Giving Up Your American Passport? It Just Got 80% Cheaper To Renounce Citizenship

The State Department rule reduces cost of giving up U.S. nationality from $2,350 to $450, citing efforts to ease financial barriers.

The U.S. Department of State has sharply reduced the fee required for Americans who wish to formally give up their U.S. citizenship, lowering the charge from $2,350 to $450 under a new rule that took effect March 13. Officials said the updated price restores the cost to the same amount the government charged when it first introduced a fee for citizenship renunciation in 2010. The adjustment, originally announced in 2023 but only recently implemented, was described as a policy change designed to lessen the financial burden on applicants seeking a Certificate of Loss of Nationality.

The certificate is issued after individuals complete the formal process of renouncing citizenship outside the United States.

Applicants must appear before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer abroad and confirm both verbally and in writing that they understand the consequences before taking an official oath of renunciation. The State Department then reviews the request before granting approval and issuing the document.

According to Fox News, government officials previously raised the fee significantly in 2015, increasing it from $450 to $2,350. At the time, the higher price was intended in part to help cover administrative costs as the number of Americans seeking to give up their citizenship grew in the early 2010s. According to the State Department, the number of applications rose from 956 cases in 2010 to 3,436 in 2014.

The department now estimates that roughly 4,661 people apply each year for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality. Despite the price reduction, officials said the new $450 charge still falls short of the government’s actual processing expenses. The change is expected to decrease federal revenue from the fee by about $8.9 million annually. Funds collected through the charge are deposited into the U.S. Treasury rather than used to support the State Department’s consular operations.

Advocacy groups representing Americans living abroad had long criticized the higher fee. Some organizations argued that the cost created an unnecessary obstacle to people attempting to exercise their legal right to renounce citizenship. Legal challenges were filed contesting the policy, including claims that the process should not carry any fee at all.

One of those groups, the Association of Accidental Americans, welcomed the change. Its president, Fabien Lehagre, said in a statement that the reduction “acknowledges the necessity of making this fundamental right accessible to all.”

Lehagre noted that the decision followed years of advocacy from the organization. According to the group, thousands of individuals paid the previous $2,350 fee after the government first announced plans to reduce the charge but before the new rule took effect.

While the updated policy lowers the financial barrier, the State Department has not released new data on how many Americans have recently renounced their citizenship.