The US State Department is set to slash its high $2,350 (£1,772) citizenship renunciation fee by 80% to $450 from 13 April 2026.
It follows a lengthy campaign by Americans living abroad beginning in December 2020, when the AAA and 20 ‘accidental Americans’ from 10 nationalities filed a complaint before the US District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the constitutionality of the $2,350 fee.
The State Department notified the court of its intention to reduce this fee on January 6, 2023, but never finalised the decision. However, in a final ruling published today (13 March), the department said it would take the action to “alleviate the cost burden” by returning to the fee that was in place from 2010-2014 from April 13.
In a statement, the department said: “After significant deliberation, taking into account both the affected public’s concerns regarding the cost of the fee and the not insignificant anecdotal evidence regarding tax-related difficulties many US nationals residing abroad encounter, including in part because of FATCA, the department made a policy decision…to propose alleviating the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN services by returning to the below-cost fee of $450.
“This change will better align the fee for CLN services with fees for certain other services provided to U.S. citizens abroad, including, for example, applications for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which are similarly set significantly below cost.”
