Carta de naturalización
Requirements for Mexican naturalization, in plain language.
Which route fits you, how many years of residency it needs, which exams you take, and what goes in your file. Reviewed against the Ley de Nacionalidad, its Reglamento and SRE on September 21, 2026.
How many years of residency does your situation need?
Since June 2026 there is one naturalization trámite instead of seven, but your situation still decides how long you must have lived in Mexico and what you file to prove it. Article 20 of the Ley de Nacionalidad sets the periods below.
Residency
5years of residency
The default. For residents without a family or origin tie that shortens the wait.
Marriage to a Mexican
2years of residency
You must have lived together in a marital home in Mexico for those two years.
Mexican-born children
2years of residency
For a parent of a child who is Mexican by birth.
Latin American or Iberian origin
2years of residency
For people originally from a Latin American country, Spain, or Portugal.
Descendant of a Mexican
2years of residency
A direct-line descendant of a Mexican by birth, proven with the ancestor’s birth record.
Outstanding services or works
2years of residency
Cultural, social, scientific, artistic, sporting or business work that benefits Mexico, at SRE’s judgement.
Adopted, or a minor in a Mexican’s care
1year of residency
Adoptees, and minor descendants to the second degree under the patria potestad of Mexicans.
Residency here means legal stay on a temporary or permanent resident card. Not a resident yet? Find out which residency fits you.
Which exams do you take?
Everyone has to show they speak Spanish: a short interview, a reading and a piece of writing, worth 6 points, and you need 5 plus a satisfactory interview. Most applicants also take the history and culture exam: 10 questions in Spanish, 10 minutes, 8 correct to pass. Article 15 of the Reglamento exempts three groups from the history exam — refugees, minors, and people aged over sixty — for whom it is enough to show they speak Spanish. How the exam works · Who is exempt.
What goes in your file?
This is Article 16 of the Reglamento de la Ley de Nacionalidad, the list for the five-year residency route, in the order the Reglamento gives it. The other routes keep all of it and add the document that proves the tie — a marriage certificate, a child’s birth record, proof of origin.
Legal age and civil rights
What SRE is strict about: You apply for yourself. A parent or guardian files for a minor.
The signed application form
What SRE is strict about: The original, filled in and signed. SRE hands it to you at your appointment.
Resident card
What SRE is strict about: It must still be valid at least 6 months after the date you file, and it must show your CURP.
Birth certificate
What SRE is strict about: A certified copy, apostilled or legalized, and translated by a perito traductor. A recognized refugee may be excused from this one.
Passport
What SRE is strict about: The original, still valid. A travel and identity document counts if you have no passport.
A statement of your trips in and out
What SRE is strict about: Under oath, with the number of exits and entries: absences over six months in the last two years break your residency.
Criminal-record certificates
What SRE is strict about: Originals, from both the federal authority and the state where you live. Not one or the other — both.
Two passport photos
What SRE is strict about: 4.5 × 3.5 cm, colour, white background, facing forward, no glasses, head uncovered. SRE’s June 2026 simplification dropped photographs from several procedures, so check the current checklist before you print them.
A statement that your information is true
What SRE is strict about: Under oath, that what you filed matches the documents behind it. False information can cancel the appointment.
Fee payment receipt
What SRE is strict about: The original. MXN 9,500 in 2026, the same for every route, and you pay before you file.
Source: SRE · Reviewed Sep 21, 2026
How do you apply?
- Pre-register in SINNA through SRE’s appointment page and pick where you want to be attended. It only works on a computer, and the appointment is free: SRE gives no appointments through gestores or outside websites.
- Pay the MXN 9,500 fee at a certified bank and keep the original receipt. You pay before you file, not after.
- Go to your appointment with the file, hand it in, and take the exams. Both exams are in person and in Spanish.
- You get two attempts. A second appointment comes about 15 business days after a fail. Fail both, or miss the second one, and you wait a year from the day after your last exam and pay again.
- SRE resolves the application in up to 40 business days, down from 90 natural days before June 2026. Then you collect the carta de naturalización, and with it your Mexican CURP and passport.
Mexico Ready is not affiliated with the SRE or the Government of Mexico. The content is original study material and does not constitute legal advice.