Renunciation of citizenship

Renunciation is a voluntary act of relinquishing one's citizenship (or nationality). It is the opposite of naturalization whereby a person voluntarily acquires a citizenship, and related to denaturalization where the loss of citizenship is not voluntary, but forced by a state.

Historic practices

The old common law doctrine of perpetual allegiance denied an individual the right to renounce obligations to his sovereign. The bonds of subjecthood were conceived in principle to be both singular and immutable. These practices held on in varying ways until the 19th century.

The refusal of many states to recognize expatriation became problematic for the United States, which had a large immigrant population. The War of 1812 was caused partly by Britain's impressment of British-born U.S. citizens into the British Royal Navy. Immigrants to the U.S. were sometimes held to the obligations of their foreign citizenship when they visited their home countries. In response, the U.S. Government sought to pass laws and conclude treaties recognizing the right to expatriate.

In modern law

Renunciation of citizenship is particularly relevant in cases of multiple citizenship, given that additional citizenships may be acquired automatically and may be undesirable. Many countries have pragmatic policies that recognize the often arbitrary nature of citizenship claims of other countries and negative consequences, such as loss of security clearance, can mostly be expected only for actively exercising foreign citizenship, for instance by obtaining a foreign passport. However, some people - in particular politicians and government officials - may wish to be free even of the purely theoretical obligations and appearance of dual loyalty that another citizenship implies. Boris Johnson, currently Mayor of London, renounced in 2006 the US citizenship he had acquired through being born in New York. He said, "What I want is the right not to have an American passport." Another relevant case may be political refugees who would presumably wish to renounce allegiance to the country from which they escaped.

Renunciation of citizenship is also the only way to eliminate the lifetime tax obligation of several countries which tax their nationals based on citizenship rather than residency. Currently, the United States is the only major country which taxes based on citizenship rather than residency. A 1995 study by the U.S. Congress found that at the time only the U.S., the Philippines, and Eritrea tax based on citizenship rather than residency. The Philippines switched to a residency-based system the following year, thereby not taxing its citizens on worldwide income.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, the U.S. changed its immigration law to include a provision to "name and shame" renunciants. The Department of the Treasury became obligated to publish quarterly in the Federal Register the names of those citizens who renounce their citizenship. Only the names are published, but by counting the number of names in each list, media organizations are able to infer the number of renunciants each quarter. According to the New York Times, there were 235 renunciants in 2008, and 743 in 2009. However, the lists published in the Federal Register have been found to have numerous errors including missing names, exact same names repeated two or three times in the same list or across multiple lists, and the same name published multiple times with different spelling or punctuation. Accounting for the errors, a more accurate total of renunciants is 226 in 2008, 731 in 2009, and 1485 in 2010.

The same 1996 law included a provision to bar entry to any individual “who officially renounces United States citizenship and who is determined by the Attorney General to have renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation by the United States”. There is no known case of this provision, known as the Reed Amendment, having ever been enforced. In 2008 Congress enacted the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Act that imposes a penalty, often called an "exit tax," on certain persons who give up their U.S. citizenship or long-term permanent residence. For examples, see this list of United States citizens who relinquished their nationality.

In one case, Vincent Cate, an encryption expert living in Anguilla, chose to renounce his US citizenship to avoid the possibility of violating US laws that may prohibit US citizens from "exporting" encryption software.

Regulations in different countries

Each country sets its own policies for formal renunciation of citizenship. There is a common concern that individuals about to relinquish their citizenship do not become a stateless person and many countries require evidence of another citizenship or an official promise to grant citizenship before they release that person from citizenship. Some countries may not allow or do not recognize renunciation of citizenship or establish administrative procedures that are essentially impossible to complete.

Mexico requires renunciation of all other citizenships as a condition of naturalization. Israel, on the other hand, does not require renunciation of other citizenships as a precondition to running for public office.

Renunciation of citizenship is most straightforward in those countries which recognize and strictly enforce a single citizenship. Thus, voluntary naturalization in another country is considered as "giving up" of one's previous citizenship or implicit renunciation. For practical reasons, such an automatic renunciation cannot officially take place until the authorities of the original country are informed about the naturalization. In Japan, a formal report is required from the renouncing person to be submitted at an embassy. Germany actively investigates whether its citizens living abroad have naturalized there when they apply for a passport, for instance in Canada German passport applicants have to submit a search of citizenship record.

The United States requires that an individual must go in person to a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the U.S. and sign before a consular officer an oath or affirmation that he intends to renounce his citizenship, although exceptions are legally permitted in times of war and under special circumstances. During the expatriation procedure, the individual must complete several documents and demonstrate in an interview with a consular officer that the renunciation is voluntary and intentional. Depending on the embassy or consulate, the individual is often required to appear in person two times and conduct two separate interviews with consular officers over the course of several months.

Effective June 2008, U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship are subject under certain circumstances to an expatriation tax. This a mark-to-market regime, which generally means that all property of a covered expatriate is deemed sold for its fair market value on the day before the expatriation date. This usually results in a capital gain.

The formal confirmation of the loss of U.S. citizenship is provided by the Certificate of Loss of Nationality and is received by the renunciant a number of months later. Renunciation of U.S. citizenship was free until July, 2010, at which time a new fee of $450 was imposed. Although many countries require citizenship of another nation before allowing renunciation, the United States does not and an individual may legally renounce U.S. citizenship and become stateless. Nonetheless, the United States Department of State warns renunciants that, unless they already possess a foreign nationality or are assured of acquiring another nationality shortly after completing their renunciation, they would become stateless and without the protection of any government.

Canada and Australia are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and renunciation is possible only if it will not result in statelessness. Applications for renunciation of citizenship need to be submitted in those countries with a waiting time of several months until approval.

Political radicals and tax avoidance

In the United States, various radical organizations and individuals, sometimes collectively called the sovereign citizen movement, attempt to renounce U.S. citizenship while remaining "common law" citizens of their states or counties. This is typically done to avoid payment of debts or taxes, as a form of tax protest. They claim various legal bases for doing so; these typically involve claims that the Fourteenth Amendment created a new and more onerous form of national citizenship that can be renounced by U.S. citizens, or that the U.S. government has enslaved its citizens by using them as collateral for foreign debts, but that through various documentary maneuvers you can "redeem" yourself from this servitude.

External links

• Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship: A Web Guide A website about renunciation of U.S. citizenship created by individuals who renounced U.S. citizenship, with detailed coverage about the step-by-step process of renunciation, the tax implications, and the legal and political history of renunciation.