Washington’s sprawling bureaucracy has quietly backed down after years of legal pressure, dramatically lowering the price Americans must pay if they decide to give up their U.S. citizenship.

The U.S. State Department confirmed in a newly published rule that the cost to formally renounce citizenship has been cut by roughly 80 percent, falling from a steep $2,350 to $450. The change appeared Friday in the federal government’s rulebook and took effect immediately.

For years, critics argued the federal government had turned the constitutional right to abandon citizenship into a costly bureaucratic ordeal. The newly reduced fee returns the cost to the same level Americans paid when the State Department first began charging for the process in 2010.

The price drop had been announced as far back as 2023 but sat idle until now, leaving thousands to pay the higher rate in the meantime.

Walking away from American citizenship is not as simple as filling out paperwork. The process remains lengthy and highly structured.

Anyone seeking to renounce must meet with a State Department consular officer and repeatedly affirm—both verbally and in writing—that they fully understand the consequences of their decision. Only after those declarations are made can the individual swear the official oath renouncing citizenship. Even then, the case must still undergo review by the department before it is finalized.

In other words, even with the lower fee, the government still makes sure the decision is deliberate and permanent.

The controversy surrounding the fee dates back to 2015 when the State Department hiked the cost from $450 to $2,350. Officials at the time justified the enormous increase by pointing to administrative costs, claiming demand for renunciation had surged.

Much of that surge followed new U.S. tax reporting rules targeting Americans living overseas. Many expatriates complained the regulations forced them to navigate complex reporting requirements even if they had spent most of their lives outside the United States. The dramatic price jump triggered backlash from international advocacy groups representing Americans abroad.

One of the most aggressive critics was the France-based Association of Accidental Americans, an organization representing individuals who technically hold U.S. citizenship simply because they were born in the United States—even if they grew up and lived elsewhere their entire lives. The group launched multiple lawsuits arguing the fee was unconstitutional and placed an unfair financial barrier on a basic right.

The organization welcomed the department’s decision to reverse course.

“The Association of Accidental Americans welcomes this decision, which acknowledges the necessity of making this fundamental right accessible to all,” said the group’s president, Fabien Lahagre. “This victory is the direct result of six years of relentless legal action and advocacy.”

Despite the change, the group continues to pursue litigation arguing that renouncing citizenship should carry no fee at all. Court filings revealed that thousands of Americans paid the much higher price before the government finally implemented the reduction. According to the association’s legal arguments, at least 8,755 people paid the full $2,350 fee after the State Department first promised to lower it in 2023.

The State Department has not disclosed the overall number of Americans who have formally renounced their citizenship.