Mexican Passport Information Guide

Our world has become a global village. Travel is an important part of our daily lives. So is our identification. A document that fulfills both requirements is a passport which declares our nationality and identity along with giving us the option to travel overseas. Such are passports issued by the Mexican government to its citizens. As of late 2007, all American require a passport to enter Mexico.

The official language of Mexico is Spanish. Mexican passports are dark green in colour. It has the Mexican coat of arms inscribed in the middle of the cover. It has the official name of the country Estados Unidos Mexicanos written around the coat of arms. This is written in Spanish meaning United Mexican States. The top of the passport has Mexico written on it and below the word passport written in Spanish as pasaporte.

There are three kinds of Mexican passports that are issued. The personal passport is issued for personal travelling or business trips. The second kind known as the Diplomatic passport is issued to Mexican diplomats travelling abroad as well as to high ranking officials. The third kind is the Official passport which is issued to Mexicans on official business related traveling. These three types consist of a data page which includes the photo of the pass holder which has to be 3.5 x 4.5 cm, type, name of issuing country, passport no., surname, given names, nationality, date of birth, sex, place of birth, date of issue, issuing authority, date of expiry, electronic bar code and hologram picture. At the end of the page is the machine readable code.

The text in these passports is written in English, French and Spanish. To enter Mexico, the Mexican government requires a person to carry a valid photo identification, valid proof of citizenship and tourist cards. Most of the adults entering Mexico need a valid passport. However some nationalities are required to obtain a consular visa from the Mexican consulate. For individuals who do not have ownership of Mexican passport but wish to visit the country, they will be issued tourist cards by the Mexican Government free of charge.

The Mexican passport issued can be valid for 1 year, 3 years, 6 years or 10 years. The cost of issuing Mexican passport will be rising soon. Estimated costs according to required validity of passport are for up to 1 year: $385 pesos; passport holding validity of 3 years: $800 pesos; passport having validity of over 3 years and up to 6 years: $1,100 pesos. It is issued by the Mexican Consulate or the Mexican Embassy. The people who are eligible for acquiring a Mexican passport must full fill prerequisites which include 5 year residency with an FM2. They must also pass an oral quiz test which is taken in Spanish and has questions related to Mexico; their culture, traditions, history etc.

With increasing security risk, most countries have introduced biometric or electronic passports. However the Mexican passport does not have any such features as yet.