Jan 29, 2018 Update
Note … New exam questions are listed in the current updated version of this post at: https://yucalandia.com/2018/04/26/april-2018-update-to-mexicos-naturalized-citizenship-exam-requirements/
As reported by Yucalandia on Jan 12, ( https://yucalandia.com/answers-to-common-questions/mexican-citizenship-test-with-answers/ ) … SRE has changed their requirements & policies for getting Naturalized Citizenship, by replacing their previous 5 multiple choice ‘Mexican History & Culture’ exam with a new format.
As of now, we’ve had no local reports from Yucatan about what Merida’s SRE officie is doing, but Mexico’s oldest & largest expat community offers the following ~unofficial~ reports into their SRE office’s ways of meeting the new 2018 SRE requirements for qualifying for Ciudadana Naturaleza.
The first change (reported from Jalisco) is that foreigner applicants over age 60(59?) from non-Spanish speaking countries, (like Canada, USA, Gr. Britain et al) will have to take both written & oral Spanish language exams to prove competency in Spanish.
… “If you are over 61 & from a Latin American country, you will not have to sit for any written tests. If you are over 61 & not of Latin American origin, you will not have to take the history-geography-culture-gastronomy written test. You will, however, have to sit for a written Spanish language exam regardless of your age. …”
“(SRE’s new) Spanish language exam involves reading comprehension, grammar, spelling, conjugation, etc. You will read an article in Spanish then answer questions about the article in essay form in written Spanish. You will be judged on all the annoying little details such as accent marks, capitalization, correct verb conjugation, etc.”
Further, for applicants under age 60, it is reported that applicants have to take a 10 question, multiple-choice-answer, timed (5 minutes) written exam on Mexican culture, history, gastronomy etc.. Successful applicants must answer 8 out of 10 questions correctly. SRE will offer several different versions of the written exam, rotating the exam questions. Here are 2 ~unofficial~ ~unconfirmed~ versions the new current SRE’s ‘new’ 2018 written exam for culture-history-gastronomy etc:
“Example Questions & Answers: **Version 1**
1: Que lugar ocupa la economia de Mexico en el mundo? – 15º lugar
2: Quien fue el astronauta mexicano que viajó al espacio en la misón STS-61-B del Transbordador Espacial Atlantis? – Rodolfo Neri Vela
3: Como se llama (la cultura) que inventó el “0”? – Maya
4: Cual es la comida tipica de Nuevo Leon? – Cabrito
5: Cual es el significado del nombre “Cuauhtemoc” en el idioma náhuatl? – El Aguila que descendio
6: Como se llama el premio concedido anualmente por la Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematograficas? – Ariel (de plata)
7: El arpa tiene un lugar privilegiado en la musica de que estado mexicano? – Vera Cruz
8: Como se llamaba el dios azteca de la guerra? – Huitzilopochtli
9: A que se refiere (el apelativo) de La Mujer Dormida y (El Cerro Que Humea)? – Iztaccihuatl y Popocatepetl
10: Que faceta de la cultura mexicana fue representada por (Alfonso Reyes,) Juan Rulfo, y (Rosario Castellanos)? – La narrativa mexicana “
= = = = = = = = = = =
“Example Questions & Answers: **Version 2**
1. ¿A quien se le conoce como el Centauro del Norte? – Francisco Villa
2. Acapulco fue durante los siglos XVII y XVIII un importante puerto porque controlaba la navegación en el _____. – Océano Pacífico
3. Nombre del partido político que gobernó durante 7 décadas en el siglo XX: _____. – Partido Revolucionario Institucional
4. El teatro de mayor prestigio en la ciudad de México es el: _____. – Palacio de Bellas Artes
5. ¿Cuál es el número total de senadores en México? – 128
6. ¿En que estado de la republica se encuentra el Cerro de la Silla? – Nuevo Leon
7. ¿Cuál era el nombre de México durante el periodo colonial? – Nueva España
8. ¿Cuál es la fecha en que se celebra el Dia de las Mamas en México? – El 10 de Mayo
9. ¿Cuál es nombre del mexicano que recibió el premio Nobel de Literatura? – Octavio Paz
10. ¿Cuál fue la aportación mas importante del científico mexicano Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas? – Inventó el primer anticonceptivo oral
Since this information appears legitimate, but we have no independent confirmations from other SRE offices (outside of Jalisco), we welcome readers to provide current & ongoing updates to how their local SRE offices are implementing the new rules & new requirements for Mexican Naturalized Citizenship.
