. The judge ran quickly through the usual things, we signed and fingerprinted a paper, we got signatures from all 4 witnesses, and it was done. Took about 5 minutes. 10. Once you're married, you have a period of 30 days to go to immigration and register with the National Registry of Foreigners. This costs $670 pesos. We will be doing that this week. As always, make sure you ask for lists of requirements at Registro Civil and INM for any tramite, as the requirements are subjec to change over time (and depending on the mood of whomever you speak with). In general, this was a confusing multi-step process, but all of the paperwork was very easy to get.
Congratulations!! Great info, Gringation! Nothing like info from someone with experience. Maybe should be a sticky??
Congrats Laura, I didnt realise. And yeah, this is sticky worthy indeed! A great guide for many people in a similar situation.
Very nice post, G., with excellent detail and, yes, you're right, it costs a lot more for two foreigners to marry, though the process is simpler- in excess of $3,000 pesos in official fees to the registro, but worth it to us for the pleasure of getting married, officially, in Mexico. We're both very proud of our "Acta Matrimonial" document which, by the way, is very beautiful, in a bureaucratic sort of way.... ______________________
Update: I went to immigration today to register under the Registro Nacional de Extranjeros, as INM told me to do within 30 days of being married. After a 3-hour wait, I was informed that now that I'm married, I need to upgrade from an FM3 to an FM2 Familiar. (How is it that I have never heard this before?) When I go to get that done, only then can I register with the Registro Nacional de Extranjeros. I was told that this doesn't necessarily have to be done within the 30 days they had given me. I asked the officer if he was sure, so he went to check with his boss. He confirmed that no, it does not have to be done within 30 days. Obviously I'm going to try to get the FM2 Familiar done before my 30 days are up anyway... because their promises mean nothing to me. **I saw a recently married friend there as well... they had told her and her husband the same thing.** So an entire morning at INM for nothing. Good times.
Very interesting, G. I wouldn't worry- beyond applying for the FM2, immediately- because INM handles both that, and the process to register with the National Registry of Foreigners. Looking at the INM website made me realize I should have registered when my FM3 was converted to FM2, but I doubt my late realization of that will disturb anyone. Let us know what kind of documentation they'll require.
V - Yeah, I'm not so much frustrated with the paperwork of getting both done as I am with the fact that I wasted $40 pesos in taxis and 3 hours of my work day to acheive absolutely nothing. But that's the sacrifice you make to live in paradise, right? I'll definitely be back to write the list of requirements for both.
My girlfriend is Mexican, Im planning to marry her. What is gonna be my situation after that? Im gonna have an FM2 or Im gonna be a Mexican Citizen? Thx :xyxthumbs::3some::biggrinbandit::biggrinbandit::biggrinbandit::biggrinbandit:
HammieJ: Thanks! Dual citizenship for both of you would be pretty difficult. The main reason is that you need to be spending the vast majority of your time in one country to apply for citizenship, and you can't live in both countries at the same time. If you lived in Mexico, yes you could get dual citizenship in a few years. If you lived in the US, yes I believe your future Mexican husband could get dual citizenship after a lengthy wait. However, since you can't live in 2 places at once, getting dual citizenship for you both would be hard. It all depends on where you decide to live and work. Should you live and work in Mexico (with an FM2), he could get a tourist visa and travel frequently with you to visit your family. If you decide to live and work in the US, he would need a permanent residency... but I'm not sure what restrictions those have. Maybe somebody else could shed more light on that subject.
