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AMERICANS IN NORWAY

How to renew or apply for a US passport from Norway

If you need to apply for a new US passport from Norway or just renew your current one, there are a couple of things you should know about the process.

Published: 2 May 2023 12:57 CEST
US passport
Not all passport services that the US Embassy in Norway provides require a personal visit. Your options will depend on your circumstances, such as whether you are renewing or applying for a new passport. Photo by Jeremy Dorrough on Unsplash

Generally speaking, applying for a US passport outside the United States is quite different compared to applying inside the States.

Different US embassies and consulates have different procedures and requirements for submitting and processing documentation, so it’s always a good idea to double-check all the rules that apply in your case on the website of the relevant US embassy or consulate.

Note that not all passport-related services offered by the US Embassy in Norway require you to visit its premises in person – you will have different options based on the specifics of your case and whether you need to renew your US passport or apply for a new one.

Renewing a passport from Norway

If you want to renew your US passport from Norway, you will likely have three options: by mail, in-person, and online.

Depending on your chosen option, you need to use different forms; also, not everyone is eligible for online passport renewal. You can find more information on the forms and requirements on the website of the US Embassy in Norway.

The American Citizen Services (ACS) at the US Embassy in Oslo can provide you with more detailed information and assistance regarding passport renewals if you’re a US citizen in Norway, so don’t hesitate to reach out to the ACS in case you have any questions.

Remember that you will need to book an appointment for all non-emergency visits to the embassy. So, to avoid having to show up in person, check whether the service you need requires a visit to the embassy.

Also, as the embassy has a foreign payment system in place, you must enable the international payments option for your non-US bank card before attending your appointment if you plan on paying with it.

Applying for a new passport from Norway

As is the case with renewals, applications for new passports also involve filling out and submitting different forms. You can find the relevant forms that you will need to complete on the embassy’s website, here.

However, if you get lost in the paperwork or need help finding the correct form, you can always use the embassy’s Passport Wizard.

Note that using the Passport Wizard does not mean you have completed an online passport application.

The wizard will only prepare you to apply for a US passport, though the service will take you through and guide you through the necessary motions of applying, regardless of your circumstances (common requests include first-time applications, renewal applications, and getting a passport for your child).

Completing the wizard does not entitle you to a passport, and the embassy or consulate may require additional information and documentation before they can issue the passport.

The wizard will, however, provide you with very detailed information on how to apply, any relevant fees, and locally relevant information.

For example, if you’re an applicant aged 16 or older, the wizard will take you to the DS-11 passport application form. It will give you a detailed overview of the steps needed to submit an application. For DS-11 applications, these are:

Step 1: Complete and print the DS-11 form.

Step 2: Provide evidence of US citizenship.

Step 3: Provide evidence of identity.

Step 4: Attach one photo to your application.

Step 5: Visit the local information section to make an appointment and learn how to pay the application fees.

Once you select Norway as the country you’re applying from, you will be provided with additional information on payment methods, processing times, appointments, and security information.

What you need to know about emergency passports

Depending on the service you require, processing times may vary. However, if you’re in a hurry and need a passport within two weeks for travel purposes, you will likely need to apply for an emergency passport.

Generally speaking, if you are travelling abroad and your passport validity expires, you have two options: a full-validity regular passport or a limited-validity emergency passport.

According to the US Embassy in Norway, replacing a full-validity passport requires a minimum of two weeks, while an emergency passport can usually be issued within two business days.

If you need more information on how to apply for an emergency passport, contact American Citizen Services (ACS), which has multiple options for expediting the process in emergencies.

Note: As of the time of writing, the US Embassy in Norway offers limited appointments only for passport and citizenship services requiring an in-person appearance.

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AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Why are fewer American nationals renouncing their US citizenship?

More than 3,000 American citizens formally gave up their US citizenship last year but that number reflected a drop when compared to some recent years, with suggestions that many who are intending to renounce are delaying the move.

Published: 9 February 2024 10:05 CET
Why are fewer American nationals renouncing their US citizenship?

Some 3,260 Americans formally gave up their citizenships last year, according to a list of recently-published names on the US government’s Federal Register website.

The number for 2023 is lower when compared to totals from previous years.

More than 30,000 Americans have given up their US citizenship over the past decade, according to the list of names published quarterly by the US government.

The number of Americans renouncing has been running at between 1,000 right up to 6,000 a year since 2010.

The reason some observers give for 2023’s relatively low annual total number of Americans renouncing citizenship is that many US nationals living in Europe and through the world intending to make the move are waiting for a major reduction in the fee they are charged to give up their passport.

READ ALSO: Why are more and more Americans giving up their US passports?

The State Department vowed in January last year that it would significantly lower the fee it charges for renouncing – from $2,350 to $450 following a legal challenge. However since October there has been no news.

Americans intending to renounce – many for tax reasons – are still waiting.

John Richardson, a Toronto-based lawyer who helps American expatriates to navigate the often complex renunciation process, says a number of his clients have told him that they’re holding off on submitting their applications in order to take advantage of the $1,900 they would save with the reduction in the fee.

“This reduction in the fee was first mentioned by the State Department more than a year ago – in January of 2023 – as part of its official response to a legal challenge over the fee’s unfairness and ‘unconstitutionality’,” Richardson said. “Some of my clients and others are starting to become extremely frustrated that it’s taking so long.”

The legal challenge was made in a US District Court in Washington, DC, in 2020, by the Paris-based Association des Américains Accidentels (Association of Accidental Americans), in partnership with some 13 “accidental American” co-plaintiffs from around the world.

Failure to cut fee is ‘deplorable”

London-based US national Liz Zitzow, who helps other Americans with their US taxes and renunciations agreed that “lots of people are waiting for the fee to drop.”

She also believes US consulates that carry out the renunciation process are still in “post-Covid mode” – and thus simply aren’t processing as many applications.

“I find the length of time it’s taking them to enact the reduction in the fee, given that they announced it more than a year ago, deplorable,” Zitzow said.

“Many of the people who are looking to give up their US citizenships are doing so because it’s so costly to remain a citizen, while living abroad…so obviously, the difference between $2,350 and $450 is going to matter a lot to them.” 

State Department ‘working on the final rule’

Asked about the proposed reduction in the renunciation fee, and when it might be expected to come into force, a State Department spokesperson made reference to last October’s public consultation on the matter, which ended on November 1st.

“The Department is in the process of considering and developing responses to comments. That review process is ongoing, and the Department is actively working on the final rule,” the spokesperson said.

Fee only introduced in 2010 with FATCA

Renouncing American citizenship used to be free, and not much talked about, until 2010 – the year when the new regulation known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was signed into law.  That year the fee for renouncing was set at $450. In 2014, this was hiked by 422 percent, to $2,350.

The numbers of those giving up their US citizenship only became a topic of interest after the numbers of those renouncing began to increase after 2010 due to FATCA – which came into force in 2014.

FATCA basically mandates stiff penalties for “foreign financial institutions” (FFIs) that fail to report to the US authorities the bank account details, including assets, of any of their clients who happen to be US citizens or Green Card holders.

But its unintended (and massive) side effect was to cause many non-US financial institutions around the world to suddenly refuse to accept American clients at all – even if they were living in the country in which these institutions were (and are) located, and had held accounts with these institutions for decades.

So even though the number of renunciations in 2023 was comparatively low compared to recent years, it is still many more than in the years before FATCA came into law, the data from the Federal Register’s quarterly list of names reveals.

While many experts question the accuracy of the data obtained from these lists, in the absence of other sources of these numbers, interest in them remains – with the result that those interested in tracking the numbers of Americans giving up their citizenships watch the Federal Register closely four times a year, in order to examine its latest “Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate”.  

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