The U.S. State Department announced that the fee for obtaining a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) will drop by 80% in April, from $2,350 to $450. The certificate is required for Americans who want to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship, and the fee reduction is designed to "help alleviate the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN services."
The timing coincides with unprecedented emigration trends. According to the sources, more people moved out of the U.S. than into it last year, marking the first time this has happened in almost a century. The U.S. experienced a net loss of around 150,000 people, factoring in approximately 2.6 million people who left the country.
Americans seeking to renounce citizenship include those looking for "a safe haven from the current political chaos in the U.S." as well as Americans already living abroad who want to avoid filing U.S. taxes. The process typically takes many months due to appointment backlogs and the steady rise in people leaving the country.
The fee reduction brings the cost back to pre-2015 levels and represents "less of a financial burden than the same fee did when it was first adopted in 2010" when adjusted for inflation, according to the State Department. However, obtaining the certificate remains a complex paperwork process that can take many months to complete.