Where can Mexican citizens move to?
Ranked by what the move actually takes on a Mexican passport specifically, not in general. Every rating below comes from the same verified data as the full guide it links to.
You keep your Mexican passport if you naturalise in 10 of these 12. Naturalising in Japan and the Netherlands would mean giving it up.
One route is open to you: New Zealand. Usually age-capped, so it closes quietly.
Easiest to keep driving on in Costa Rica and Thailand. Each guide has the exact terms. Elsewhere expect more steps, often a full local test.
An apostille is accepted in 11 of these 12. Thailand still needs the full consular legalisation chain, so start earlier.
Straightforward 3 of 12
- Costa RicaMexicans relocate through the same channels as other Latin American arrivals — Rentista, Pensionado, or Digital Nomad status — plus regional business transfers given the countries' shared trade ties.Straightforward
- New ZealandMexicans typically reach NZ through the working holiday scheme, which many convert into Accredited Employer Work Visas in hospitality, construction and horticulture, plus a smaller Skilled Migrant Category stream.Straightforward
- SpainSpain’s 2-year Ibero-American citizenship fast-track, the Non-Lucrative Visa, and the Digital Nomad Visa are all common, with shared language and cultural ties easing integration.Straightforward
Moderate 8 of 12
- AustraliaMexicans arrive mainly through student visas, with a smaller skilled-visa stream in engineering and hospitality.Moderate
- CanadaMexico is Canada's number-one source of temporary foreign workers — about 42,000 a year, mostly through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.Moderate
- IrelandMexicans arrive visa-free and typically convert onto a student Stamp 2 or an employment permit in tech, pharma or hospitality; the community remains small relative to Mexican emigration to the US.Moderate
- ItalyMexicans typically move to Italy through the Elective Residency Visa, a Decreto Flussi work permit, or a student visa that converts into work authorization; overall numbers are modest compared with Mexico's ties to the US and Canada.Moderate
- JapanMexicans mostly arrive through the automotive-sector Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa or manufacturing intra-company transfers linked to Japanese firms operating in Mexico.Moderate
- PortugalMexicans move mostly through the D7 or D8 visas and a smaller student stream; numbers remain small but are rising alongside Portugal's broader Latin American arrival wave.Moderate
- ThailandMexicans relocating to Thailand mostly use the DTV for remote work or the LTR visa; the group is small and growing, often digital nomads or hospitality/diving-industry workers.Moderate
- United StatesTN status under USMCA for qualifying professionals, H-2A/H-2B seasonal work, family-based sponsorship (Mexico has the single largest family-based backlog of any origin given decades of chain migration), and a substantial undocumented population are all part of the picture.Moderate
Complex 1 of 12
Ratings weigh entry class, working-holiday access, licence exchange, dual citizenship and document legalisation. Each is checked against the issuing government. Open any destination for the full guide written for Mexican citizens.