===========================
Note
New exam questions are listed in the current updated version of this post at: https://yucalandia.com/2018/04/26/april-2018-update-to-mexicos-naturalized-citizenship-exam-requirements/
========================
FINALLY:
An applicant in Jalisco found Jalisco SRE’s Spanish test is extremely easy.
“In Part One, you read a few paragraphs out loud then answer multiple choice questions about what you just read.
In Part Two, you pick a photo at random out of a book of photos, then write 3 grammatically-correct sentences in Spanish about that photo. Any sentences of any length about anything tangentially related to the photo. “
We’re looking forward to reports from Yucatan about how Merida’s SRE is handling it.
* * * *
Feel free to copy while giving proper attribution: YucaLandia/Surviving Yucatan.
© Steven M. Fry
Read-on MacDuff . . .
Surviving Yucatan 
Wow. Glad I’m over sixty, as I plan to apply as soon as I have enough time “in country.” (¿Any reported changes to that requirement of five years, Steve?)
¡ This test is more like a game of TRIVIAL PURSUIT ! I was able to read and understand the wording in all the questions. But I only got one out of ten correct (#3, about the zero). My credentials : I’ve read numerous books on Mexican history. I have a college degree, and have studied in a graduate program at an “Ivy league” school. I could probably pass a basic essay test in Spanish.
MY CONCLUSION : there’s something seriously wrong with this test. It is truly trivial.
AN ASIDE : It might be revealing to ask ten citizens of USA, under age sixty, to name ANY astronaut. I suspect that the younger of the ten would have an increasingly difficult time.
Hi Eric,
Yes, there’s still a requirement for 5 continuous years of successful residency visas.
My Yucatecan wife got 10 for 10. Jalisco SRE quietly reports that zero applicants have passed the test yet. … but we have no word on what Merida’s SRE is requiring. Merida’s SRE delegado added extra requriements in the past, including requiring ALL applicants (including over 60) reciting (or singing) at least 3 verses + chorus of the Hymno + giving~reciting a 20 to 30 minute oral history of Mexico from pre-Columbian timees up through the expropriation of petroleo, so even though SRE is a Federal Agency, each SRE office can add their own additional qualifications. – but that was just our SRE office.
Re the difficulty: If we build up a list of the questions, by people reporting the questions they received, people could study the known questions.
(??)
Happy Trails,
steve
Steve, I think I’m going to abandon my quest to become a naturalized citizen of Mexico — at least until the test become a civics test instead of a cultural test. I see no practical way I can acquire an adequate mindset of another nations cultural history at my age. If the test were a civics test, combined with some language proficiency, I would remain interested. But culture is too vast. As a cultural test, I only scored one out of ten on the questions you’ve shared in this blogpost.
To this end, today I took the practice test to become a citizen of USA, at https://my.uscis.gov/prep/test/civics. I got 19 out of 20 correct, missing a question about a date. (History is pointless when reduced to dates!) I was off by two years, about when the Constitution was written. So what. I’m good with the history of ideas.
So, sorry Mexico, I won’t be joining your team anytime soon.
Awww….
On behalf of Mexico, we still welcome your continuing presence in Yucatan.
🙂
Happy Trails,
steve
**Actually, the difficulty~eccentricity of some of the 10 questions will greatly reduce the number of Brits, Canadians& USA-nians who can become naturalized citizens.
Who will likely pass the 3 tests (2 written + 1 oral) in the future?
The one person we know who recently passed all 3, had no problems with the essay-style Spanish reading & writing comprehension part … and he knew the answer to 6 of the 10 history-culture-gastronomy questions … but he only passed (8 or 10) because he was able to guess 2 out of the 4 remaining answers to get the minimum required 8 answers correct.
??
and yes… I am happy that I struck while the iron was hot, getting Mexican citizenship back when the requirements were a little easier** here in Merida.
**Memorizing the answers to 100 written questions was easy … Having to recite 3 verses + chorus of the Hymno +plus having to recite 25-30 minutes of Mexican history (precise & complete names, dates, locations & key facts-context) was not easy.
🙂
I won’t play “the dating game” with any government or any history teacher. The reason students hate history is because it is taught as dates rather than as the history of ideas. I am happy to tell a story of conquest and resistance with minimal mention of dates. But if they want to know dates, go look in some history books, I say.
Wonderful !
Wow – I am so happy that I will be 73 when I can apply for citizenship, and that I live in Colima State, only 3 hours away from Jalisco. Sounds like it will be easier to pass the test there. My Spanish is improving every day, so hopefully I should be fluent enough when the time comes. Even though I won’t have to take the Trivial Pursuit exam (unless they change the rules again), I am currently studying the history in English, and when I am up to current events, will translate my notes into Spanish, just because I want to know as much history as possible about my adopted country.
Yay !
SRE (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) is a Federal Agency so this will apply to Baja and Baja Sur also.
The new Written language exam will hinder most expats.
I am Finally ready to have a simple face to face conversation but I am not ready for this. Maybe next year I will apply.
Good points.
Jalisco SRE quietly reports that zero applicants have passed the test yet. … but we have no word on what Merida’s SRE is requiring.
In the past, Merida’s SRE delegado added extra requriements, including requiring ALL applicants (including over 60) reciting (or singing) at least 3 verses + chorus of the Hymno + giving~reciting a 20 to 30 minute oral history of Mexico from pre-Columbian timees up through the expropriation of petroleo, so even though SRE is a Federal Agency, each SRE office can add their own additional qualifications. – but that was just our SRE office.
Happy Trails,
steve
Steve, I heard a lady here who recently took the test(2017) had to sing the national(l ( himno) anthem. Does that still apply for those of us over 70? .Apart from the exam, the big stumbling block has been the paper work concerning the name on the birth certificate having to match the passport Not a problem for men but a pain for women who have been married and changed their names.
Thanks as always for your continued informational help for expats 😘.
Would you please share any information you get as I too have these same questions. creaghday @gmail.com
Hi Steve, thank you for this very informative newsletter. I am over 61 and I am planning to apply for citizenship in May 2018. I am wondering if you can also tell me what I will need to bring with me to Mexico City. I am from the United States and I live in southern Baja. My birth certificate has my birth name iand my passport has my married name. How does one go about fusing them? Do I need to have my birth certificate apostilled with my passport? Or do I need to somehow change my passport name to reflect my birth certificate? What other documents do I need to present in DF and do any of them need to be translated? And if you know how many copies I need of each one, that would be helpful. I’m now thinking of how I can study Spanish grammar. I learned Spanish living here in Mexico so my written language will have errors but I am verbally fluent. (Well mas o menos). Yikes. Thanks again. Creagh
Hi Creagh,
If you are not already RESIDENTE PERMANANTE you need to start that process at the Mexican Consulate in your home country, before applying for citizenship here. And then you must “wait in line” for five years of good behavior, according to the previous rules, at least.
My five years of RP finish in May. That’s why I want to now get citizenship. Thanks.
Apostilled birth certificate.
Then have your passport changed to match your birth certificate name. Then have INM change your name on your visa (means applying for a new visa & paying for a new visa at your local INM office).
See
https://sre.gob.mx/carta-de-naturalizacion-por-residencia
and
https://yucalandia.com/answers-to-common-questions/mexican-citizenship-test-with-answers/
For crying out load….A majority of Mexicans couldn’t answer these questions….laughable.
My wife got 20 for 20 … but she knows … and loves Mexico.
*grin*
By comparison, note that in National Geographic surveys … over 60% of American students in Texas universities could not name the country south of Texas. … and nearly 50% of USA-nians could not find Florida on a map.
Hilarious … or pitiful ?
steve
I can confirm your view, Rafael. I volunteer as a pronunciation coach for Mexican students studying English. Tonight I gave the test to them, in Spanish, without showing the answers. The average score was 2 out of ten. They laughed at their score, saying “we’re bad Mexicans.” But I don’t believe this as they are good students who work hard. And one of the students is probably in her late forties! (She got three right answers.)
¿If Mexican citizens can’t pass this test, how are expats going to pass it? Personally, I blame Donald Trump for this turn of events. Nevertheless, the Mexican government might want to ask itself if it truly wants to prevent foreign people from becoming citizens merely because an ignorant president of another country doesn’t like foreigners.
Eric — As you know, I am not a Trump apologist. But these rules have been in the works for long before Trump was in the White House. A version of the standardized Spanish proficiency requirement went into effect two years ago.
We are in an age of renewed nationalism. Tha shows up in the ever-changing rules of immigration and naturalization. In that sense, Trump is a reflection of the change, not the cause.
Good point, Sr Algodon (Steve Cotton). Yes, the gears of state grind slowly, so Trump is now excused by me, with this public apology. Yes, ni-Don Trump is a poster boy of bad neighbor-relations; but he is not a putative cause, rigging the naturaleza exam.
But my complaint is not about Spanish language proficiency; but rather, it is about cultural knowledge, instead of a grasp of the mechanics of civics. A reasonable grasp of a nation’s practices should be expected when applying to become a citizen, but a vast familiarity with a nation’s cultural vibe is too much to expect. Do I really want to pay an attorney and a government and a cultural coach, (plus investing countless hours of study) to take an exam which my very bright Mexican students can’t come close passing? Nah! It’s not my place to criticize Mexico’s exam, but I simply won’t pay to take it as it currently stands. And I suspect the citizenship “marketplace” will confirm my decision, by staying home; and immigration attorneys will howl at the legislators and engineers of this test, to make it more appropriate.
Eric Chaffee:
“But my complaint is not about Spanish language proficiency; but rather, it is about cultural knowledge, instead of a grasp of the mechanics of civics”
so that’s the rub.
knowledge of The Culture is considered more important than Civics… it’s the culture
Ironic isn’t it?
Yes, that makes it a bit more difficult, especially for those that live in American enclaves.
¿American enclaves? Well, if my Mexican students can’t pass this exam, what difference does one’s nation of origin make?
“Well, if my Mexican students can’t pass this exam, what difference does one’s nation of origin make?”
What if it’s a generational issue?
Consider how little today’s plugged-in tuned-out “Gen-I” young people know … versus earlier times when people dialogued, pondered and put some effort into really understanding things.
Then consider that my Yucatecan wife and her mom both easily & quickly answered all 20 questions.
Just as 70% of students in Texas universities cannot name what country is south of Texas … Just as 75% of University of Texas students cannot answer:
“Who won the Civil War?”
Have childhoods & young adulthoods dominated by texting, instagraming, watching TV, playing video games… getting almost all their information from tweeting & Instagram … learning-about and experiencing life in just 140 character snippets … have these things profoundly impaired Mexican student’s knowledge of basic Mexican culture?
For the past 12 years, we have watched young Mexican couples between ages 22 – 30, out on dates in restaurants … where both the young woman & young man share almost zero conversation during their 1½ hrs dining at the same table, as both have their noses buried in their cell-phone screens … exchanging short bursts of texts & fotos with friends & family members whom they only occasionally spend real time with…
… as weak watery soup-substitutes … leaving them incapable of emotional depth … incapable of intellectual depth … incapable of knowing the richness & complexity of their own culture … due to diets of 20 years as latch-key kids & I-everything (I-phones, I-books, I-tablets, I I I) substitutes for the real world ???
When 70% of University of Miami students cannot find Florida on a map of the USA … should their Mexican peers be much different?
😉
So, Yucai, are you defending the exam as a valid measure of anything? Or perhaps you are suggesting citizenship should be renewed on an annual contractual basis? (Nah, just kidding.) But an exam that asks useless questions merely serves to discourage applicants.
One of the best imports any country can make is that of worthy new members of the society. Up north, USA is severely excluding this significant talent source. And now, with this new exam, Mexico appears to be imitating their northern neighbor.
I questioned who “Mexican students” are today.
I questioned their knowledge of their own country.
If Mexican students are like their US counterparts, then neither group knows much about their own cultures and even less about their country’s history.
😉
Short lifetimes dominated by 140 character Tweets, Snapchatting & Instagram lead to profoundly stunted attention spans …. and ignorance of anything that happened more than a few years ago, unless it involved a celebrity or sports star.
😦
Re content of the current tests:
Maybe consider how Mexico & Mexicans are so very different from USA-nians, Brits, Canadians et al.
Different values … different perspectives
… different standards … different expectations …
Mexicans consistently rank at the top or near the top of world happiness studies.
