How to receive your COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico

Getting vaccinated in Mexico is no easy task. There is a lot of paperwork, vaccinations are only offered for a couple of days each month in each location, and the restrictions of who can be vaccinated are very limited. The limited access to vaccines in Mexico is due to a lack of vaccines in the country.

You must be a legal resident of Mexico, not a tourist, and you must complete the following steps:

1. You MUST be a legal resident of Mexico (not a tourist visa) If you are not a legal resident, holding a resident’s visa in Mexico, you need to return to your home country to be vaccinated. And if airlines start to require proof of vaccination, you could be in a difficult situation. So if you don’t qualify to be vaccinated in Mexico, consider going to your home country to be vaccinated ASAP.
2. You MUST have a CURP (you will have this if you are a legal resident, if you don’t have one, you don’t qualify for a vaccine)
3. You MUST have proof of address, showing you are a resident of the city where you are trying to be vaccinated. (typically an electric bill is considered proof of address in Mexico. I recommend also taking a renter’s contract if you are renting in Mexico and the electric bill isn’t in your name… take BOTH.)
4. After you have ALL three of the above completed, you MUST register with the federal government http://mivacuna.salud.gob.mx/
5. THEN you MUST register with the State where you live. We deal with Jalisco here because we cover Puerto Vallarta, http://vacunacion.jalisco.gob.mx/ (You can ONLY register when your age group has a scheduled date available, you can see the upcoming dates in Jalisco here: https://coronavirus.jalisco.gob.mx/ruta-de-la-vacunacion/)
6. By the time you complete step 5, you should have your date and location for your vaccination. PRINT EVERYTHING. Print the Vaccination Record provided to you when you registered on the FEDERAL WEBSITE. Print the QR CODE that was provided to you from the State website.
7. Attend to your scheduled vaccination date that you received from the State website with copies of everything, I recommend three copies of everything, because, well, this is Mexico. Take your resident visa (and I suggest a copy as well), the original and copies of your electric bill, original and copy of a rental agreement if you rent in Mexico and the electric bill isn’t in your name, a copy of your CURP (you can print one here https://www.gob.mx/curp/) Your printed government issued Vaccination Record, Your printed State registration QR code. Again, I recommend three copies of everything because Mexico LOVES paperwork.
8. If you are arriving for your second dose, you must also take proof of your first vaccination.

Vaccinations are managed by the Federal Government, there is no state or local control over the process. Arriving at a vaccination center and demanding to be vaccinated without following the process isn’t going to be sufficient because the people working at these centers do not have any decision-making powers. You need to follow the above process if you want to be vaccinated in Mexico.