tishness said:
current update on our PGR Drama
So if he has to get his Cartilla Militar, his local municipal office says he needs to go to the municipal office where he was born... So with travel and turn around times, there is just no way he will get this done in what is now 24 days (since the weekend is a wash, and santa semana will eat into this more). So we have emailed the VO, it says if you have problems, contact them. So we will wait for a response.
OhCanadiana, would love to hear your take on this... where art thou?
Hi
First, I understand that the Cartilla Militar probably feels very foreign to you. And that this may feel like a twist you weren't expecting. Unfortunately, it's come up a few times before and, unfortunately, is required for the PGR police certificate. The best analogy I can come up with is a driver's licence. In Canada by the time you're in your early teens you know exactly how old you need to be to get a DL and plan for it (both looking forward to the right of passage and dreading the tests and process associated with it). The Cartilla Militar is similar to that for men in Mexico.
I wrote the following description a while back and hope it helps you understand the context:
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.
All the details at http://www.sedena.gob.mx/tramites-y-servicios/servicio-militar-nacional/preguntas-frecuentes. In essence, registering is a multi-part process. First, from Jan 2 to Oct 15 of any year you go register (as far as I know, to the SEDENA offices nearest where you live). Then, on a Sunday in November there is a lottery. Each person gets a ball. Depending on the color of the ball, you may need to do military service the following year (as I described above) with the navy (blue) or military (white). In December, everyone then gets their Cartilla Militar liberada showing they completed their military service.
In terms of where to get the cartilla, as far as I know and the instructions indicate, you get it at the municipal office closest to your home address. In fact, it looks like you can even do most of it online at http://www.sedena.gob.mx/tramites-y-servicios/servicio-militar-nacional/tramites-en-linea and then go pick it up at the address you select (they tell you to pick the address closest to your home).
I *think* the PGR is allowing people to get the police certificate with the pre-cartilla so your husband may be able to do it after registering. Be happy it's between January and October now and he can! Be sure, though, that he completes the process (whether he's living in Mexico or abroad) as they can ask for the cartilla liberada for many things. And keep this in mind for your (future) sons
Hope this helps at least make it a bit less confusing ...
