Can a citizen from the European Union register to vote?
EU electors
Citizens from member countries of the EU are eligible to register to vote in local government elections if they are either:
- a qualifying EU citizen
- an EU citizen with retained rights.
Citizens from the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered to vote in all elections in the UK.A person is a qualifying EU citizen if they:
- are a citizen of a country with which the UK has bilateral Voting and Candidacy Rights (VCR) treaty
- are resident in the UK with any form of permission to stay, or do not require such permission.
Permission to enter of stay in the UK is also known as leave to enter or remain.The UK currently holds bilateral treaties with – Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain.A person is an EU citizen with retained rights if they:
- are a citizen of a country that the UK does not have a VCR treaty
- have been legally resident in the UK since before the UK left the EU on 31st December 2020.
The UK does not currently have a VCR treaty with the following EU member states:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- The Netherlands
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden