Many Government Offices Remain Closed Until October 2 Following Earthquake

As a result of last week’s earthquake, please note the following developments:

• All Ministry of Interior offices (Secretaría de Gobernación), including immigration offices, will not process immigration-related work until Monday, October 2, 2017. The government’s immigration offices in Mexico City (local and federal) remain closed to the public, with the exception of the immigration office at the Mexico City International Airport.

• The immigration office at the Mexico City International Airport will continue to support the operations of the National Immigration Institute (INM) in Mexico City for issuance of special exit-reentry permits this week. Immigration offices in Mexico State (including Toluca and Tlalnepantla), Guadalajara, Monterrey, San Luis Potosí, among others, are reportedly operating normally.

• All immigration-related legal terms, deadlines and expirations have been formally postponed in Mexico City, Puebla and Morelos until Monday, October 2.

• Document procurement, legalization and apostille services in Mexico will be delayed due to the government closures and limited operations. Processing delays should be expected after offices resume operations on October 2.

What this means for foreign nationals

Those with an ongoing process with the INM who need to leave Mexico prior to October 6 should contact their immigration professional.

Foreign nationals who require an exit-reentry permit due to ongoing proceedings with the immigration authorities in Mexico are advised to postpone their international flight unless they need to travel urgently and cannot reschedule their trip.

We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available. At this time, information is fragmented and the authorities are issuing updates as they are needed, likely while they continue to work on resuming internal operations following the earthquake.

We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and that you are able to get back to your usual routine as soon as possible.