EU citizens
The changes you will see
EU citizens will no longer automatically be entitled to -
- register
- vote
- stand for election.
These changes will apply to -
- all local elections and referendums in England
- elections for council and combined authority mayors
- Police and Crime Commissioner elections
2 groups of EU citizens will keep these rights - 'qualifying EU citizens' and 'EU citizens with retained rights'.
Qualifying EU citizens
These are EU citizens who -
- come from countries which have reciprocal agreements with the UK
- have 'leave to remain' in the UK, or who do not need 'leave to remain' in the UK
A reciprocal agreement means that the same rules apply in both the UK and that country. For example, a Spanish citizen in the UK could vote or stand for election in the UK, and a UK citizen in Spain could vote or stand for election in Spain.
Currently this means citizens from -
- Luxembourg
- Poland
- Portugal
- Spain.
EU citizens with retained rights
These are EU citizens who were living in the UK before 1 January 2021. In other words, before the UK left the EU.
When the changes come into force
We expect that the changes will come into force by Spring 2024.