Even though Mexicans rank low on prosperity measures compared to USA et al, they are instead rich in quality of life issues.
The things a traditional Mexican finds important, (questions my wife & mother-in-law easily answered), about Mexican culture & gastronomy, may seem trivial & unimportant to USA-nians, Brits & Canadians, but is a hyper-focus on power, money, “great accomplishments”, who won, who lost, body counts, etc a better thing?
Maybe knowing another region’s distinctive favorite food … is more important to being Mexican, than ______ , that USA-nians value ??
🙂
Are US-values & US-standards really worth promoting in other countries? … as ordinary US citizens have been committing a mass shooting every day.
You mention Civics.
Do we know that Civics questions are not part of all the other 10 question versions of the written Mexican Citizenship test? … Civics questions were part of the test I took …
Have you taken the written & oral exams?
Has anyone told you what the Yucatan SRE Delegado asks in his 30 minute oral exams?
The Merida SRE Delegado definitely requires applicants to answer about 5 minutes of Mexican Civics questions – so, Civics are a part of the oral Citizenship test administered in Yucatan.
Fortunately, this story is still being written, as we so far have only 2 first person reports of what they remembered was on the specific 10 question test they took.
steve
**One of the applicants reporting on the new tests, passed their test on the first try.
I asked a question here last year (2017) on what was required to become a Mexican citizen. At the time, I was also in the precess of marrying my Mexican fianceé. What a nightmare. I have not pursued the citizenship yet. I’ve lived in Mexico for 9 years, 3 yrs. in Jalisco and 6 yrs. in Baja.
I had been married before and had kept my ex-husband’s last name after the divorce. According to Mexican law, EVERY piece of ID needed to be changed back to my maiden name (Driver’s license, SS card, passport and Permanent Resident card for Mexico) to marry.
In the US, I petitioned the court in the county I was married in and paid a small fee. My last name was changed to my maiden name within 3 weeks. The problem was with my Mexican Permanent Resident Card. I thought I could just do a name change. Oh no, you have to apply all over again and pay the full fee. They said I was not the same person and took my card away. It was a nightmare that took 3 months, with many trips to Migración, to finally get my new card. One problem was the officer didn’t like the “font” I typed a letter in. Come on! It finally came 1 week before our wedding date (which was planned in another Mexican state!).
Once we got to Nayarit (from Baja) they made us translate my birth certificate and divorce papers AGAIN into Spanish (when they had already been translated in Baja). It needed to be done in the state you were getting married in. Didn’t matter that it was the SAME language.
Creaghday, Whatever you do, get all your papers IN THE SAME NAME BEFORE you go for any government business. You will save yourself a LOT of headaches. Get EVERYTHING apostiled also.
How sad that Texas University students don’t know that Mexico is the country to the south!
Looking at the changes for the citizenship test this year, I’m not sure I’ll even bother to take it. I’m 61 but I’m not sure I’d pass the essay. I can speak, read and write Spanish but, if they’re going to be picky, I probably wouldn’t make it. Mexican hubby speaks great English so I don’t get much practice. I can hum the National Anthem but I’m afraid I don’t know all 3 stanzas of it. Nimodo!
(Oh well.)
You wrote
“Looking at the changes for the citizenship test this year, I’m not sure I’ll even bother to take it. I’m 61 but I’m not sure I’d pass the essay. I can speak, read and write Spanish but, if they’re going to be picky, I probably wouldn’t make it. Mexican hubby speaks great English so I don’t get much practice. I can hum the National Anthem but I’m afraid I don’t know all 3 stanzas of it. Nimodo!”
I may not have communicated clearly: There should be no written history-govt-culture cittizenship test for 61 & older – just the oral & written Spanish language proficiency exam with am SRE Delegado.
We don’t know which SRE office you would apply at, so we don’t know how easy or difficult your SRE delegado makes the Spanish competency exams.
Our Merida delegado had the highest standards in Mexico – expecting applicants to be able to recite (or sing) the chorus & 3 verses of the Hymno (National Anthem). To our knowledge, no other SRE delegados required this, Just Merida.
As a non-Spanish person over 60, you would need to pass an oral Spanish competency exam and possibly a written Spanish proficiency exam.
