The Rise in U.S. Citizenship Renunciations: What’s Driving It?

Why more Americans are giving up their citizenship and what it means in a broader context

Executive Summary

Over the past 15 years, a growing number of U.S. citizens have chosen to renounce their citizenship, marking a significant shift in how Americans abroad value their ties to the United States. From fewer than 200-400 annual renunciations pre-2009 to over 5,000 in several recent years, renunciations have surged.

This report examines the historical context, key motivations, and modern trends driving U.S. citizenship renunciation. It also compares U.S. renunciation rates to those of other countries and explores what these patterns reveal in a broader global context. Additionally, the report considers the legal and bureaucratic barriers to renunciation and assesses what the growing trend suggests about the changing value of American citizenship in an increasingly globalized world.

Key findings:

Trends: U.S. citizenship renunciations have risen sharply since 2009, peaking at over 6,700 in 2020 and remaining elevated in subsequent years. Though still rare by percentages, the sustained increase signals a structural shift rather than a temporary spike.
Motivations: This trend is largely driven by a combination of legal, financial, and logistical pressures as well as disillusionment with U.S. policy.
Demographic Insights: The majority of renouncers are long-term expatriates, middle-income earners, and dual citizens who already hold another nationality. “Accidental Americans” — those unaware of their citizenship until flagged by foreign banks — are a growing subgroup.
Comparative Global Rates: Compared to other developed countries, the U.S. ranks sixth in relative renunciation rates and second in absolute numbers. Unlike other nations where conscription or a lack of emotional ties to the country drive renunciations, U.S. citizens abroad face uniquely burdensome extraterritorial tax laws.
Implications: Growing U.S. citizenship renunciation trends reflect significant policy implications, particularly regarding taxation, international banking regulations, and the changing value proposition of American citizenship in a globalized world.

Introduction

Renouncing U.S. citizenship is a formal legal process by which a person voluntarily gives up their U.S. citizenship and all rights and privileges associated with it. To renounce U.S. citizenship, the U.S. government requires individuals to complete a multi-step procedure that includes filing paperwork, attending an in-person consular interview, and paying a significant fee. Those who successfully renounce their citizenship receive a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN).

While renunciation remains rare in absolute terms, this act has profound legal consequences. Its sharp rise over the last decade has sparked debate about whether the burdens of U.S. citizenship — particularly for those living abroad — outweigh the benefits. This report examines the history, causes, scope, and implications of this growing phenomenon.

Why Do People Renounce U.S. Citizenship?

The decision to renounce citizenship is often shaped by a combination of personal, financial, and legal factors. Major drivers include:

Tax Compliance Burdens: The United States is one of the only developed countries that taxes its citizens on worldwide income, regardless of where they live. As a result, Americans abroad must comply with complex IRS reporting and disclosure requirements, even if they owe no U.S. taxes. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) — enacted in 2010 but fully implemented beginning in 2014 — further increased the burden by requiring foreign banks to report accounts held by U.S. citizens to the IRS.
Banking Barriers: To avoid FATCA-related penalties and legal complications, many foreign financial institutions have opted to limit or refuse services to U.S. citizens altogether. This creates serious financial access issues for Americans living overseas, affecting everything from mortgages to basic banking.
Dual Citizenship Restrictions: Some countries prohibit or limit dual citizenship, making renunciation necessary for U.S. citizens to naturalize abroad or work in certain government roles.
Political and Emotional Factors: While less common, some U.S. citizens renounce their nationality as a symbolic act in response to U.S. politics and policies, particularly during moments of heightened polarization.
Costs and Bureaucracy: The complexity and cost of the renunciation process itself, paradoxically, may have also contributed to the recent increases. In 2014, the U.S. government raised the administrative fee for giving up citizenship from $450 to $2,350, one of the highest renunciation fees in the world. For some, this steep cost, combined with increasing awareness of tax and reporting obligations, creates a sense of urgency to renounce before the process becomes even more financially burdensome.

Historical Trends of U.S. Citizenship Renunciation (Mid-1900s to Present)

Renouncing U.S. citizenship is not a new phenomenon, but the scale and motivations behind it have shifted significantly over time.

