EU citizens

EU citizens must be either a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights to vote or stand in local government elections.

Qualifying EU citizen:

• EU citizens can vote in certain cases where the UK Government has agreed reciprocal voting arrangements with individual EU Member States. These agreements allow citizens of those countries living in the UK to vote, in exchange for the same rights being granted to UK citizens living there.
• They must either hold any form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, or not require such leave.

Currently, the UK holds reciprocal voting arrangements with Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

EU citizen with retained rights:

• EU citizens who were living in the UK before 31 December 2020 can still vote and stand for election.

Further information

For full information on EU citizens' rights visit The Electoral Commission website.

• The Electoral Commission - who can vote in UK elections (opens in new tab)

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