THE NEW YORK TIMES: The fee had been increased to $2,350 in 2015, prompting criticism and legal challenges from advocacy groups and Americans living abroad.
The State Department is drastically reducing the cost of renouncing American citizenship, ending a yearslong legal battle over the price of relinquishing a blue passport.
In an update published in the Federal Register on Friday, the State Department said it was reducing the consular fees of renouncing U.S. citizenship to $450 from $2,350, a more than 80 percent reduction in cost for the clunky, bureaucratic process.
The policy change, which is effective April 13, was proposed in October 2023.
The change announced on Friday returns the fee to what it was in 2010, when the State Department first instituted a charge for Americans renouncing their U.S. citizenship.
The process, which is arduous and costly, requires extensive work from consular officials, including confirming that anyone seeking to give up their citizenship fully understands the implications of doing so.
Obtaining a “certificate of loss of nationality” requires two separate interviews with consular officials, a vetting process and a formal oath of renunciation. The process can take months.
The department warns on its website that the risks of renouncing U.S. citizenship include becoming “stateless” and requiring a visa to enter the United States. » | Ali Watkins | Sunday, March 15, 2026
