certif-marriage

You apply for residency (permanent or temporary), you succeed and become a resident. Congratulations! But what happens if, upon their application, your spouse does not fulfill the financial requirements? The good news: All is not lost. Do not panic! In this article, we explore what to do next.

Don’t panic!

At first, this might seem like a serious problem. But don’t worry, because this is an issue that one can resolve directly from Mexico. In fact, your spouse won’t need to apply again at a Mexican consulate, in the US, Canada or wherever! There is a procedure called Residencia Por Vinculo Familiar (Family Union Residency). This allows them to apply in another way. The fact that your spouse does not fulfill the financial requirements is irrelevant in this case.

Family Union Residency

When you travel to Mexico to finalise your residency, your partner can enter as a tourist. Once you receive your resident card at the local INM office, your spouse can then apply for family union residency there too. There is no need to travel to a Mexican consulate abroad.

Apostilled Marriage Certificate

For this procedure, you must submit an apostilled (or legalized) marriage certificate. This document must be apostilled by the secretariat of the state where you were married, if married in the US. For those married in Canada, you must legalize the certificate at a Mexican consulate.

Then a government-appointed translator (Perito Traductor) in Mexico must translate the legalized marriage certificate into Spanish.

Other Paperwork

Apart from the marriage certificate, you must also submit the usual paperwork to apply for residency in Mexico:

  • passports of both spouses
  • spouse’s resident card
  • proof of address
  • a letter in Spanish signed by both spouses
  • three application forms

Temporary and Permanent Residency

If you have temporary residency, your spouse also gets it. Whereas, if you have permanent residency, your spouse will get temporary residency, if they are financially dependent on you. Lately INM has been approving only one year of temporary residency at a time. Following two years of temporary residency, they can then apply for permanent residency.

For further information on immigration to Mexico, email Adriana Vela at info@immigrationtomexico.mx