Does Mexico Allow Dual Citizenship? Rules for Mexicans by Birth

Whether you can keep your Mexican passport while holding another one is decided by Mexico, not by the country issuing the second document. This page sets out the current position, the statute behind it, and what it means in practice for someone considering a second citizenship.

Short answer: Mexico permits dual citizenship. The detail below matters more than the headline, because the consequences of getting it wrong fall on the individual — usually years later, at a passport renewal or a border.

Does Mexico allow dual citizenship?

Yes. Mexico has permitted dual nationality since the constitutional reform that took effect on 20 March 1998, and Mexicans by birth cannot be deprived of their nationality.

The rule to establish first is always the one that applies to you at home. A second country can only grant its own status; it cannot preserve a nationality that your own law terminates. The wider picture is in how holding two passports works in practice, with the country-by-country table.

Key facts at a glance

What the law says

Article 37 of the Constitution provides that Mexicans by birth may not be deprived of their nationality. Mexicans by naturalisation are in a different position: naturalised citizens can lose Mexican nationality in specified circumstances, including acquiring another nationality or residing abroad for five continuous years.

What this means in practice

• Mexicans by birth who naturalise elsewhere keep Mexican nationality automatically — no application or permission is needed.
• In Mexican territory a dual national is treated exclusively as Mexican and must identify as such.
• Mexicans should enter and leave Mexico on a Mexican passport.
• Public offices and some regulated professions may be restricted to Mexicans without another nationality.

The authoritative source is the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores on dual nationality. Rules in this area change by amendment and by notification, so the position should be confirmed at the time you act, not from any article.

What usually goes wrong

The mistakes below account for most of the cases where people discover a problem years after the event, typically when renewing a passport or crossing a border. The first one is the common one: this page describes the rule at one end of the arrangement only.

• Checking only one side of the arrangement. Each country decides for itself whether you may keep its nationality, so both rules have to hold — the permissive one described here does not protect you from a restrictive one elsewhere.
• Travelling on the "wrong" passport at the border of a country whose nationality you hold.
• Treating a second passport as a tax solution when the home country taxes on residence anyway.
• Forgetting that consular protection weakens, rather than strengthens, in the other country of nationality.

Mexican citizens and Vanuatu citizenship

Mexicans by birth can add a Vanuatu passport with no effect on their Mexican status. Naturalised Mexicans should take advice first, because their position under Article 37 is not the same.

If the route does make sense for you, the practical detail is in the application process, the cost breakdown and the visa-free list.

Other countries that permit it

The same question, answered for comparable jurisdictions:

• Dual citizenship in the Philippines — permitted.
• Dual citizenship in Italy — permitted.
• Dual citizenship in Ireland — permitted.