ENTITLEMENT TO VOTE
Who is entitled to vote?
In
general terms all British citizens are entitled to vote in the constituency where they are registered
on the Electoral Roll, providing that they are 18 years or older on the day of the election.
NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP
European Union Member States
Citizens from Member
States of the European Union must register as local government electors, and may register as European
electors to allow them to vote in EU elections in this constituency provided that they have signed a
form indicating that they will not also be voting in their home country. This form is sent out to all
registered European Union citizens before a European election. Unless they have been granted British
Citizenship by naturalisation they cannot vote in national Parliamentary elections.
British and Irish citizens are registered as ordinary electors and not as Europeans.
Turkish
nationals are not entitled to register to vote in the United Kingdom, but all of Cyprus is part of the
Commonwealth and all Cypriots can be registered and vote in all types of elections.
To see if you are eligible to register to vote download the document nationality
and citizenship.
Please click here for eligible nationalities
A visa allowing foreign nationals to stay in the UK
indefinitely is not the same as citizenship.
Foreign Nationals
If
a person is not British and is not a citizen of the Commonwealth, the Irish Republic or a member state
of the European Union, (two examples: United States of America and Switzerland) they are not entitled
to be included on the register of electors. This is the case even if they have lived in the UK for many
years.
Overseas Electors
British
citizens resident abroad can register to vote by means of an Overseas Elector’s Declaration, provided
that on the date the Declaration is made:
- They are not subject to any legal incapacity to vote,
- They were once registered to vote in the UK and less than 15 years have elapsed since
the Register they were on was in force or,
- A parent or guardian was so registered, if the applicant was too young to register to
vote at the time.
Crown Servants / British Council
employee
If you are working outside the UK as a Crown Servant or as an employee of the British
Council, you can still register to vote. You can also register if you are married to a Crown Servant
or British Council employee and you are accompanying them during their employment abroad.
Her Majesty's Armed Forces
If you or your spouse is a member of the British Army, the Royal Navy or the Royal
Airforce, you can still register to vote.
If you are based overseas or you live in the UK but may be posted abroad at short
notice, you can apply to register as a service voter. This allows you to be registered at an address
in Great Britain while you are posted abroad.
Homeless
You can still register to vote even if you do not have a fixed address. This
may be because you are:
- a patient in a mental hospital;
- a homeless person; or
- a person remanded in custody.
To register, you need to
fill iin a form called a 'Declaration of local connection'. You can get this form by contacting
your electoral registration office.
On this form you need to give an address where you would be living if it were not
for your current situation, or an address where you have lived in the past. If you are homeless,
you can give details of where you spend a substantial part of your time.
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