Mexico vs Uruguay - Which Is Better For Expats In 2026? - Entrepreneur Expat

Episode Transcript
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Justin (00:36):
If you're interested in living in Mexico or anywhere in
Latin America as anentrepreneur, expat, you might
be asking, where's the easiest,smartest, best country to get a
second passport in 2026?
Today we're comparing twooptions, Uruguay and Mexico, and
what it means for businessestaxes.
Freedom and lifestyle.

(00:57):
Neither is a super fast track orbuy a passport type of scheme.
Exactly.
And each has its own trade-offs.
By the end of this video, you'llhave clarity on which path might
fit you the best, You're gonnaknow what some of the steps are
that you need to take to startalong that journey.

(01:20):
Hi, I'm Justin Keltner, and hereat Entrepreneur Expat we share
with you tips and strategies onhow to build.
A better life overseas.
Whether that involves building abusiness that allows you to make
money wherever you are in theworld, figuring out the visa,
the immigration process, thetaxes, and so much more.
We tend to work a lot with highnet worth individuals who have

(01:43):
got.
Wealth that they're looking toprotect, they're looking to
secure, and maybe the US rightnow and Canada are not the best
places to do it.
So we help people invest.
We help people buy real estate,find real estate to rent, maybe
short term while they're gettingtheir feet on the ground in
different countries.
We can help you with all ofthat.

(02:03):
If you have a million dollars ormore in net assets, just book a
call below@entrepreneurexpat.comslash consult and we can help
you come up with a customizedplan, including tax strategy,
wealth management, visaplanning, and overall relocation
strategy for you, your family,and your business.
So why does a second citizenshipor passport matter so much for

(02:25):
entrepreneur expats?
Well, number one, it gives youfreedom.
Of travel, whether you're fromthe US or Canada or elsewhere,
you might find that even thoughyou have a good passport,
perhaps you don't have as muchfreedom of travel on that
passport as you would like to.
Maybe you can't go to Russia oryou can't go to different
countries in Asia without avisa.

(02:46):
If you have a Mexican passport,for example, you can spend up to
six months in Japan visa free,and there's so much more of
Latin America you can travel to,including Brazil without having
to get a visa.
It also gives you businessmobility and it's a really nice
hedge against geopolitical andtax risk.
As we know, western governmentsdo not lower the taxes over

(03:08):
time.
They keep increasing them andeven.
Taxes that aren't really taxeslike inflation where they just
decide to print more money.
That's really a tax, right?
And so if you're running a crossborder business or you're,
you're making income frommultiple different countries, or
you're even living in a countrywith better tax strategies
available, then you can hedgesome of that risk.

(03:30):
And of course, also having abusiness that can run anywhere,
which we also teach people todo.
Just check out some of the freecontent and courses in the
description below.
But having a business that canrun from anywhere is also a
really good hedge, and you canalso have a second base that can
give you some flexibility forthat business, whether you're
looking to tap local talentpools, or perhaps expand and get

(03:52):
more reach with customers acrossLatin America.
Having presence in one of thesecountries gives you the ability
to do that.
A lot of people also want thelifestyle and tax planning
benefits.
they'll do their relocation, getresidency and look at different
structures for investment andall those things interplay with
the citizenship options.

(04:12):
Of course, there's caveats,there's time, there's cost.
There's in some cases physicalpresence requirements, and we'll
get into what those arespecifically and how they differ
from country to country.
And there's tax and residencyimplications depending on how
much time in a year you're goingto spend in a given country.
Let's get into first what itlooks like to actually obtain

(04:34):
your citizenship in Mexico.
So there's a naturalizationroute, and that's the most
common foreign nationals canapply after legally residing in
Mexico for five years.
That does drop to two years.
If you're married to a Mexicancitizen, if you have a Mexican
child, or if you're from a LatinAmerican or Iberian country.
Now, to get the residency in thefirst place, to just qualify for

(04:56):
that, you do need to have.
Certain financial requirements.
So you start typically withtemporary residents, which we've
gone into in depth and in othervideos.
So check out some of those onour channel with some of the
numbers that are required.
But, ballpark number as of todayis around$4,200 per month in
income or close to$70,000 us.

(05:18):
In a bank account to show thatyou are capable of supporting
yourself in Mexico or that youhave remote income, uh, that
will allow you to take care ofyourself here without taking
jobs away from locals or withouthaving to depend on any sort of
social security net here.
Now Mexico does allow you tohave dual nationality.
You don't have to renounce.

(05:39):
Original nationality, so that'spretty cool.
There are some countries in theworld that don't recognize dual
citizenship and that make yourenounce your other passport,
but there's plenty of people whohold both a Mexican passport and
a US passport, and there isnothing wrong with having both
of those passports in eithercountry.
One thing that Mexico does notoffer though is it does not
offer a direct investment forpassport type of program in the

(06:03):
sense of you pay say a quarterof a million dollars or half a
million dollars and you getcitizenship like they had in
Malta previously, or like theystill have in some citizenship
by investment programs in theCaribbean.
It's more about your lawfulresident status integration into
society and time and.
As an entrepreneur, expat basedin Mexico, citizenship does give

(06:24):
you full rights.
You can vote, you're free towork.
You're, you can own propertyunrestricted without
citizenship.
You can still own certain kindsof property, but other types of
property, like by the coastlineor by the international border,
are restricted.
There's loopholes, there's waysaround it, but it's not quite as
secure as own property, uh, asan actual card carrying member
of Mexico.

