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Passport stamps (permanente)


Travelero

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I have kept a spreadsheet of all my entries and exits from Mexico since receiving my residency card. Just now, I was adding a new column to show which page each stamp is on. I discovered something interesting and I'm worried it might be a problem when applying for naturalization.

The most recent entry stamp, from March of this year, says the date and followed by that is "S".  All of the other stamps are correct and show "E" for entrada, and "S" for salida. But I checked my flight receipt, and the spreadsheet, and I'm certain that was an entry, not a salida (I mean I'm here within Mexico....)

What should I do? 

 

edit: I just emailed VivaAerobus requesting a copy of the flight ticket, and any proof that I boarded the flight.

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Have you ever had your passport stamped when leaving Mexico?   There is no exit passport stamp,  only entry passport stamps

Your passport should have a stamp with date when you entered the first country after leaving Mexico. There should be a stamp with date when you entered Mexico.

When you make your entry - exit declaration be sure the entry stamp to the other country and the entry stamp to Mexico match the dates on your declaration.  

Do not tell SRE which page on your passport to check. That is their job.

The form for your declaration is very basic  Date left Mexico  Date returned to Mexico    Days out of Mexico for 2 years before your application 

 

Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores

PRESENTE,

YO JOHN JONES SMITH  BAJO PROTESTA DE DECIR VERDAD HE SALIDO DEL PAIS ___ VECES.

salidas                              entradas                      dias

12-12-2030                     01-01-2021                     20

 

               _____________________________

                 JOHN JONES SMITH

                      09-12-2021

 

 

 

 

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Quote

Have you ever had your passport stamped when leaving Mexico?   There is no exit passport stamp,  only entry passport stamps

The only stamps in my passport are from Mexico (none from other countries). I just double checked and yes, there are exit stamps. The format of the stamps are: 01 MAR 21 S , 01 MAR 19 E,  etc

The "E" and "S" correspond to an entrada or salida, except in the case of my most recent entry to Mexico.

Thank you for sharing the sample letter, I'm going to use that when I apply for naturalizacion.  Assuming they ever reopen the process.  It's incredibly frustrating at this point. I have 8 years of residency, was eligible March 18 of last year (right when the pandemic began), and have been here full time since.  Prior, I was doing half a year here, half NOB. Now I've got a great project I'm starting up in Canada in June that will last nearly two years. So at this point it's sayonara nationality unless the process reopens in the next 5 months.

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On 4/28/2021 at 10:08 PM, Travelero said:

Okay, great. Yeah, the stamps are really hard to read. And if the E and S can be ignored, I have every stamp that I need and I've carefully kept track. Sounds like I can relax and just ensure my signed statement is accurate. Thanks for the quick responses.

As far as I know, they check the passport stamps meticulously. I was strongly advised by SRE on my first visit to have the copies of the passport pages in color, and magnified. By all accounts I've read, they check the stamps very carefully, and expect both the entry and exit stamps to be there. They checked them in front of me before the application was accepted, and I assume they corroborate this with immigration later. INM has to sign off on your citizenship application and presumably they check their own records before doing so.

When you get your entry and exit stamps, INM keeps track of it in their computers. Lots of people think they don't, and go to immigration at the airports saying they "lost" their FMM when really they overstayed and think immigration doesn't know, but they do. It turns out that you can actually request a record of your entrances and exits from the country from INM. This only works if you properly checked in and out of immigration coming and going, which isn't always the case, particularly at land crossings. But if you did, then you can write a letter to immigration formally requesting your entrance and exit history. I didn't have to do this myself so I'm not sure of the exact process and names, but I think you basically write a typical free-form letter to them, formally addressed to the institution and department and you request something called a "carta de flujo migratorio" (or something similar to that), and they will actually do it. Maybe if you go in and explain, they can give you a template to use. It won't be same day, and it could take a few weeks or a month or more, but they'll be obligated to give it to you.

This document you get back from INM with your entrances and exits from their computer system is what you would take to SRE if there's a problem with the stamps. They won't care about flight receipts or anything like that. They'll request proof from INM. Even if they accidentally put an S stamp in your passport instead of an E, the computer records should be right and you'll be fine. But it's an extra step that not everyone has to do.

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I did a google search to see if I could find some kind of official page about that document, and there's not much. But I found this page for an immigration lawyer in Mexico City, and it makes reference to it.

https://www.diamsc.com/post/naturalización-mexicana-carta-de-naturalización-en-méxico-ciudadanía-mexicana

They mention a "constancia de flujo migratorio" and "constancia de historial migratorio". I have no idea what the difference is. But I'm pretty sure one of these is what you'll need if they question your stamps.

According to this page, these documents can't be older than 1 month when you apply.

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When I applied for citizenship some years ago, at one stage I received from SRE a printout of my and exits they had documented to/from México (for this process, they are only concerned with the two years prior to application.) It included passport records as well as FMM information. Since I had renewed my passport during that time (thank goodness I had the expired passport returned to me and in my possession) and with the help of my calendars and airline documentation, I was able to reconcile the information, then revise the form to complete the attestation. Here is the kicker: I think perhaps only one or two trips were actually fully documented with INM (FMM) and passport stamps: in most cases, either I was missing the passport stamp or the INM, or I was logged out, but not back.... It took several hours to go through the documentation but, yes, they were serious about reconciling so you are not out of the country more than the allowed days.

Also, since all of us enter the country before we ever leave, our records show (E) Entrada prior to (S) Salida on our passport; México records in reverse--exit then return. That also helps screw up the documentation and dates, as you'll always have a missing (E) to show how you entered.

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