Dual Citizenship & Renunciation

US citizens can generally hold dual or multiple nationalities; the US has permitted dual citizenship since the Supreme Court's ruling in Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), which held that Americans cannot be stripped of citizenship for obtaining another nationality absent specific intent to relinquish. The US State Department's policy (7 FAM 1200) presumes US citizens intend to retain their citizenship when naturalizing elsewhere, taking an oath, or serving in a non-policy-level foreign government role. However, dual citizens remain subject to all US obligations, including worldwide income taxation under the Internal Revenue Code and FBAR filings for foreign accounts over $10,000 aggregate. Renunciation is governed by Section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and requires appearing in person before a US consular officer abroad, signing an Oath of Renunciation (DS-4080), and paying a $2,350 fee (unchanged since 2014, though State proposed reducing it to $450 in a January 2023 settlement; as of April 2026 the higher fee remains in effect pending rulemaking). Renunciants who meet IRS 'covered expatriate' thresholds — net worth of $2 million or more, average annual net income tax above the indexed threshold ($206,000 for 2025 per Rev. Proc. 2024-40), or failure to certify five years of tax compliance — face the mark-to-market exit tax under IRC §877A with a 2025 exclusion of $890,000 in built-in gains. Acquiring a second citizenship pathways include descent (jus sanguinis), naturalization via residency, marriage, investment (CBI/RBI), and in rarer cases birthright. The EU's citizenship-by-investment landscape contracted sharply: Malta's program was ruled unlawful by the Court of Justice of the EU on April 29, 2025 (Case C-181/23), and Cyprus ended its scheme in November 2020. Portugal's Golden Visa eliminated real-estate qualifying routes in October 2023 (Law 56/2023) but retained investment fund and cultural donation options leading to naturalization after 5 years.

Key Points

• 1Renunciation fee: $2,350 (set 2014); State Department agreed in a January 2023 settlement (Farhy-related litigation follow-on) to pursue reducing it to $450, but the fee remains $2,350 as of April 2026.
• 2US annual renunciations exceeded 6,700 in 2020 (Federal Register Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate), with quarterly totals running 500–1,500 through 2023–2025.
• 32025 exit tax thresholds (IRC §877A, Rev. Proc. 2024-40): net worth ≥ $2M, average annual US tax liability > $206,000 (5-year lookback), or failure to certify Form 8854 tax compliance — any one triggers 'covered expatriate' status.
• 42025 covered-expatriate capital gains exclusion: $890,000 of net unrealized gain is excluded from the mark-to-market deemed sale.
• 5Malta CBI invalidated by CJEU on April 29, 2025 (Case C-181/23, Commission v. Malta); pending Maltese applications frozen. Caribbean CBI programs (St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua, St. Lucia) agreed in March 2024 to a $200,000 minimum donation floor.
• 6Portugal Law 56/2023 (effective October 7, 2023) removed real estate and capital transfer routes from the Golden Visa; fund investment (€500,000) and cultural donation (€250,000) options remain, with citizenship eligibility after 5 years of legal residence.
• 7Countries that restrict or prohibit dual citizenship for naturalized citizens include Japan, China, India (OCI is not citizenship), Singapore, Austria (exceptions only), and the Netherlands (with major exceptions); Germany removed its general prohibition effective June 27, 2024 under the StAG reform.