Erin Klatt (34), moved to New Zealand on a working holiday visa 10 years ago. Within six months, She knew She wanted to make the country her forever. When She left the US in 2016 for a variety of personal and political reasons, She was simply looking for “somewhere different.”
A decade later, Klatt has officially severed all ties with the United States. Earlier this year, just before the U.S. State Department reduced the fee for renouncing citizenship by about 80 percent, Klatt formally renounced her U.S. citizenship, paying the then-current $2,350 fee.
Klatt got the same job in New Zealand because of her experience in dairy farming in Wisconsin. Thanks to that, She got a work visa and later, in May 2025, She got New Zealand citizenship. And that's when She made the final decision to give up her US citizenship. According to Klatt, I have never felt overly patriotic towards the country. Seeing the course of US politics under Donald Trump and the tax burden on expatriates, it seemed natural to him to give up citizenship.
Identity Fluctuations and Future Risks::
Accurate statistics on renunciation of U.S. citizenship are hard to come by. Americans Overseas, a group that analyzes quarterly reports from the Treasury Department, said a record 4,889 Americans renounced their citizenship in 2025, the highest number since 2020. Dan Durlacher, the group's co-founder, said applications to renounce citizenship could increase by 15 percent this year. The group is currently advising about 40,000 U.S. citizens in Europe and around the world.
The main reason is when ‘tax’ and ‘FATCA’ laws::
Economic reasons are playing a bigger role than political reasons behind renouncing citizenship. According to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or FATCA law, a citizen has to pay taxes to the US government no matter where he lives or earns in the world. In the whole world, only the United States and Eritrea in East Africa have such a rule.
The people most affected by this law are "accidental Americans." These are people who were born on U.S. soil or who acquired citizenship through American parents, but have never lived in the United States.
Fabien Lehager, president of the Paris-based Association of Accidental Americans, said there are about 300,000 such people in Europe. Due to the complexity of FATCA laws, European banks often refuse to open accounts or give loans to these Americans, making even simple tasks like receiving a salary or depositing pension money a nightmare for them.
Identity Fluctuations and Future Risks::
Apart from taxes or politics, a strange identity vacillation is at work for many. Caroline Chirichella, a 37-year-old living in Italy, is looking into the process of giving up her blue passport and adopting a full European Union passport. Caroline says, "If you have dual citizenship, you are considered more American in Italy and more Italian in America. I want to give up my citizenship to end this vacillation."
However, Brad Bernstein, head of an immigration law firm in New York, warns that many people give up their citizenship without thinking deeply, which can lead to regret later. After giving up citizenship, a person will be considered a full-fledged foreign citizen. Later, even if they want to visit the United States just for a visit, they will need a visa, which is not guaranteed. So, such a long-term decision should not be made just to save a little money.
But Americans Overseas' Durlachar reminds everyone that as an American citizen, you still have the right to vote. And that's why I still retain my US citizenship.
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