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Citizenship by descent · Mexico

Mexican citizenship by descent.

See who qualifies, the ways to claim, the cost and the documents. Last checked 11 Oct 2026.

Mexican citizenship by descent at a glance

In short

If your mother or father is Mexican, you can be Mexican by birth, even if you were born abroad. A grandparent alone does not give you birth nationality, but a Mexican ancestor in your direct line opens a shorter path to naturalisation.

Who qualifies
Mother or father who is Mexican. Since May 2021 that parent can have been born outside Mexico. Grandparents are not named in the Constitution
Ways to claim
Register your birth at a Mexican consulate and Naturalisation as a descendant of a Mexican by birth
Official body
Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE)
Check if you qualify

Routes

Ways to claim.

Each route has its own steps, cost and documents. The official page has the full rules.

Route

Register your birth at a Mexican consulate

People born outside Mexico with a Mexican mother or father. Article 30 says so with no rule on where the parent was born. The consulate page we read still says the parent was born in Mexico.

Official page

Steps

  • Fill in the consulate's application form for registering a birth (double nationality). Write the names of the parents and grandparents as they are on their birth certificates. Use a woman's maiden name.
  • Book an appointment for each person being registered. San Diego uses the Mi Consulado site (citas.sre.gob.mx), WhatsApp or a phone call.
  • Go to the appointment with the person being registered and the parent or parents. Bring the originals, the copies and the appointment confirmation.
  • If the papers are complete and correct, the consulate does the registration. An appointment does not promise that it goes ahead, and the consulate may ask for more papers.
  • You get the first certified copy of your Mexican birth certificate. Under the Ley de Nacionalidad, a birth certificate is one of the documents that prove Mexican nationality.
Cost
Free. This includes the first certified copy of the Mexican birth certificate. Later certified copies cost US$20 at San Diego (March 2026).
Time
Not published

Documents

  • The consulate's application form, filled in fully in block capitals
  • Your full birth certificate, original and 2 copies. Short versions (abstracts) are not accepted. San Diego asks for an apostille or legalisation if it was issued outside the US, and a Spanish translation if it is not in English
  • Your valid official ID, original and 2 copies of both sides. Children have a different list of accepted ID
  • The birth certificate of each parent, original and 2 copies. Both parents prove their nationality, and at least one must prove Mexican nationality
  • A valid photo ID for each parent, original and 2 copies. A Mexican parent can use a Mexican passport, a high-security consular ID card or an INE voter card. A foreign parent uses a valid passport booklet
  • The parents' marriage certificate, if they married, original and 2 copies. Short versions are not accepted
  • If a parent has died: that parent's birth certificate and death certificate. A foreign parent who has died needs only the death certificate

"cuyo padre y/o madre haya/n nacido en México y acredite/n su nacionalidad mexicana, tienen derecho a ser registrados como mexicanos" (Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego: Birth registration (double nationality), March 2026)

Route

Naturalisation as a descendant of a Mexican by birth

Adults from outside Mexico with a parent, grandparent or other ancestor in a direct line who was Mexican by birth. They normally need two years of legal residence in Mexico. A grandchild with no other nationality, or whom no other state treats as a national, does not need to show that time.

Official page

Steps

  • Get legal residence in Mexico (a temporary or permanent resident card) and live there for the time the law asks. For a descendant of a Mexican by birth this is two years before you apply.
  • Apply to the SRE for a naturalisation card. Pass the exams on Spanish, Mexican history and Mexican culture. The Instituto Matías Romero sets the content.
  • Show the family link with the certified birth certificate of your Mexican ancestor, issued by the Mexican civil registry or a Mexican consulate.
  • Wait for the decision. The rules give the SRE 15 working days to pass the file to the Interior Ministry (Gobernación), which has up to 45 working days to give its opinion. The SRE then has 90 calendar days to decide.
  • If the card is granted, you sign the written renunciations and oath in Article 17 of the Ley de Nacionalidad. These include renouncing any nationality another state gives you. The SRE cannot ask for them before it has decided to grant the card.
Cost
Not published in the law or its rules. A fee is due, but the amount is not in the texts we read.
Time
Two years of legal residence first. Then the rules allow 15 working days, up to 45 working days and 90 calendar days (Reglamento, Article 21).

Documents

  • The signed application form
  • A valid resident card from the Interior Ministry, valid for at least 6 months after you file
  • Your certified foreign birth certificate, with an apostille or legalisation and a Spanish translation
  • Your valid foreign passport (or ID and travel document)
  • A sworn letter listing your exits from and entries to Mexico
  • A criminal record certificate, federal and local, original
  • Two recent colour passport-size photos
  • A sworn statement that your information is correct
  • Proof that you paid the fee
  • The certified birth certificate of your Mexican ancestor, from the Mexican civil registry or a Mexican consulate
  • Grandchildren using the residence exemption: a document from the competent authority, legalised or apostilled and translated, saying the state of your birth and any other state do not treat you as a national

"Sea descendiente en línea recta de un mexicano por nacimiento" (Ley de Nacionalidad, Articles 19 and 20 (SRE copy, last reform 23 April 2012))

Answer a few questions to see which route may fit you.

Open the checker

FAQ

Common questions.

Can I get Mexican citizenship through my grandparent?

Not directly. Article 30 covers children of a Mexican mother or father, and it names no grandparents. A Mexican grandparent can still matter, because it may have made your parent Mexican. A narrower path is naturalisation, which needs two years of legal residence in Mexico. In April 2025 a deputy proposed adding grandparents to Article 30. That was a proposal, and we found no gazette decree changing Article 30 after May 2021.

Can I get Mexican citizenship if my Mexican parent was born outside Mexico?

Article 30 now covers this. Since May 2021 it applies to people born abroad to a Mexican mother or father, with no rule on where the parent was born. The 1997 text only covered parents born in Mexican territory. The consulate page we read still mentions parents born in Mexico, and the decree is silent on people born before it. One step is to ask the consulate first.

Do I have to give up my other nationality?

Not to be Mexican by birth. The Ley de Nacionalidad covers Mexicans by birth who hold another nationality (Articles 12 and 13). The San Diego consulate says registration does not affect US nationality. Naturalisation is different, because it includes a written renunciation (Articles 17 and 19). Whether your other country allows two nationalities is a separate question.

How much does it cost to register a birth at a Mexican consulate?

Nothing at the San Diego consulate. It says the registration is free and includes the first certified copy of the Mexican birth certificate. Later certified copies cost US$20 there. The consulate you use may publish its own page.

If I am Mexican, can my children be Mexican too?

Yes, if they are born abroad to a Mexican mother or father. The text of Article 30 has no limit on how many generations. San Diego asks both parents to prove their nationality, and at least one must prove Mexican nationality.

My Mexican parent took another nationality. Does that matter?

It can. The rules let the SRE issue a declaration of Mexican nationality by birth to a person who took a foreign nationality of their own will before 20 March 1998. The file needs a document, issued before that date, showing the other state treated them as a national.

Do I have to enter Mexico as a Mexican?

Yes. The law says Mexicans by birth must enter and leave Mexico as nationals, even if they hold another nationality (Article 12). It sets fines for breaking this rule (Article 33).

Can someone with two nationalities hold public office in Mexico?

Not for some posts. A decree published on 7 October 2026 says the President, state governors and the head of government of Mexico City must have no other nationality, or renounce it before they register as a candidate. It applies from the 2028 election process.

Other countries

Descent by country.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Last checked 11 Oct 2026.

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