Which Latin American Countries Allow Dual Citizenship?

When I wrote my very first article on this website some odd months ago in July of 2020….

Which you can find here.

I intended for that article to break down all of the major factors I could think of off top of my head for what a foreigner might consider when thinking of which Latin American country to move to.

I tried to keep it to 50 factors though initially as the article was already pretty long and I just wanted to publish it already.

Anyway, I just remembered another factor that I probably should have included in that article and will probably edit in at a later point in time when I’m not focused on the different projects I’m working on right now.

But that factor has to do with dual citizenship.

Because while most countries in Latin America seem pretty chill with you keeping the citizenship of the country you were born in…

There are some countries down here that either will not yet you have dual citizenship with them or they have specific complications that make it tricky as to if you would be allowed dual citizenship or not.

Also, keep in mind that this is written from an American perspective.

If you happen to be from a country where dual citizenship is not allowed, then I understand that you won’t ever be able to have dual citizenship without giving up the citizenship of your home country if you happen to be from a place where dual citizenship isn’t allowed.

But the US (and many other countries) do allow their citizens to pursue dual citizenship with another country.

So let’s break it down basically very quickly by putting all of the information I could find online regarding which Latin countries allow dual citizenship or not.

And keep in mind that this is all written by a novice in this area – I have never gotten another citizenship in any other country of the world as of this writing in 2021.

Although it is something I am interested in having one day – dual citizenship.

But I don’t have dual citizenship right now.

So all of the information you find in this article is simply information I found online and put together here.

Sources will be included for anything said so you can fact check anything written here.

Hopefully it helps you make a more informed decision as to which Latin country is best for you.

As I hope it will help me also in the future when I also make my own decision as to which country I ultimately plan to settle down in when I’m done traveling over the next handful of years.

Anyway, let’s get started!

Mexico

According to this source here, it is possible for foreigners to get citizenship in Mexico.

Then you have the US Embassy in Mexico that has this sentence also on their website here: “The naturalization process in Mexico is managed by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). There are several methods of naturalizing in Mexico. Generally, Mexican nationality can be acquired by meeting various residency, cultural integration, or marriage requirements.”

Finally, if you want more detailed information on how to get citizenship in Mexico as a foreigner, then check out this article here.

Guatemala

According to this source here, dual citizenship is allowed in Guatemala for only citizens of certain Central and South American countries that Guatemala has a dual citizenship agreement with.

Now if you want to know about the requirements to get naturalized in Guatemala, then check this source here and go to page 13 and go to the paragraph that starts with “for its part” and find the sentence near the end of that paragraph that starts with “foreigners who have ten years of residence.”

Title of the source is “Report on Citizenship Law: Guatemala” by Juan Carlos Sarazua.

El Salvador

According to this source here, you can get dual citizenship in El Salvador only if you were born with Salvadorian citizenship.

Otherwise, any foreigner who got naturalized in El Salvador is not allowed to have dual citizenship. 

For those interested, here’s more information in this article here on the requirements to get naturalized in El Salvador. 

Honduras

According to this source here, dual citizenship in Honduras is allowed according to Article 24 of the Constitution. 

However, dual citizenship is only allowed for citizens of countries that have a dual citizenship treaty.

If you are not a citizen of a country that has such a treaty with Honduras, then you will have to renounce your previous citizenship from my understanding. 

If you are interested in getting naturalized in Honduras, check out again the article cited before here. 

Belize

This source here confirms that dual citizenship is allowed in Belize. 

The US Embassy in Belize also confirms that and even provides some basic information on how to gain citizenship in Belize here. 

Nicaragua

According to this source here, Nicaragua only permits dual citizenship if you happen to be a citizen of a Central American country that Nicaragua has a dual citizenship treaty with. 

There is no agreement with the US to allow dual citizenship. 

According to this source here, the only countries that have an agreement with Nicaragua are Spain, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. 

That same source above also gives some information on how to get naturalized in Nicaragua. 

Costa Rica

The information for Costa Rica seems a little bit more confusing but here is what I found.

First, this source here says that dual citizenship is allowed in Costa Rica. 

However, there is this amazing article here by Tico Times that offers a more elaborate explanation regarding dual citizenship with Costa Rica. 

According to the article, the Costa Rican government normally won't recognize any citizenship that a Costa Rican has with another country. 

However, apparently the only country that Costa Rica shares a dual citizenship agreement is with Spain. 

Furthermore, Costa Rica apparently "will require you to sign a statement renouncing your former citizenship. A formality ... many people do keep two passports."

Therefore, while there are apparently plenty of people in Costa Rica with two passports, "a second passport has no legal standing in the eyes of the government here."

The article then goes on to say that the statement signed by foreigners to renounce their first citizenship is not send to the embassy of that person and Costa Rica does not check to see if said foreigner actually renounced their citizenship with the country they were born in. 

In short, it seems that the statement you have to sign is literally nothing but a formality that won't actually make you lose your non-Costa Rican citizenship. 

But your non-Costa Rican citizenship will simply not be recognized as legitimate by the Costa Rican government. 

Anyway, here is a source on how to get citizenship in Costa Rica. 

Panama

According to this article here, Panama apparently takes a very similar approach to dual citizenship when compared to Costa Rica.

Where basically Panama will require you to renounce your former citizenship but that renunciation is not formally recognized by the US unless done in front of US authorities.

It is not clear if other countries will or will not recognize this renunciation so you will have to check on that if you are not from the US.

Therefore, from my understanding, it seems that it is possible for you to keep your former citizenship with your home country even though the government of Panama will no longer formally recognize your former citizenship if you get citizenship in Panama. 

For some basic information on how to get citizenship in Panama, check out this source here. 

