Mexican pension proof of life (IMSS, ISSSTE, ISSFAM) at a consulate

If you receive a pension from IMSS, ISSSTE or ISSFAM (Mexico’s social security, government-workers’ and armed-forces institutes) and live in the United States, your institution requires you to appear at a Mexican consulate for a “revista de supervivencia” — a proof-of-life certificate showing you are alive and your pension rights remain in force. One exception per the IMSS procedure sheet: Ley 97 IMSS pensioners whose pension is paid through an insurance company prove survival with that insurer, through the mechanisms it sets, not at the consulate. It is free: the Chicago consulate’s 2026 table lists it as “GRATIS,” and the SRE (Mexico’s foreign ministry) says it “does not generate fees” (checked October 3, 2026). Each institution keeps its own calendar: ISSSTE in January or February and July or August; ISSFAM in March and September; IMSS every 6 months with no fixed dates. If you don’t appear, the pension can be suspended.

Versión en español

Calendar and documents by institution

InstitutionWhen (SRE)What to bring (SRE)
ISSSTEJanuary or February (first half); July or August (second half)Original and photocopy of the ISSSTE pensioner card (if you don’t have it, ID such as a passport or matrícula consular plus your pensioner number); last pay stub; one front-facing color ID-size photo
ISSFAMMarch 1-31 and September 1-30Original and copy of the ISSFAM Tarjeta de Filiación; one ID-size color photo. Last pay stub not required
IMSSNo fixed dates; every 6 monthsOriginal and photocopy of the pensioner card (if you don’t have it, ID and your social security number); last pay stub if you have it; one photo
Other institutesPer the institutionProof of identity, pensioner number and a recent front-facing color ID-size photo

The SRE page with this calendar is dated July 22, 2015, and is still published. The Mexican consulate in El Paso publishes a table that, for ISSSTE, lists only January and July; this guide uses the SRE’s federal wording. Confirm dates with your consulate or institution.

IMSS: what the official procedure sheet says

The IMSS sheet in the “Catálogo de trámites para mexicanos en el exterior” (catalog of procedures for Mexicans abroad) describes the procedure this way:

  • Documents: a current official ID with photo and signature, and “any document containing the NSS [social security number] and the pensioner’s name.”
  • Result: the consulate issues a “proof of survival (acknowledgment of receipt of proof of survival), which contains the next deadline.”
  • Resolution time: 1 business day.
  • Ley 97 pensioners paid through an insurer: must “contact the insurance company that pays the pension to prove survival.”
  • If not done on time: it “is a condition for suspension of the pension. Once the proof is completed, the pension is resumed along with the corresponding retroactive payment.”

Since 2017, according to IMSS, the check is recorded electronically: the consular officer verifies identity, sends the record to IMSS and gives the pensioner a receipt with the deadline for the next check. IMSS said pensioners abroad must appear in person twice a year to avoid suspension of payments.

Step by step

  1. Find your window in the table above. For IMSS, the date is on your last receipt. If you are an IMSS Ley 97 pensioner paid through an insurance company, the IMSS sheet sends you to that insurer instead of the consulate.
  2. Gather your institution’s documents, in original with the copies requested.
  3. Go in person to the consular office nearest your home. The SRE says the pensioner “must appear personally.”
  4. Receive the certificate or receipt. The consulate sends it to the institution that pays the pension (for IMSS, electronically).
  5. Note the next date. If you don’t appear, the institution can suspend the pension.

If the pensioner is homebound

The Mexican consulate in Los Angeles publishes this rule: if the person “is unable to appear in person, a relative may present the documents listed above at the Consulate, with a letter on the official letterhead of the Doctor, Hospital or Health Institution where the pensioner is, specifying the condition that prevents them from appearing, and Consulate staff will visit to obtain their signature or fingerprint.” Other consulates may handle this differently; ask yours.

What the Los Angeles and El Paso consulates add

Beyond the federal list, two consulate pages we checked publish their own requirements:

  • Los Angeles: the applicant’s physical presence; a current official Mexican photo ID with seal and a letter-size photocopy of both sides (its examples: passport, matrícula consular, voter ID card, California ID or license); the pensioner card showing the file number, with a copy; a recent color passport-size photo, front-facing, white background, no glasses; and your current address and phone number in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles states the certificate “is free.”
  • El Paso: pensioner card or pension payment receipt; original passport or current official ID; a recent passport-size photo with white background (“IMSS Digital is exempt from this requirement,” per El Paso); and proof of address. El Paso warns that “two consecutive misses mean the pensioner will not appear on the pension payroll.”

Why it’s free

Mexico’s Ley Federal de Derechos (article 24, section III) provides that no fees are charged for services “requested by pensioners to justify their legal situation in the country where they reside or to prove their physical existence before the Mexican authorities that require it.”

Your US immigration status

The documents the SRE and IMSS ask for are an ID (Mexican, such as a passport or matrícula consular) and proof that you are the pensioner. They do not include US immigration documents. If you need a current Mexican ID, see Mexican INE voter ID from the US, matrícula consular or renewing a Mexican passport.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Calendars and requirements are set by each social security institution and can change. Verify directly with your Mexican consulate and with IMSS, ISSSTE or ISSFAM. Not legal advice.