What changed for Mexican naturalization in 2026.

The short version

The Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores published an acuerdo, signed by canciller Roberto Velasco, that removes requirements, merges procedures, and shortens the time SRE takes to answer. Nothing about the exams changed. What changed is the paperwork around them and how long you wait.

trámite instead of 7

1

business days to resolve

40

business days for a declaratoria

20

requirements removed

3

What did not change: the residency periods in Article 20 of the Ley de Nacionalidad, the fee, and both exams. A reform of the procedure is not a reform of the law behind it.

Seven routes became one trámite

Until 2026, SRE ran a separate procedure for each way of qualifying: residency, marriage, Mexican-born children, Latin American or Iberian origin, descent, outstanding services, adoption. Each had its own file and its own entry in the catalogue. They are now one naturalization trámite, and the procedures for declaratorias and certificados de nacionalidad were grouped together in the same way.

This is an administrative merge, not a change to who qualifies. Your situation still sets how many years of residency you need and which document proves the tie. What you no longer do is work out which of seven doors to knock on before you start.

See the residency periods by situation

The wait dropped to 40 business days

A carta de naturalización application used to be resolved in up to 90 natural days. The acuerdo cuts that to a maximum of 40 business days. A declaratoria de nacionalidad mexicana por nacimiento went from 40 to 20 business days.

Business days are not calendar days: 40 business days is roughly two months of the calendar, and SRE also publishes a list of suspended days each year. Treat it as a target, not a promise, and read anything online that still says 90 days as out of date.

Photographs, escritos libres and physical CURP are gone

The acuerdo removes three things that used to sit in the file across several procedures:

• Photographs. The Reglamento still describes two passport photos, 4.5 × 3.5 cm, white background, no glasses. The acuerdo dropped them from several procedures. Check the current checklist before you print anything.
• Escritos libres. The free-form written statements applicants used to draft themselves.
• Physical presentation of the CURP. SRE can read it from your resident card and from its own systems.

The Reglamento de la Ley de Nacionalidad was last reformed in 2013 and still lists the old requirements. Where the Reglamento and a newer SRE acuerdo disagree, the checklist SRE hands you at the appointment is what you file against. This is exactly the kind of gap that leaves stale pages on the internet looking authoritative.

What to do about it

1. If you saved a document checklist before June 2026, check it against SRE’s current one before you spend money on photos or extra copies.
2. If you were told the answer takes three months, plan for about two instead, and still build in slack.
3. If you have not filed yet, you now have one trámite to follow rather than seven to choose between.
4. Ignore any page, including a law firm’s, that still describes seven separate naturalization procedures with a 90-day resolution. It has not been updated since the reform.