Thanks for the good information on name changes & reapplying for a Residente Permanente visa due to name changes. We’ve reported that is the past, but we’ve never heard of them rejecting applications due to the font of the cover letter.
… *sigh*
Other readers can realize that some INM individual employees can get bent, and start adding quirky new requirements (like the font issue) … but that is NOT and official national INM policy or even regional INM policy.
Thanks for the good updates,
steve
wow! thanks for the clarification… I was going to delay my application for a couple more years because of that.
I will be 68 this year, my learning has slowed down a lot (and a couple other things too).
I can finally have a simple face to face conversation with a stranger, but a written exam? “no way Jose!”
I will be applying in Ensenada, Baja. They have been most accommodating here in the past.
Peter
Hi Peter,
Again, we much appreciate all your good insights & contributions.
Since these requirements are so NEW, the exam requirements we report above are from the Jalisco SRE office.
Are all SRE offices applying the same requirements now?
We are waiting to hear from readers in other states about how their SRE offices are applying the new Federal SRE requirements.
Good Luck,
steve
My lawyer tells me that Jalisco is requiring the history, government, culture test for everyone, regardless of age.
“The first change (reported from Jalisco) is that foreigner applicants over age 60(59?) from non-Spanish speaking countries, (like Canada, USA, Gr. Britain et al) will have to take both written & oral Spanish language exams to prove competency in Spanish.
… “If you are over 61 & from a Latin American country, you will not have to sit for any written tests. If you are over 61 & not of Latin American origin, you will not have to take the history-geography-culture-gastronomy written test. You will, however, have to sit for a written Spanish language exam regardless of your age. …”
—————————————
Doesn’t this say an American over 61 and NOT from a Latin American country (me), needs to “sit for a written Spanish Language Exam”? Also a verbal exam?
I’m 61. I believe the above paragraphs says I will still have to write a (take a written) Spanish language exam but It WON’T be the culture-history-gastronomy test for those under 60.
Everyone, EXCEPT those over 61 AND from a Latin American country (because they already speak Spanish), will have to take either the history or Spanish proficiency written test. If over 61, you will only need to prove your Spanish language competency in a written test. The only people who don’t have to take any written tests are Latin American folks aged 61 and up.
That’s how I interpret the context above.
Hi Sausana,
So we are talking about the same thing, know that “verbal‘ does not mean ‘oral‘ in the English language.
Oral = Spoken.
Verbal = Written or Spoken.
So, FOR JALISCO … the article is correct as written:
ALL ages of foreigners from non-Spanish countries have to take a written Spanish language-proficiency exam.
The oral Spanish proficiency exam is required is also required for ALL ages of foreigners from non-Spanish countries.
We are waiting to hear from other SRE offices in other states about how they are applying the new rules,
steve
It was the national anthem which was hanging me up. If that requirement goes away, I’m all in.
Is the National Anthem required for post 61 year olds? That is my stumbling block too plus how to get my docs in my birth certificate name. Any suggestions welcome.
Hi Steve,
For the last 2 years, the SRE’s Merida office Delegado required people to be able to recite precisely at least 2 verses and the chorus, , for all applicants – as a part of the oral-Spanish proficiency exam… while he has required some to learn 3. For me, he required V1, V2 & V10 + Chorus. He was the only one in the country requiring this.
We haven’t heard from anyone yet about how he’s personally interpreting the SRE’s new requirements.
steve
Hi everyone,
Please do I need to book an appointment first before going to Mexico City for the federal police report? I have plans to book my flight and hotel this week and won’t want to face any inconvenience. Please do reply, thanks.
Hi everyone my pakistani husband is planning to apply for the mexican passport. One of his friends got him the old 100 question exam guide and he learnt it but now i see all is different. It means he might be asked to take the 10 question exam and extra exams like the image part or reading for everyone? Or only the questions? He is going to apply in veracruz. Thanks
Hello SHAB I am Indian citizen married with a Mexican , Me I connect with your husband , because I want to know about the process and the questions for the Mexican citizenship test.
