Certificate of Loss of Nationality

The Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) is a form of the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the United States Department of State which is completed by American citizens seeking renunciation of citizenship. The form is prescribed by the Secretary of State under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

In order for a renunciation of citizenship to be proper, three of the criteria that must be met are that:

• The citizen has unequivocally admitted in writing an intent to lose U.S. citizenship
• The renunciation was made at a U.S. diplomatic office outside the U.S. before a U.S. diplomatic officer
• The renunciation must be made voluntarily. Grounds for arguing that renunciation was not voluntary are financial hardship (e.g., the need to get a job in another country) or family pressure.

Alternatively, the State Department may argue that U.S. citizenship has been surrendered due to the person making an oath of allegiance to a foreign state voluntarily and with the intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship, such that:

• The person has signed an oath of allegiance to the foreign state, renouncing allegiance to all other states.
• The person is clear that they know exactly what they are doing.

CLNs are issued at a U.S. embassy and citizens who receive a CLN surrender their United States passport. In order to be successful, renunciations should meet all criteria and ideally be sworn by official witnesses to have occurred. Case law shows that in order to avoid legal complications it is vital to obtain a CLN and not just meet the criteria.

It is not clear if an embassy would issue a CLN if consular officers believed that a citizen was avoiding conscription. An additional factor is that the United States allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship with other states.