US To Slash Citizenship Renunciation Fee From $2,350 To $450 From April

President Donald Trump administration is set to significantly lower the cost of giving up US citizenship, reducing the renunciation fee from $2,350 to $450, its first major rollback in over a decade.

The change, expected to take effect on April 13, will make it cheaper for Americans, especially those living abroad, to formally renounce their citizenship. 

Although it was announced in 2023, it was not implemented until now. The move rolls back a 2015 rule that made giving up US citizenship one of the most expensive in the world.

The amount is now the same as it was in 2010, when the US State Department first began charging Americans to formally give up their citizenship.

The fee was raised to $2,350 in 2015 as the number of people applying for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) increased. According to the Internal Revenue Service, around 4,820 people renounced citizenship in 2024, reported The Guardian. 

"While there is no legal requirement for individuals to declare their motivation for renouncing US citizenship, anecdotal evidence suggested that difficulties were due at least in part to reporting requirements," the State Department said.

More Americans have been choosing to renounce their citizenship and experts say politics and tax rules are key reasons behind this trend. Many Americans living abroad are frustrated with complex US tax laws, which require them to file taxes even if they don't live in the country.

Currently, there are over 30,000 people waiting for appointments to renounce their citizenship. Experts say the actual number may be higher because data from the Internal Revenue Service only includes wealthy individuals with assets above $2 million.

This coincided with the United States passport slipping out of the world's top 10 most powerful passports for the first time in nearly 20 years. 

According to the Henley Passport Index, the US passport ranked 12th in October, tied with Malaysia. However, it was back in the No 10 spot in the January report.