Movement and exit / E2
Renouncing citizenship
The person, who already holds another citizenship, wants to renounce this one.
What we score
Can they, and at what cost?
Default assumptions: Unless a vignette says otherwise, the person is a 30-year-old citizen of sound mind with no criminal record, acting alone, on their own behalf and not for profit, in an ordinary residential area. Where subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Länder) make their own law, each unit is scored and the result is weighted by population. 'The state' includes police, prosecutors, courts, regulators, tax authorities and anyone acting on their orders, including platforms obeying takedown orders.
Score anchors
Both the law score and the practice score use these anchors. Half points are used when a country sits between two of them.
| Score | What it means for this vignette |
|---|---|
| 10 | Simple declaration, no fee. |
| 8 | Form plus a modest fee. |
| 6 | Expensive fee (over 1,000 USD), tax clearance, or long processing. |
| 4 | Discretionary approval, or blocked until military service is done. |
| 2 | Not possible, or renunciation attempts are punished. |
Evidence used: Nationality law; fees; processing times; military-service conditions.
How each country scores
| Country | Law | Practice | Process | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0 | 8.5 | Under Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 s21, an adult citizen who holds or is acquiring another citizenship renounces by lodging a witnessed declaration of alienage (Form 13); the official guidance lists no fee. The catch is that the person must be ordinarily resident outside the State, and renunciation needs ministerial consent in time of war. There is no tax clearance or military-service condition. |
| Germany | 7 | 9 | 0 | 8.2 | A German with another nationality can renounce by written declaration, which needs approval by the nationality authority (§ 26 StAG). Renunciation is free of charge (§ 38(3) Nr. 5 StAG). Approval is withheld from civil servants, soldiers and conscripts unless they have lived abroad for 10 years or served in another state's military. |
| Netherlands | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | An adult loses Dutch nationality by making a declaration of renunciation (art. 15(1)(b) Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), lodged in person at the municipality or abroad at a mission (Besluit verkrijging en verlies Nederlanderschap). No approval, tax clearance or military-service condition applies. A routine administrative fee is charged. |
| United Kingdom | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | An adult holding another nationality renounces with a declaration on form RN plus the Home Office fee (£482, raised to about £513 in April 2026). Registration takes roughly 8–12 weeks. There is no tax clearance or military-service condition. |
| Singapore | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8.0 | A citizen aged 21+ who already holds another citizenship files a notarised statutory declaration with ICA, pays S$35 and waits about 3 months. ICA may refuse men with outstanding NS obligations who have used Singapore passport privileges; a 30-year-old who has completed NS is not blocked. |
| New Zealand | 7 | 8 | 0 | 7.6 | An adult who holds another citizenship and has full mental capacity can renounce by application and witnessed declaration, with a fee of NZ$542 (about US$315). The Minister can refuse if the applicant lives in New Zealand or NZ is at war, and NZ residents must give a statutory declaration explaining why. There is no tax clearance or military-service condition. |
| United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7.0 | Renunciation is a right under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5) and is done in person at a consulate. A State Department rule of 13 March 2026 cut the fee from $2,350 to $450 from 13 April 2026. The renouncer must still file Form 8854 and certify 5 years of tax compliance, or be treated as a covered expatriate subject to exit tax. Consular appointment waits often run to months. |
| Denmark | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7.0 | Release from Danish citizenship is by application to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration (indfødsretsloven § 9). It cannot be refused to a dual national living abroad (§ 9(2)), but for a resident of Denmark it 'depends on a concrete assessment'. Processing currently takes 3-4 months, and the ministry's page lists no fee. |
| Czechia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6.0 | Under Citizenship Act 186/2013 § 40, citizenship is lost by declaration only if the person permanently lives abroad, has no registered permanent residence in Czechia and holds, or is acquiring, another citizenship. Proof of foreign residence and nationality is required. A person living in Czechia cannot renounce until they move abroad. Czechia has no military-service or tax-clearance condition. |
| Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | Renunciation ('release') is granted on request only if the person is not resident in Switzerland and has another nationality (Citizenship Act Art. 37). A resident must therefore emigrate first. Once abroad, it is a written application to the canton of origin plus a cantonal fee, with no military-service or tax-clearance condition. |
| Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | Constitution art. 37 A: 'Ningún mexicano por nacimiento podrá ser privado de su nacionalidad.' The Ley de Nacionalidad provides loss procedures only for naturalised Mexicans (arts. 27-32) and none for renunciation by Mexicans by birth, so a dual national born Mexican cannot shed Mexican nationality. |