Before 2009, renunciations remained relatively low, with approximately 200 to 400 formal cases each year, according to State Department data. These figures are generally viewed as the baseline prior to the modern surge in renunciations.

Accurately tracking these numbers, however, has been a challenge. Although the U.S. government began formally recording citizenship renunciations in the mid-20th century, it wasn’t until Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 that the data distinguished between formal renunciations and other types of citizenship loss. Changes in data collection methods over the years have made it difficult to determine true trends, particularly for earlier periods.

NOTE:

The U.S. government publishes citizenship renunciation data with a typical delay of 12 to 18 months after the actual event. This lag is due to administrative processing and cross-referencing between agencies before publication in the Federal Register. As a result, data released in 2025 will mostly reflect renunciations that occurred in 2023 or early 2024. Administrative backlogs can further delay the appearance of recent renunciations in official statistics.

Annual U.S. Citizenship Renunciations 2008-2025

From 2009 onward, renunciations began to rise sharply, coinciding with a series of policy changes and global enforcement efforts:

2009: Renunciations jumped to 731, up from fewer than an average of 200-400 in previous years, coinciding with the UBS tax scandal and initial FATCA discussions.
2010–2013: Renunciations climbed steadily, surpassing 1,000 by 2010 and reaching 3,000 by 2013.
2014–2016: Annual renunciations averaged roughly 4,800 — a tenfold increase from 2005.
2020: The all-time high of 6,705 renunciations was recorded, likely driven by pandemic disruptions and ongoing tax compliance burdens.
2021–2023: Numbers dropped temporarily (2,426 in 2021) but returned above 5,000 in 2023, suggesting a persistent elevated trend.
2024: Nearly 5,000 individuals officially renounced their U.S. citizenship. Quarterly data shows notable fluctuations:
- Q1: ~350 cases
- Q2: Over 1,700
- Q3: Peaked at more than 2,150
- Q4: Dropped to around 600

These seasonal spikes suggest that policy deadlines, regulatory shifts, or logistical backlogs may play a role in timing renunciations.

Looking at the broader trend, it’s clear this is not a temporary anomaly. The increase correlates closely with the implementation of FATCA in 2010. Detailed tax data supports the view that FATCA and related banking restrictions were primary drivers, not just background noise.

In short, this sharp and sustained growth in renunciations reflects systemic changes in how U.S. citizenship is experienced — particularly by Americans abroad — not random fluctuations or improved reporting.

Who Is Renouncing U.S. Citizenship?

The demographic profile of U.S. citizenship renouncers has shifted significantly over time, offering deeper insights into why individuals make this decision.

Long-Term Expatriates

The majority of those renouncing U.S. citizenship are long-term expatriates, Americans who have lived abroad for many years, often decades, and who typically already hold citizenship in another country. This ensures they are not rendered stateless, a situation the U.S. government explicitly warns against and seeks to avoid during the renunciation process. Recent research confirms that the surge in renunciations in the past decade is primarily driven by these long-term residents abroad, with the main catalyst being the increased compliance burden associated with U.S. tax laws, especially following the implementation of the FATCA, which has made it more difficult for Americans abroad to maintain banking relationships and comply with tax reporting requirements.

“Accidental Americans”

A significant subset of renouncers are so-called “accidental Americans” — individuals who acquired U.S. citizenship by birth (either in the U.S. or through American parentage) but have lived most or all of their lives abroad. Many of these individuals only became aware of their U.S. citizenship and the associated tax obligations after FATCA required foreign banks to identify U.S. account holders. Despite having little or no practical connection to the United States, they are subject to the same complex tax and reporting requirements as other citizens, which often prompts them to renounce their citizenship.

Dual Citizens

In countries that prohibit or discourage dual citizenship — such as Japan and South Korea — individuals may be compelled to renounce U.S. citizenship to fully participate in civic or professional life. Japanese law, for instance, requires dual nationals to choose one citizenship, and while enforcement may be inconsistent, the legal expectation is clear. The U.S. State Department also notes that some foreign governments require individuals to renounce other nationalities before granting citizenship or certain rights.