Well it evident that Mexico wants to reduce the number of new citizens from English speaking county’s..Many if not the most Mexican’s could not complete this process successfully.. I barely read and speak Spanish ( just enough to get by) and the spelling I have seen from locals make me feel good…Simply an opinion…. Good Luck to those who take on this challenge.. May the force be with you…
I want to report you guys that at least here in Veracruz state the requirements change according to your nationality. If you are from some specific nationalities exam changes. In this version of the exam i can confirm that they give you a text that you read for the delegado and then you answer a set of questions about the text, after you must say about a random picture 3 sentences that make sense. Of course the text is about either history or mexican culture etc.
Good report.
Your Vera Cruz experience fits with the reports out of Jalisco: Different (lower) requirements for native Spanish speakers from Latin American countries, while all gringos, Canadians, Brits & Germans must prove competency.
THANKS!
steve
Hi, just wondering… there are some papers like the “ANTECEDENTES NO PENALES FEDERAL and LOCAL”, if I live in Jalisco… do I need to take a trip to Mexico City to get the FEDERAL? or can I get it in Jalisco… in case I can get it in Jalisco, Where? I’m looking forward to take the test ASAP!
And do I have to make an appointment to apply the test?
Hi Ken,
When I did it, I filed documents first for them to check my application. Then when I went in to officially start the application process, signing various forms, including a form that says
“I renounce citizenship in all other countries.”
Then, at the end of signing the forms, they gave me the written exam, followed by the 30 minute oral exam.
Happy Trails,
steve
That document comes from Mexico City.
When I got my citizenship, we paid someone in Mexico City to get the document for me, so I didn’t have to go there.
steve
do you know if I can present a copy of my birth certificate or it has to be the original?
what is the 30 minute oral exam about? history or anything alike? or it’s just talk with the person in front of you about any topic?
thanks a lot for answering my questions
Only originals.
“what is the 30 minute oral exam about? history or anything alike? or it’s just talk with the person in front of you about any topic?”
Read the article above, including the test questions: Culture (inc. gastronomy), History, Civics.
New update from Veracruz. The exam is very hard there are 3 parts including the questions which are randomly picked from 10 different sets of questions. It means the 3 parts have 10 different versiones that get randomly picked for each applicant. And from 10 you need yo have 8 good. There is no way to pass those questions
There is no way to pass those questions.
Fortunately, there are ways to answer 8 of 10 questions & pass the exams.
My wife & mother-in-law knew the answers to the exams posted above.
and … even Americans are passing the exams.
😉
Do people over age 60 need to take the exam described above on culture, history etc? Or do we only need to prove literacy by being able to read, write and speak Spanish? Does my passport have to match (name) my apostilled birth certificate (translated into Spanish?)
Yep … (sort of).
Applicants at four different SRE offices report that gringos from non-Spanish speaking countries are being required to pass some mix of oral & written exams, regardless of age, to prove competency in both Spanish … & Mexican History & Culture.
Perspective?
The previous requirements had been far too easy. Gringos who barely speak Spanish (unable to have even a simple conversation in Spanish) – were being approved as citizens … people who really did not know Mexico, because the previous written test had been the same, published publicly for 9 years – multiple choice – easy to memorize without ever learning much about Mexico.
So … pendulums swing. 10 years of way-too-easy naturalized citizenship is now replaced with a fairly high set of bars.
What do you think??
steve
New update from Veracruz. The exam is very hard there are 3 parts including the questions which are randomly picked from 10 different sets of questions. It means the 3 parts have 10 different versiones that get randomly picked for each applicant. And from 10 you need yo have 8 good. There is no way to pass those questions
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Any developments since the last post?
We’ve been watching 5 different expat forums, and there are no new updates.
One Clarification:
As expected, there are a bank of questions that they can choose from (notice that the some ‘versions’ reported by one person have a 1 or 2 questions in common with the ‘versions’ reported by other people taking the test). So if you make a master list of all the questions & learn it, then so far, other people are reporting SRE is drawing from the list to simply make different combinations of the questions for each applicant’s ‘version’ of 10 questions.
As such, the ‘versions’ we report above are simply ways to track what each person reported, at the time they reported it.
Does that make sense?
steve
I did my test three times this year. Finally passed the last time. After living here for over 13 years I do speak, write and read fluently. The test is very hard. Every time you go they give you different questions. There are three parts of the test. First answering 10 questions, than reading an article loud and answering more questions about it and last is writing 3 sentences of a picture that you randomly choose. I highly recommended studying Mexican history, geography, politics, interesting fats about mexico as for famous Mexicans. Good luck to all!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Superb update!
Thanks,
steve
Pingback: Update to Mexico’s Naturalized Citizenship Exam Requirements | Surviving Yucatan
Thank you for the info, but I know there is 15 images they have and they pick one and give you that to describe or write sentences. I know there is, day of the death, 2 ppl in laboratory, marathon running, soccer game…. but what are the others?
any info please and thanks.
I just took the test in Tepic. The first part was a multiple choice 10 question test. I studied about 400 questions – the old ones, some other ones I found online in Quizlet that people had confirmed were on the recent test they took. Out of the 10 questions, I only saw one that I had seen before. “Who was the first Virrey?” The others I had never seen. Things like “What date was the registro civil established?” etc. Somehow I was a good guesser and got 7/10 but it wasn’t enough, you need 8. I asked to take the second part but they wouldn’t let me – but the guy said that it’s reading of a passage in Spanish and then answering 5 questions to test compression on the passage, and that if you can understand Spanish, it’s easy. Ha ha.
There is no point in complaining about the government policies on here. What we need is a united strategy to beat this system as efficiently as possible. Below I will outline a few ideas for this.
The SRE study guide is mammoth. Over 1000 pages of information.
One strategy we can take is for everyone that takes this test, to remember their questions and we can start a database somewhere and people can use this to study. Also with this information, we can establish if there is any pattern of how they are drawing the questions from all that text. IE, maybe all the questions have a picture associated with them, or are in bold etc.
A third is to divide and conquer processing the information, or pay a native Mexican to do this. Basically go through all the information and create question and answer sets on Quizlet or similar platform. With that, you just have to do flashcard memorization which for me, was relatively easy for the previous 100 questions (I thought that it could be a good place to start, since a lot of that information is also in the SRE guide). Though there will be multiple hundreds of questions for this study guide, at least there’s a path. If anyone is interested in taking on this project together, we can unite – did you know that Unity, is represented by the white stripe on the Mexican flag. That wasn’t on the test 🙂
Another is to obtain the questions from someone who works there. This would be the most efficient method.
If anyone would like to participate in the above, let me know and we can start a group.
So people from privileged countries who don’t have a solid proficiency of the Spanish language (and who don’t care to put in the time and effort to learn), and who don’t have a thorough understanding of Mexican history and culture (and who don’t care to put in the time and effort to learn, even when given 1,000 pages of reference material–what is that, a few novels’ worth?) are being dissuaded from taking Mexico’s citizenship test. It seems as if Mexico’s new policies are having their intended effect.
What have y’all been doing the past 5+ years in Mexico? Not speaking any Spanish? Not learning anything about the history and culture of the place you live and call home? Not reading books? Just blindly going about your days, living on the fringes of Mexican society but not actually integrated into it, comfortable in your insulated little bubble that you have created to be not all that different from your home country? Or “trying,” but not all that hard?
How is this different from any other country’s citizenship requirements? Doesn’t the Mexican government have the right to dictate strict citizenship requirements in order to protect their culture and national identity, if they so choose? Are y’all complaining about these “strict requirements” equally aghast at the requirements and timelines for a Mexican to become a United States citizen? Is being able to (1) speak, read, and write Spanish, (2), study up on Mexico’s history and culture, even if that means reading several books or taking classes, and (3) sing the national anthem of the country you live in–over the course of five years, really all that much of the Mexican government to ask?
Do all the old white male snowbirds commenting on this thread really, actually love Mexico? Or do they just love its tacos and cheap beer?
Editor’s Note:
Interestingly, the facts show 3 old white snow bird guys commenting, and 6 women commenting.
Interestingly, the facts show at most ~3 old white guy snow-birds~ commenting, and 6 women commenting.
At last check … 3 old white guy snowbirds is just half of the 6 women commentators.
???
I’m going into Mexico City in November to take the test. I’m 73…I’m not sure why my attorney has been/or has arranged for me to be tested in DF, not Guanajuato/San Miguel where I live. I’ve lived here since 2012…am functional in spoken Spanish, and probably reasonably good in Mex history and culture, but I had never really prepared for writing formally. Just curious if you have any new information since last year about the test. Has anyone taken it since the SRE offices reopened?