Certificate of Loss of Nationality
Encyclopedia
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:
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:
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.
Bureau of Consular Affairs
The Bureau of Consular Affairs is a bureau of the United States Department of State within that department's management office. The mission of the Bureau is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies relating to the broad range of consular services and immigration. , the...
of the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
which is completed by American citizens seeking renunciation of citizenship
Renunciation of citizenship
Renunciation is a voluntary act of relinquishing one's citizenship . 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...
. The form is prescribed by the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
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
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
to a foreign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
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
United States passport
United States passports are passports issued to citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides issuing passports , also limited use passport cards are issued by the same organization subject to the same...
. In order to be successful, renunciations should meet all criteria and ideally be sworn by official witnesses to have occurred. Case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
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
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
An additional factor is that the United States allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship
Multiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
with other states.