Mexico: Procedures that a parent or guardian must follow to remove a minor from Mexico; impact, if any, of custody arrangements on such procedures (June 2005)

According to the Mexican Foreign Relations Secretariat (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, SRE), Mexicans who wish to travel abroad require a passport valid for at least six months (n.d.). The Website of the Embassy of Mexico in Ottawa outlines the procedures that must be followed in order to remove a minor (a person under 18 years of age) from Mexico (n.d.). A consular representative from the Embassy of Mexico indicated that the procedures to be followed by parents living outside Mexico and by parents living in Mexico are identical (10 June 2005). However, while the parent(s) or guardian(s) living outside Mexico must complete the procedure at a local Mexican consular office (Embassy n.d.), the parent(s) or guardian(s) living in Mexico must complete the procedure at a delegation of the SRE (Embassy 10 June 2005).

In addition to filling out the regular passport application form, OP-5, parent(s) or guardian(s) must fill out form OP-7, an official document that proves parental permission that allows a minor to obtain a Mexican passport (Embassy n.d.). Please find attached a copy of form OP-7, as translated by the Multilingual Translation Directorate of Translation Services, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

The minor, who must be present at the SRE office while making the application, must present a birth certificate from the Civil Registry, as well as recent identification documents, such as school registration and vaccination card (ibid.). The minor's parent(s) or guardian(s) must also appear at the SRE office with their passport and voting card or two pieces of official identification with both a photograph and a signature (original and photocopied). The parent(s) or guardian(s) must submit three passport-size colour photographs that are no more than 30 days old, as well as the appropriate processing fees (ibid.). Fees charged by the Consulate in Ottawa in June 2005 ranged from CAN$40.73 for a one-year passport to CAN$106.92 for a five-year passport (ibid. June 2005). Children under three can only obtain a one-year passport (Embassy n.d.).

According to the Embassy Website, if one of the minor's parents has passed away, both the original and a copy of the death certificate must be submitted (if the certificate was issued abroad, it must be accompanied by a document proving its authenticity) (n.d.). If the parents are divorced, the parent requesting the minor's passport must produce a Mexican family court judge's decision to grant custody of the child to one parent only (again, if this judgement was granted abroad, documentary proof of its authenticity must be submitted, and a clerk will determine whether the judgement respects the laws of the jurisdiction in which it was issued) (ibid.). No explicit information on whether the permission of the non-custodial parent must also be sought could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection.

References

Embassy of Mexico in Canada. 10 June 2005. Correspondence from a consular representative.
_____. June 2005. "Derechos Consulares/Cuotas." [Accessed 9 June 2005]
_____. n.d. "Pasaporte." [Accessed 9 June 2005]

Mexico. n.d. Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). "Información General para los mexicanos que deseen viajar al extranjero." [Accessed 9 June 2005]

Attachment

Embassy of Mexico in Canada, Ottawa. "OP-7: Permission Granted by Parents or Persons Exercising Parental Authority or Guardianship for Issuance of a Passport." Translated from Spanish to English by the Multilingual Translation Directorate of the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Accessed 10 June 2005], 1 p.