(06:45):
Right?
Uh, and it can also simplifyyour residence structure, right?
So if you, if you do have.
That passport, obviously youdon't have to worry too much
about, Hey, are we, you know, inthe country?
Do we need to renew something?
Whatever.
It simplifies the planning ofwhen you're gonna be here.
When you aren't, there isn't asmuch of a requirement.
Now, in some cases, if you'reabsolutely not in Mexico at all,

(07:07):
you spend five years or more.
Outta the country.
There have been some cases wherepeople have gotten their
citizenship revoked, but for themost part, as long as you're
coming from time to time, youdon't have any issues.
You do wanna pay attention totax obligations though, both in
Mexico and your home country,Because both of those things
still matter.
If you're a US citizen, forexample.
No matter where you are in theworld, you always have to

(07:28):
declare and oftentimes pay taxesto the US government.
Obviously there's some treaties,there's things like that.
If you are.
Interested in getting specifichands-on advice with your unique
personal situation, just go toentrepreneur expat.com/consult
and my team can advise you onsome of the best ways to
optimize things for that.
So in summary, there is arelatively clear path,

(07:51):
especially if you're planning onliving and operating your life
and your business.
In Mexico, dual citizenship isaccepted and there's a strong.
Lifestyle component here.
The lifestyle is very, verynice.
The weather's amazing.
There's a lot of friendlypeople.
There's a ton of ex expats, andthe infrastructure is pretty
good as well.
The cons are, it's a little timeheavy, two years to the typical
five years of what most peopleare gonna spend.

(08:13):
And you do have a physical stayand residency required.
It's not.
A quick passport by any means.
Now we're gonna cover what itlooks like to get citizenship in
Uruguay.
So in Uruguay, they also don'thave any sort of pure
citizenship by investmentscheme.
That's typical in some of theCaribbean nations.
You do have the option, and thisis the most common one that.

(08:36):
Digital nomads and, and peoplethat are making money online
come in on, which is yourindependent means option.
So you've got a stable passiveincome or an active income, and
there's also an investment routethrough real estate or business,
which can accelerate things alittle bit.
The timelines typically looklike for a married couple.
Naturalization can be possibleafter three years of residence

(08:59):
for singles after five years.
And there are residencyrequirements in terms of
physical presence, uh, in orderto actually be able to get that
citizenship.
It's lower.
the benefit of being an investoris that the threshold is lower.
You only have to spend roughly60 days per year in a lot of
cases if you are.
An investor, like you're, you'rebuilding a business there,
you're investing in things inUruguay.

(09:22):
but you do have to spend closerto around six months per year if
you are not an investor.
And if you're just coming withpassive or active income into
the country, you do have tospend more, at least long enough
that you can convince them thatyou are serious.
Typically, anecdotally, at leastthey're, there's no real
published requirement, butthey're typically saying at

(09:42):
least six months.
Per year is what you wanna spendin Uruguay.
Contrast that with Mexico.
There really is no requirementto be in the country at all
other than for those renewals.
And Uruguay also does allow dualcitizenship.
There's no issues with that.
They do not require you torenounce your previous
nationality.
Now, as with most countries,whenever you are an Uruguayan

(10:03):
citizen in Uruguay, you'retypically treated just as an
Uruguayan citizen, right?
They're not looking at you as adual national.
And that's, that's the casealmost anywhere.
Like if you go.
To the US and you're a UScitizen and the Mexican citizen
for the purposes of the USgovernment, you are a US
citizen.
Now, you may still be able toget consular support and things
like that, but typically you arethe citizen of whatever nation

(10:25):
you're in.
If you hold that nation'spassport.
So Uruguay is called, especiallyfor their stable economy and
their great banking.
It's called the Latin AmericanSwitzerland or the Switzerland
of.
South America, it's great fordiversification, but you do need
genuine residents and genuineintegration and an intention to

(10:46):
stay there.
The pros, like I mentioned, arethat you've got flexible
residency options.
Citizenship in as little asthree years if you're married,
which is slightly shorter thanthe standard five years in
Mexico.
And you can have dualcitizenship just like you can
with Mexico and that lifestyleis excellent.
Uh, some of the cons are that itcan be, like I mentioned, a

(11:07):
little bit, uh, of a longer termplay than some other passports.
You need to integrate.
You may have to make asignificant investment in the
country if you don't.
Plan on living there roughly sixmonths per year.
And it's also quite a bit moreexpensive in Mexico, I'll say
that as well.
We were looking at apartments inWai because we were kind of
considering it and we thoughtfor what we would spend there on
apart on an apartment, we couldhave our condo here in the AL

(11:30):
area.
We could have a small apartmentin Southeast Asia and an
apartment or a condo in uh,central Europe, and we would be
paying the same total as a 12 to$1,500.
Just basic apartment in someplace, like Monte Veo, it, it is
a little bit pricier than Mexicoand, and the English might not

(11:51):
be quite as good as otherplaces, like very heavy expat
communities in Mexico.
So Spanish is very, uh, stronglysuggested.
Obviously there's expatcommunities wherever you go, and
Uruguay and in other countries,but those are some of the things
to consider.
So here are the main decisionfactors for you as an
entrepreneur, expat, and how Waiand Mexico stack up.

