Changes to voting rights – EU citizens

Following the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and the Elections Act 2022, there are some changes to the voting and registration rights for citizens of European Union nations.

Please note this does not impact the citizens of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. If you are a citizen of one of these countries you will remain on the register and there will be no changes to your voting rights.

You can only register and vote if:

• you’re a citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain who is resident in the UK or has permission to enter or stay in the UK.
• you’re a citizen of any other EU country who has continuously been a legal resident of the UK since or before 31 December 2020.

Why Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain?

The UK has mutual agreements with Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain. Citizens of these countries living in the UK can still vote and stand as candidates in UK elections (excluding UK Parliament elections).

If you’ve received a letter or email about your eligibility to vote

As part of this review, we are contacting all EU citizens to either:

• inform you that you are still eligible to vote in some UK elections
• ask you to provide information that will be used to confirm whether you are eligible

If you confirm you do not meet the eligibility criteria or you do not provide details as requested, you will no longer be eligible to vote in:

• Local elections, mayoral elections and Greater London Assembly elections 

If you respond and are deemed ineligible to vote:

• You have 14 calendar days to request a hearing if you believe this is incorrect.
• If you do not request a hearing within 14 calendar days, you will not be able to object to the decision.

If you do not respond:

• We will determine that you are ineligible, you will be removed from the register and will not be able to vote in any elections.
• However, you will not be prevented from re-registering to vote in the future.