The United States Department of State has reduced the fee for Americans who wish to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship by about 80 percent, lowering the cost from $2,350 to $450.
The new rule, published Friday in the Federal Register, immediately took effect and fulfills a change first promised in 2023 but not previously implemented. The revised fee restores the cost to the same level charged when the U.S. government first began requiring payment for citizenship renunciation in 2010.
A Lengthy Legal and Administrative Process
Renouncing U.S. citizenship remains a complex and rigorous procedure. Applicants must make multiple written and verbal confirmations to a consular officer, acknowledging they fully understand the consequences of giving up their citizenship.
They must then take a formal oath of renunciation, after which the case undergoes review by the State Department before the process is finalized.
Fee Increase Sparked Legal Challenges
The fee had been raised sharply in 2015 from $450 to $2,350. Officials at the time said the increase was necessary to cover administrative costs as the number of Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship surged.
The rise was partly linked to stricter U.S. tax reporting requirements affecting Americans living abroad, which many expatriates criticized as burdensome.
The steep fee increase triggered strong opposition from advocacy groups such as the Association of Accidental Americans. The organization represents individuals who hold U.S. citizenship solely because they were born in the United States but have spent most or all of their lives abroad.
Advocacy Groups Claim Victory
The association filed several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the fee, arguing it restricted the right to renounce citizenship. One of those legal challenges remains pending and calls for eliminating the fee entirely.
“This decision acknowledges the necessity of making this fundamental right accessible to all,” said Fabien Lehagre.
Lehagre described the reduction as the result of six years of legal advocacy and litigation.
According to court filings by the association, at least 8,755 Americans paid the full $2,350 fee to renounce their citizenship after the U.S. government announced plans to reduce the charge in 2023 but before the new rule took effect.
The State Department has not released updated figures on the total number of Americans who have formally renounced their citizenship.
