Hi all,

I am Canadian, and my wife is Mexican. We both live in Canada. Our
soon-to-be-born son will be born here in Canada, granting him Canadian
citizenship. How would I go about getting him Mexican citizenship as
well? Would this be advisable, or would there be any real drawbacks to
having dual citizenship for him? We would like for him to have dual
citizenship for sentimental reasons more than anything else, so if
it's something that would either be too complicated, costly or legally
troublesome for us/him (either in Canada or Mexico), we can leave it
be.

As an aside, how could I get Mexican citizenship/residency? If need
be, I can post this as a seperate question.

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by richardmtl-ga on 29 Aug 2006 07:13 PDT

Please note, Spanish-language links are perfectly fine. Thanks!

Hi richardmt,

1) How would I go about getting him Mexican citizenship as well? 
Would this be advisable, or would there be any real drawbacks to
having dual citizenship for him?

It's not difficult to do (just a matter of registering his birth at
your nearest Mexican Consulate) and is definitely advisable (his world
will be expanded that much wider, it will be a wonderful gift to give
him).

How can children born in Canada to Mexican parents, father or mother,
obtain the Mexican nationality?
"All you need to do is register the birth of the child at any Civil
Registry office or at the Mexican Consulate closest to your address."
Are there any nationality conflicts when possessing dual citizenship?
"The Mexican Reform establishes that any Mexican who possesses a
second nationality will be allowed entry and will be treated as a
Mexican within the country. Likewise, International Law establishes
that in the case of dual citizenship, the nationality to prevail will
be that of the country in which the person is. For example, a Mexican
who lives in Canada and is a naturalized citizen will be treated in
Canada as a Canadian, and when in Mexico he or she will be treated as
a Mexican with all the rights and privileges of any Mexican."
Where will a person with dual citizenship pay taxes?
"Individuals with dual citizenship will pay taxes in the country of
residence, given that he or she resided in it for over 183 days,
consecutive or not, in a calendar year..."
http://www.embamexcan.com/CONSULAR/MexicanCitizenship.shtm

Declaración de Nacionalidad Mexicana.
http://www.embamexcan.com/CONSULAR/Nacionalidad.shtml

Directory of Mexican Consulates in Canada
http://www.embamexcan.com/DIRECTORIES/DirectoriesSubMconsulates.shtml

Civil Registrar's Office
Birth Registration for Mexican Nationals
"Resulting from the legislation changes effective as of march of 1998,
Mexican nationals who naturalize citizens of other countries, or
persons who are born abroad from at least one Mexican parent, are
entitled to the Mexican citizenship.
If your child was born abroad to a Mexican parent, it is recommended
to register his birth before a Consulate or Embassy of Mexico, to
insure the child the benefits of dual citizenship."
http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/registrar_bith_registration.htm

2) As an aside, how could I get Mexican citizenship/residency? 

Yes, but only after you have both lived in Mexico for two years.

UNHCR (United Nations website)
"II. Foreigners who marry Mexicans must show that they have resided
and lived together as a couple in Mexico for two years immediately
prior to the date of the application. It will not be necessary for the
couple's residence to be located in Mexico if the Mexican spouse is
residing abroad in the service or on behalf of the Mexican government.
For marriages between foreigners, the acquisition of Mexican
nationality by one of the spouses after the marriage will permit the
other spouse to obtain nationality, provided he/she meets the
requirements of this subsection..."
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.htm?tbl=RSDCOI&page=research&id=42df613620

Embassy of Mexico in Canada
http://www.embamexcan.com/CONSULAR/FQGettingMarried.shtml

I was glad to work on this for you.  If you have any questions, please
post a clarification request and wait for me to respond before
closing/rating my answer.

Thank you and congratulations on your upcoming happy event!
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: mexico mexican citizenship birth marriage
dual canada canadian

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Request for Answer Clarification by richardmtl-ga on 29 Aug 2006 09:58 PDT

Hi Hummer, thanks for your help!

Would there be any military service requirements for him (as is the
case with Israel, I think)? Obviously, by the time he's old enough,
the laws may change, but how does it stand now?

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Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 29 Aug 2006 12:17 PDT

Hi Richard,

Would there be any military service requirements for him?

Good thought! According to the US Embassy in Mexico City, no, he won't
have to serve in the military unless he takes an oath of allegiance to
Mexico. However, when you go to the Consulate to register the birth,
it wouldn't hurt to ask just to confirm that.

US Embassy in Mexico City
"Dual nationals will not, however, be subject to compulsory military service."
"...However, in order to hold certain positions of public trust, dual
nationals must take an oath of allegiance to Mexico and disavow all
loyalty to other nations.  Some of the job categories this rule
affects are the military and security forces, the diplomatic corps,
the judiciary, and certain high offices of the Mexican government. "
http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eACSfaq.html 

Two more links -

Documents for Mexican Nationals
http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/dec_mex_cit.htm

Fees
http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/derechos_doc_mex.htm

Regards,
hummer

Excellent work! Thanks a lot, hummer!

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your thank you, rating, and for the toonie too! All are appreciated.

Good luck with all -
hummer