Dominican Republic

According to this source here, you can have dual citizenship with the Dominican Republic. 

This second source here also confirms that and provides some basic information on residency and citizenship in the Dominican Republic. 

Cuba

According to this source here, Cuba does not recognize dual citizenship. 

Furthermore, this source here confirms that you cannot get citizenship in Cuba through naturalization except in exceptional circumstances. 

Therefore, you can only be a Cuban citizen through birth but you can get residency if you marry a Cuban or someone with permanent residency in Cuba. 

Colombia

According to this source here, Colombia does allow dual citizenship. 

This other source here also confirms that. 

And this source by the Colombian government here goes into detail on how to get citizenship in Colombia. 

Venezuela

Information on dual citizenship in Venezuela seems a bit mixed online. 

According to this source here, dual citizenship is not allowed in this country.

However, this source here claims that a new constitution adopted in 1999 allows dual citizenship. 

This next source here also confirms that dual citizenship is allowed in Venezuela and gives some information on some of the requirements to get citizenship in Venezuela. 

Peru

According to this source here, foreigners are not required to renounce their former citizenship if they gain Peruvian citizenship. 

However, you will not have all of the rights of a Peruvian who was born in Peru if you happen to be a foreigner with dual citizenship from any country except Spain.

According to that same source above, "dual nationality does not confer on the foreign person who naturalizes, the rights of Peruvians by birth; that is, foreigners with dual nationality are forbidden from exercising rights of public function in Peru."

But, as I said before, Peru does allow foreigners to have dual or multiple nationalities without losing their Peruvian citizenship.

For brief information on getting naturalized in Peru, check that same source here. 

Ecuador

According to this source here, dual citizenship is allowed in Ecuador and Ecuador will not require you to renounce your original citizenship. 

That same source also gives some basic information on getting residency and citizenship in Ecuador. 

Bolivia

According to this source here, Bolivia allows foreigners and Bolivians to have dual citizenship with Bolivia. 

For more basic information on how to get Bolivian nationality, check out this source here.

Chile

According to this source here, dual citizenship is allowed in Chile. 

For more basic information on getting naturalized in Chile, check out this source here. 

This source here also provides even more information on getting Chilean nationality. 

Argentina

According to this source here, dual citizenship is allowed in Argentina. 

And apparently you cannot renounce your Argentine citizenship once you get it according to this source here.

Finally, the information here will give you some basic information on the requirements to get citizenship in Argentina. 

Paraguay

The sources for dual citizenship in Paraguay seem to be a little bit mixed but this is what I found.

First, according to this source here by Nomad Capitalist, apparently dual citizenship is allowed. 

However, according to the US Embassy in Paraguay, there is this quote here: ""Paraguay does not accept dual nationality (American / Paraguayan). All U.S. citizens are required by law to present a valid U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States (Section 215 b of the Immigration and Naturalization Act)."

However, someone might read that paragraph together as to be talking about which passport you need to present when entering or exiting the country.

So I did some more research just to make sure.

According to this source here, Article 149 of the Paraguayan Constitution only allows dual citizenship if Paraguay has a dual citizenship agreement with the other country.

So if your home country doesn't have a dual citizenship agreement with Paraguay, then no dual citizenship is allowed.

To be specific, the article specifically "Multiple nationalities may be admitted through an international treaty by the reciprocity of constitutional rank between the States of the native of origin and that of adoption. (Do you understand this part? You can only keep your original citizenship if there is a relevant agreement between Paraguay and your country, like in the most recent case: Italy and only Colombian and Spanish citizens for sure can keep their original and Paraguayan passports)."

So which countries have such an agreement?

According to this article here, the only countries with such an agreement with Paraguay are Spain and Italy.

This source here also details the agreement between Paraguay and Italy specifically. 

To be fair though, this source here claims that "the renunciation of one's other nationality is rarely required by the Paraguayan authorities."

So it is from my understanding that Paraguay might simply not recognize formally your former citizenship but you won't have to renounce your former citizenship to either Paraguay or your home country.

And, even if they did require you to formally renounce your former citizenship to Paraguayan authorities, I'd imagine that renunciation would not be formally recognized by your home country (such as in the case of Costa Rica and Panama).

For more information on getting citizenship in Paraguay, check out this article here. 

Uruguay

According to this source here, dual citizenship is allowed in Uruguay. 

This source here also confirms that you can get dual citizenship in Uruguay but provides one interesting fact that you should be aware of...

"However, if a Uruguayan legal citizen moves to another country, such a person would lose the acquired legal citizenship and all rights derived therein. Although natural citizens would not lose their citizenship should they move to another country, they do lose all derivative rights, which may be retrieved upon returning to Uruguay."

If you can read Spanish, I found one of the better detailed articles by the Uruguayan government on residency and citizenship in Uruguay.  

Otherwise, here's a source in English on the topic of getting citizenship and a second passport in Uruguay. 

Brazil

According to this source and this source, Brazil does allow dual citizenship.

Interesting fact -- apparently Brazil won't extradite its own citizens to other countries if they are on Brazilian soil.

However, the topic of dual citizenship in Brazil does have more complexities than what is mentioned above...

So check out this source here if you care to.

But Brazil does allow dual citizenship for foreigners in general and you are not required to renounce previous nationalities. 

Finally, for more information on getting citizenship in Brazil, check out this source or this source. 

Final Thoughts

That's it!

Hopefully you enjoyed the article.

If you have any experiences getting citizenship in any of these countries, let me know!

Same thing if you happen to have dual citizenship between one of these countries and another country.

Would be interesting to hear your experiences with all of that.

Anyway, this article was last updated February 3, 2021.

Leave a comment below if you want.

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Thanks.

Best regards,

Matt