Mexico

[LeisaP]

Well, that's it. Today is officially four weeks since I gave them the FBI police clearance. So I'm gonna send them a case-specific enquiry. Do you guys have the website so I can do this?

Thanks!

good idea!!
here is the link if you didnt find it yet

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/mexico.asp

 

[LeisaP]

Hey guys! so we got the precartilla today!.
it was fairly easy, but a little irritating!!.

we went to the office and gave the guy at the counter our papers and he was checking them yup, yup, good, than he asked for a original birth certificate, and my husband only has the original small version without the parents names, than he has photocopies of the long version.

so we gave this and the guy called over another lady and she was like nope! nope we cant take this, im not taking this and made a big deal!.
than we gave him the pictures and he smelled the picture! than scratched it to check what paper it was on, than he measured it, and said i dont think this will work because your sideburns are 3cm too long.
and my husband was like are you kidding, it says nothing about the sideburns on your government website, and than he told us to go see a different lady and ask if it was okay. so he did and the lady was like
"no this wont work' and my husband was like but i went to the photo place and this is what they told me was precartilla pics that i just spent 140 pesos on. and she was like "NO! LOOK AT YOUR SIDEBURNS! DO YOU THINK THE ARMY WOULD ACCEPT THIS!!" and by this time my husband was very irritated, and he said "i dont know, YOUR government website does not say that" and than 3 ladies stood up from their desks and started yelling at him!!!! and attacking him saying "well the website is wrong, and blah blah blah blah!!"

so my husband just turned around and walked away before he said something he would regret, seeing as this precartilla is needed! if it wasnt, im sure it would have been a different arguement. but i was shocked by how rude the people working their were, they treated us like animals as if we were already in the line up for the army. we were not impressed.

anyways so we go down the street and get another set of pictures taken for 40 pesos..
and bring them back and the guy at the front desk.. i think he felt sorry for my husband because the ladies attacked him. so he accepted the new correct pictures as well as his photocopy birth certificate and let him get the precartilla.

so in the end it worked out!!

also i hear some people say it took 2 weeks to get it.. what do you mean? because they gave us the precartilla with his info and picture and fingerprints on it, and told us this was the precartilla and all we had to do was call the office between oct 15-30 to find out the date to pick the ball...

so we were given the precartilla the same day and didnt have to wait for it...

for others who have gotten it, was it just a piece of paper with picture and photograph or was it an actually card???

please let me knoww!!.thanksss!! im hoping we have the write paper!!

 

[Chuladaa]

And be happy they are actively working on your app

Thanks everyone im feeling much better I was so upset earlier. Thanks for the responses!

 

[edgarsitow]

Hey guys! so we got the precartilla today!.
it was fairly easy, but a little irritating!!.

we went to the office and gave the guy at the counter our papers and he was checking them yup, yup, good, than he asked for a original birth certificate, and my husband only has the original small version without the parents names, than he has photocopies of the long version.

so we gave this and the guy called over another lady and she was like nope! nope we cant take this, im not taking this and made a big deal!.
than we gave him the pictures and he smelled the picture! than scratched it to check what paper it was on, than he measured it, and said i dont think this will work because your sideburns are 3cm too long.
and my husband was like are you kidding, it says nothing about the sideburns on your government website, and than he told us to go see a different lady and ask if it was okay. so he did and the lady was like
"no this wont work' and my husband was like but i went to the photo place and this is what they told me was precartilla pics that i just spent 140 pesos on. and she was like "NO! LOOK AT YOUR SIDEBURNS! DO YOU THINK THE ARMY WOULD ACCEPT THIS!!" and by this time my husband was very irritated, and he said "i dont know, YOUR government website does not say that" and than 3 ladies stood up from their desks and started yelling at him!!!! and attacking him saying "well the website is wrong, and blah blah blah blah!!"

so my husband just turned around and walked away before he said something he would regret, seeing as this precartilla is needed! if it wasnt, im sure it would have been a different arguement. but i was shocked by how rude the people working their were, they treated us like animals as if we were already in the line up for the army. we were not impressed.

anyways so we go down the street and get another set of pictures taken for 40 pesos..
and bring them back and the guy at the front desk.. i think he felt sorry for my husband because the ladies attacked him. so he accepted the new correct pictures as well as his photocopy birth certificate and let him get the precartilla.

so in the end it worked out!!

also i hear some people say it took 2 weeks to get it.. what do you mean? because they gave us the precartilla with his info and picture and fingerprints on it, and told us this was the precartilla and all we had to do was call the office between oct 15-30 to find out the date to pick the ball...

so we were given the precartilla the same day and didnt have to wait for it...

for others who have gotten it, was it just a piece of paper with picture and photograph or was it an actually card???

please let me knoww!!.thanksss!! im hoping we have the write paper!!

Yup, that sounds about right. They're just jealous because your hubby has some killer sideburns.

It looks like a small little book that has the photo, some basic information and then a few paragraphs regarding the army.

Thanks for the link btw. I already sent them the enquiry, however I still haven't received the automatic email saying they got it. Now paranoia is setting in...

 

[TSauretBaxter]

Thanks everyone im feeling much better I was so upset earlier. Thanks for the responses!

Have you submitted your PGR now?

 

[TSauretBaxter]

LeisaP - The guy my husband dealt with was rude too. He also had to go back in like 10 - 15 days to get the paper. I'm not sure exactly what it looked like. That's great that you got it in one day!

 

[Chuladaa]

Have you submitted your PGR now?

No not yet. We had a nightmare with the courier so we only got the document yesterday. My husband went yesterday afternoon and they said he had everything he needed except for 1 document was out of date. So his mom is getting him the document he needs from mexico city and sending it to him so he will go back on Thursday.

My husband told me they told him he would have the PGR on the same day. Which conflicts everything else I have read so im not sure if thats true but I hope so.