Middle-Income Earners

While media coverage often highlights wealthy individuals renouncing citizenship to avoid taxes, IRS administrative data show that most renouncers are not ultra-wealthy. Although more than one-third of those renouncing and reporting net worth are millionaires (compared to 5-10% of the general U.S. population), available data suggests many are middle-income earners affected by the complexity and cost of U.S. tax compliance on routine financial activities abroad. The burdens of filing U.S. tax returns, reporting foreign accounts, and facing potential penalties are cited as primary reasons for renunciation across all income levels.

Geographic Breakdown: Most Common Regions for U.S. Citizenship Renunciation

Although the U.S. government does not release a country-by-country breakdown of renunciations, peer-reviewed research of IRS data consistently shows that most U.S. citizenship renunciations are concentrated in a few countries with large American expatriate populations. The majority occur in Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Hong Kong. While not officially confirmed by government agencies, this geographic distribution is supported by independent research and reports from tax compliance professionals. This pattern is attributed to both the size of these expatriate communities and the significant impact of U.S. tax compliance laws such as FATCA in these regions. Americans living in countries with robust banking sectors or strict financial regulations are especially likely to renounce their citizenship.

Common Profiles of US Citizenship Renouncers

Global Context: How U.S. Citizenship Renunciation Compares Worldwide

Renouncing citizenship is rare globally, with relatively few people in developed countries giving up their nationality. A 2017 study by the German economic think tank Ifo Institute analyzed naturalization rates and citizenship policies across OECD countries, highlighting wide variation in how countries grant citizenship to immigrants. The report found that some countries, like Austria and Estonia, naturalize fewer than 1% of their foreign residents annually, while others, like Hungary and Sweden, grant citizenship to over 6%. Although the report focused on acquisition rather than renunciation, it provides context for understanding how restrictive or accessible citizenship is globally.

Why citizens renounce varies by country. Emotional factors like a fading sense of belonging to a home country, a stronger identification with another nation, or the desire to reconcile legal status with personal identity and values may motivate people to renounce. Legal and policy factors like bans on dual citizenship or mandatory military service drive higher renunciation rates in countries such as South Korea. Under South Korea’s Nationality Act, male dual citizens are required to choose their nationality around age 18, and renunciation of Korean citizenship may not be permitted until after completing mandatory military service — a requirement upheld by the Constitutional Court.

In contrast, Americans renounce citizenship mainly because of the tax and compliance burdens. The U.S. requires all citizens — regardless of where they live — to file annual tax returns and report foreign accounts and assets under FATCA requirements (IRS). This makes the U.S. a global outlier: one of the few countries, alongside Eritrea, that taxes its citizens on worldwide income, regardless of where they live.

How Many Americans Live Abroad?

There’s no official count of how many Americans live overseas. The government’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) estimated about 4.4 million U.S. citizens abroad in 2022. More recent data from non-profit the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) puts the number closer to 5.5 million in 2024. The U.S. State Department has acknowledged that it does not maintain comprehensive lists of U.S. citizens residing overseas.

Why does this matter? When looking at how many Americans are giving up their citizenship, it’s important to understand the full context. A record 6,705 people renounced U.S. citizenship in 2020, but that’s still a tiny fraction of the millions living abroad. Knowing the size of the overseas population helps put renunciation trends in perspective — and shows that, for most Americans abroad, giving up citizenship remains a last resort.

Conclusion

Although the numbers are still low, renunciation of U.S. citizenship has risen dramatically and steadily, reflecting structural policy issues rather than isolated frustrations. FATCA and global tax enforcement have unintentionally made citizenship costly for Americans abroad. Most renouncers aren’t acting out of disloyalty, but making pragmatic decisions in response to a complex global system. Advocacy groups like Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad now push for reforms such as residence-based taxation. As global mobility reshapes identity and belonging, the U.S. faces a choice: adapt its policies to reflect this reality — or risk more citizens opting out entirely.

About the Data

Data from this report comes from: