Love Abroad: Why I Chose to Get Remarried in Mexico, Officially This Time

I originally did get married in Mexico for those of you who were at the wedding and are a bit confused as to why I am doing it again, however, we had a symbolic ceremony. Don’t worry when we got back to the states we filed all of the necessary paperwork and were officially married in the U.S. Our wedding was beautiful and I woulnd’t do anything to change it although the thought of everyone staring at me and having to be the center of attention had me running to my doctor to get on a good antidepressant to handle my anxious nerves. I like the idea of being the main character, but honestly I think I have more side character energy unless I can pretend that I’m a different person for awhile, which I do sometimes, than I can be that main character all day long.

I don’t know why we didn’t officially get married in Mexico the first time when we had the chance. Maybe laziness on our part? It was such a whirlwind that I don’t even really remember it being a viable option. But now fast forward to six years…we decided to invest in some properties. Here is the one under construction in Puerto Morelos, should be done next year.

However, if something happened to G, I would not be able to own the properties because I’m not a Mexican citizen. Here in lies the glaring problem, one in which I hadn’t even thought about and probably would never have, if it had not been for my husband, who is always five steps ahead of me. Unfortunately, the Mexican government has to recognize our marriage for at least three years before I can even apply for citizenship, which isn’t a terrible thing for me since one of the requirements is to prove a conversational level of Spanish, amongst a rather lengthy list of documents that I will need to gather, and many forms that will need to be filled out, as well as a questionnaire that I will have to take about Mexican history and culture. The whole process can take four to six months although you don’t have to leave Mexico during the meantime.

Fortunately, I can receive my temporary residency right away by providing proof of marriage and proof that my Mexican spouse can financially support me in Mexico. Ha ha. G has some work to do because I require a lot. But I still can’t do that right now because to be a resident I have to live in Mexico for six months and one day.

Once we are married and we maintain residency here I can receive a one year temporary residency, renew it for the second year, and then apply for permanent residency (which never expires) or my Mexican citizenship.

That’s a lot of stuff and things and I’m exhausted just writing and thinking about it.

There are of course benefits to becoming a Mexican citizen, like there are for most countries I presume, not just because I think it’s so cool to be a dual citizen. I can purchase property, have the right to vote, enjoy reduced waiting times in Mexican airports (you think that’s not a big deal until you’re in the Cancun airport at Christmas time), I can even work for any employer in Mexico, and the list continues, but those are the ones that mostly apply to me and my situation.

So, Thursday I will be officially married in Mexico and one day will call myself a Mexican, which will be fun to confuse people. Don’t ask me how my Spanish is coming along though; I will try to answer in Spanish and by the time I figure it out you will have forgotten what you asked me, not that you would be able to understand my horrendous accent anyway.