 

[LeisaP]

Yup, that sounds about right. They're just jealous because your hubby has some killer sideburns.

It looks like a small little book that has the photo, some basic information and then a few paragraphs regarding the army.

Thanks for the link btw. I already sent them the enquiry, however I still haven't received the automatic email saying they got it. Now paranoia is setting in...

hahaha yeah probably!

yes! its 3-4 pages stapled together, the front is his info with the pic and fingerprint than the rest is all paragraphs about the army im assuming although my spanish is poor so i didnt even try to read it. i was just too excited that we got the precartilla!!

p.s they never asked us why he didnt get it when he was 18, all they asked for was his college degrees.. the guy at the front was very nice, and polite, it was just the ladies in the back were like animals haha!!

so now i feel good because i know for sure it is the right paper!! thankss!


your welcome.. oh really. one time it took them 2 hours or so to send me a receipt email.

 

[LeisaP]

LeisaP - The guy my husband dealt with was rude too. He also had to go back in like 10 - 15 days to get the paper. I'm not sure exactly what it looked like. That's great that you got it in one day!

oh really!!. jeesh, i was thinking you guys are lucky he is even here getting it!, its been 9 years and he didnt have to do service so for all you know he could go the rest of his life and not do it!! lol.

yeah!! when we got it i was worried! i thought, oh no this isnt the right paper! because everyone else said they waited 10 days to pick it up!. but the office here was big and had about 7 people working so i guess they had the means to do it in one day.



so happy its over!!

 

[TSauretBaxter]

No not yet. We had a nightmare with the courier so we only got the document yesterday. My husband went yesterday afternoon and they said he had everything he needed except for 1 document was out of date. So his mom is getting him the document he needs from mexico city and sending it to him so he will go back on Thursday.

My husband told me they told him he would have the PGR on the same day. Which conflicts everything else I have read so im not sure if thats true but I hope so.

Hmm.. well conflicting info is nothing new! My husband has inquired about the processing time for his state but hasn't got a defininte answer yet. Keep us updated!

 

[LeisaP]

No not yet. We had a nightmare with the courier so we only got the document yesterday. My husband went yesterday afternoon and they said he had everything he needed except for 1 document was out of date. So his mom is getting him the document he needs from mexico city and sending it to him so he will go back on Thursday.

My husband told me they told him he would have the PGR on the same day. Which conflicts everything else I have read so im not sure if thats true but I hope so.

what state are you getting the pgr in?

 

[edgarsitow]

Inconsistency is the motto for Mexican bureaucracy. Nothing new there.

 

[TSauretBaxter]

Inconsistency is the motto for Mexican bureaucracy. Nothing new there.

lol So true!

 

[OhCanadiana]

oh really!!. jeesh, i was thinking you guys are lucky he is even here getting it!, its been 9 years and he didnt have to do service so for all you know he could go the rest of his life and not do it!! lol.

yeah!! when we got it i was worried! i thought, oh no this isnt the right paper! because everyone else said they waited 10 days to pick it up!. but the office here was big and had about 7 people working so i guess they had the means to do it in one day.



so happy its over!!

Just popping in and saw that your husband got his military conscription registration document. Congratulations, LeisaP.

I realize that you may not be familiar with the intricacies of Mexico and that is perfectly understandable since you're visiting and haven't spent much time there. I think it's really cool that you're trying to learn and embrace the culture and for that I commend you.

In that spirit, let me share a bit about the 'pre-cartilla' to clear up some misunderstandings. Every male who grows up in Mexico knows from a very early age that when they turn 18 they need to register for military service - it is culturally engrained. The only exception may be males who are in Indian tribes in really remote regions of the country who still communicate in Nahuatl or other ancient dialects (think First Nation in really remote, hard-to-access regions). Anyone who is in mainstream Mexican society - from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor - is aware of this rite of passage (in the same way that any Canadian past a very young age knows you need a driver's licence to drive a car and nervously looks forward to that rite of passage the closer it gets). As you are aware from others, you need the 'pre-cartilla' for the PGR. But, it isn't only for the PGR that your husband needs it ... the Canadian Embassy in Mexico has been known to ask for a 'pre-cartilla liberada' indicating that the citizen has completed his military service before issuing a CoPR, as edgarsitow mentioned earlier, employers usually ask for it in order to give you a job (given that otherwise if you haven't completed military service, the employer faces stiff penalties), and the government isn't supposed to provide you with any services unless you have registered and completed your obligation. You can register either where you live in Mexico or at a Mexican Embassy or Consulate abroad. If you live in Mexico, most people register and then go to the ball-lottery. Folks with black balls are done, whereas those with white or blue balls go to training for half a day on Saturdays for a year (8am to 1pm). If you live abroad when you register, you automatically get an exemption and the 'pre-cartilla liberada' without needing to go through the whole ball-routine and possibly military service.

I understand that this may all seem foreign to you since Canada hasn't had conscription since WWII. Many countries around the globe have conscription. In the US, males need to register with the Selective Service when they reach 18 and advise the Selective Service every time they move until they reach 26.

So, I think you should congratulate your other-half on successfully obtaining the pre-cartilla today. It's the best possible outcome you could have. If you read the law, the outcome could have been very, very different (including jail time). Be happy the ladies were just 'grumpy' and that they didn't turn him in for breaking the law. You are the lucky ones today.

When you have a moment, run the law through Google Translate or some other translation software (http://www.sedena.gob.mx/images/stories/archivos/leyes_y_reglamentos/leyes/LEY_DEL_SERVICIO_MILITAR.pdf) to learn all the details.

 

[TSauretBaxter]

OhCanadiana... Do you know anything about transferring education and driver's license over to Canada from Mexico? No one has been able to answer my question yet