(12:13):
Just to kind of recap here, sothe time to citizenship Mexico
is two to five years, but formost people, unless you've got a
Mexican parent or a Mexicanspouse, it's gonna be closer to
five years.
For Uruguay, it's three to fiveyears or potentially longer.
Mainly banking on the fact thatyou're going to spend at least
half of your time in Otay.
That's.
What gives you the fastest pathto that citizenship in Uruguay

(12:36):
at the lowest cost.
Now, investment versus residencyrequirements in Mexico, you do
have to have the residency plusintegration, but no heavy
investment in Uruguay.
You can do it through purelyresidency and time in the
country, but investment optionswill give you a quicker path
with lower stay requirements.
In terms of that physicalpresence, you really don't need

(12:58):
to spend.
Any specific number of days inMexico in order to convert your
temporary residence later on fora Mexican passport other than
about three months per yearaverage in the two years before
you request that passport.
So let's say years one, two, andthree.
You're kind of in and out asmuch as you'd like, and then
years four and five, you arethere at least three months per

(13:22):
year average for those two yearsbefore you apply.
Of course Uruguay had that lowerpresence route, uh, as little as
60 days for in invest investors.
But you do need genuineresidency higher than Mexico in
any case.
Both allow for dual nationalityand for businesses and
entrepreneurs might be a betterfit for, going to Mexico.

(13:45):
There's a lot of opportunityhere.
Uruguay is cool for banking,it's cool for investments, and
uh, it's really, really greatfor retirees.
Honestly, both are actuallypretty good if you're gonna
gonna run a business, especiallyif it's a remote business.
And there's plenty ofopportunity in both countries.
They both have, uh, very solideconomies.
Their economies are boomingcompared to a lot of countries
in the West where things arekind of starting to to go down.

(14:07):
So lifestyle and infrastructure.
Mexico already.
Um, it's familiar to a lot ofpeople.
You, it's got a very similarculture to the us.
Uruguay is actually a similarculture in a lot of ways to, to
Europe.
It's a very European country,especially some of those big
cities.
Uh, the other thing that I'llmention about Uruguay, that's
very, very cool that they havegoing on now.

(14:30):
They actually will give you atax holiday for 11 years,
meaning they normally do tax onpassive income and dividends,
but for 11 years you can electto get a tax holiday on all of
that dividend income.
Or alternatively, you can chooseto pay only 7% tax on your
dividend income.
For life.
Now, Mexico, this is kind ofwhat they say a lot about

(14:52):
Mexico.
Mexico is one of the higher taxcountries in Latin America where
nobody really pays taxes.
So technically they have asliding scale of, uh, like a
progressive tax system all theway up to about 38%, including
on your active income.
But realistically, most expatsdon't declare or even pay taxes
in Mexico.
So it's a little bit of a wash.
But if you're, especially ifyou're making a lot, like maybe

(15:14):
you're making six or sevenfigures in your business or
more.
You wanna do things like totallyon the up and up Uruguay might
be better even if the cost ofliving is higher there by two or
three x because there's no taxon any active foreign income,
and you can elect those taxadvantageous plans on any

(15:34):
passive income that you havefrom overseas.
So that was our comparison on UAversus Mexico in 2025 going
into.
2026.
If you're an entrepreneur, expator aspiring expat, you need some
help figuring out these plansfor yourself.
We've got a ton of courses downbelow this video and off to the
side as well that you can checkout.

(15:55):
You can get our relocationroadmap blueprint, where we talk
about the exact step-by-stepstrategy to build your plan for
relocating to any country.
We talk about a lot of theprinciples and the best
practices that are gonna helpyou understand where you want to
go.
Why you want to go there, how toget there, and how to actually
integrate and have a successfullife as an expat.
Definitely buy that course whilewe have it available.

(16:18):
And if you've got a milliondollars or more in net assets,
then book a call below and wecan help you one-on-one.
Our team is going to help youget started and.
Wherever you're at on thatjourney, we can help you,
including tax planning, businessstrategy, and visas and so much
more.
That's entrepreneurexpat.com/consult.
Thanks again.

(16:38):
Don't forget to like this video.
It helps us out a ton andsubscribe to this channel
because we're coming out withnew content every single day
about how to make your expatdreams a reality.
Thanks so much.

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Mexico vs Uruguay - Which Is Better For Expats In 2026?

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Mexico vs Uruguay - Which Is Better For Expats In 2026?