U.S. cuts fee to renounce citizenship by 80%

The U.S. State Department has reduced the fee for Americans to formally renounce their citizenship by about 80%, lowering the cost from $2,350 to $450, according to a final rule published in the Federal Register.

The new fee took effect Friday and restores the price to the same level charged when the U.S. government first began requiring payment for citizenship renunciation in 2010. The fee had been raised sharply in 2015 as the number of Americans seeking to give up their citizenship increased, partly due to stricter tax reporting requirements for U.S. citizens living abroad.

Renouncing U.S. citizenship requires applicants to complete a formal process with a State Department consular officer, including written and verbal confirmations acknowledging the consequences before taking an official oath of renunciation. The request must then be reviewed by the department before becoming final.

Advocacy groups welcomed the decision. Fabien Lehagre, president of the Association of Accidental Americans, said the reduction makes it easier for people to exercise what he called a fundamental right after years of legal challenges to the higher fee.