Possessing a passport from another country may provide ancillary benefits to the holder. Many who come to Mexico for childbirth set their goal not only to obtain Mexican citizenship for the child, but also over time — for yourself. In this case, you can become a citizen of Mexico in about 2.5 years. The Mexican passport ranks 19th in the world ranking of passports, giving you the chance to travel without visas or with the purchase of visas upon arrival to 149 countries, including Canada and EU states. In fact, more than 50% of the world's countries offer simplified entry to Mexicans.
But the second passport also imposes certain obligations on the owner, for example, the need to serve in the army, pay taxes or perform any public duties. Many people confuse the concept of «dual citizenship» and «two citizenships» — it's not the same thing. As an educational initiative, we will clarify Mexico's position towards its citizens who have passports from other countries.
Dual citizenship is not that common in the modern world. It implies that there is an agreement on dual citizenship between specific countries, each state recognizes that its citizen is also capable of being a citizen of another state, and accepts that the citizen has responsibilities to another state. And a citizen has the opportunity to choose which country to live in, pay taxes, and serve in the army. In fact, where he lives, there he exercises his civil rights, and one state is not able to demand from him the same thing that he has already given to a second state. In this case, citizens with dual citizenship are placed under the protection of both states, and their children will also receive dual citizenship.
There are only a minority of countries in the world that recognize dual citizenship. European states are capable of allowing dual citizenship with their former colonies, or the states share historical and neighborly ties. In general, the list of countries that allow dual citizenship contains many well-known names.
Neither Mexico, nor the USA, nor Ukraine and nor Russia recognize dual citizenship. But in the 21st century it would be strange to deny the right to have a passport of another state. Consequently, these and many other powers allow the prospect for their citizens to have a second (third, fourth, multiple) citizenship, although they do not encourage this. Second citizenship — This is not dual citizenship, since the state does not recognize the rights and obligations of its citizen to another state.
There are also countries that prohibit having a second citizenship. Ukraine, despite popular opinion, does not prohibit second citizenship. Russia does not prohibit it either, but requires notification of it or even just a residence permit in another state. Since 1998, the Mexican Nationality Law has also provided for Mexicans to have another nationality in addition to their Mexican nationality. To acquire Mexican citizenship, you do not need to renounce your other citizenship. In exchange, Mexico requires a number of conditions to be met by those who have citizenship other than Mexican.
First of all, in your relationship with Mexico, you will always only be a Mexican. You are required to enter and exit Mexico only with a Mexican passport, otherwise you face a fine of 44 to 74 thousand pesos. You will pay taxes received in Mexican territory and in some cases — abroad.
If you are in a country of another nationality, Mexico is not able to provide you with consular protection, since on the territory of that power you will not be considered a Mexican. In addition, on Mexican territory you do not have the right to request consular protection of another state.
Foreigners who acquire Mexican citizenship through the naturalization process (anyone who was not born in Mexico and whose parents were not born in Mexico) are subject to certain restrictions. First of all, they relate to the implementation of political rights — Mexicans with a second citizenship have limited access to public office and are unable to stand for election. Naturalized Mexicans cannot work in certain professions, such as being pilots or air traffic controllers. The Mexican Foreign Ministry indicates on its website that having a second passport may lead to stricter checks by the immigration service upon entry, although in practice we have not heard of this.
Can Mexico revoke citizenship? Yes, it can. According to Article 37 of the Mexican Constitution, the citizenship of a Mexican by birth cannot be deprived of his citizenship, with certain exceptions. But for those who are naturalized, there are several possibilities for depriving Mexican citizenship:
- using a foreign passport and presenting oneself as a foreigner on Mexican territory,
- adoption of titles of nobility that imply subordination to another state,
- assistance to a foreign government in diplomatic actions or international courts,
- absence from Mexico for more than 5 years,
- upon voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship.
On the last point. It is clear that before acquiring Mexican citizenship, the foreigner already had his own citizenship. We are talking about acquiring another citizenship after accepting Mexican citizenship.