Elections Act 2022

Changes to European Union (EU) citizen's voting and candidacy rights were introduced on 7 May 2024, after the May 2024 polls.

Changes to European Union citizen's voting

There are two main parts to the changes:

• changes to how an application is determined under the new eligibility criteria
• a review of existing EU citizen electors to check their eligibility. This will involve us writing out to you if this affects you

The new eligibility criteria

The new eligibility criteria for European citizens means that applicants must either be:

• a 'qualifying' European Union citizen (a citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain)
• a European Union citizen with 'retained rights' (a citizen of a European country who was already a legal resident in the UK prior to the 31 December 2020)

Review

All citizens from a 'qualifying' European Union country (Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain) will automatically retain their rights to be registered. These electors will receive a confirmation letter stating that they will remain eligible and registered to vote.

In September 2024, we will conduct a review to ensure all remaining European citizens currently registered on the electoral register meet the new registration criteria. This will involve checking historical registers to verify that the elector's residence took place before 31 December 2020. Where this cannot be confirmed, we will contact you either by e-mail or by post. If we do not receive a response, you may receive a personal visit from one of our team.

All new applications to the electoral register will be asked the relevant questions regarding their qualifying status and/or residency when making an application and will not need to be reviewed seperately. 

Confirming eligibility

If we hold an email address for you, we will contact you by email in the first instance around 18 September 2024. The email address you will receive the communication from will be electoralregistration@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk. You will be able to respond by the gov.uk website, entering your unique security code from the email we have issued when prompted.

If we do not hold an email address for you, we will contact you via post around 10 October 2024. You will then either be able to respond to us by:

• the gov.uk website, entering your unique security code from the letter we have issued when prompted
• completing the Registration Review Form for EU Citizens enclosed with our letter and returning to our office

Once you have responded, you will be issued with a confirmation letter to confirm your status. 

If you receive a confirmation letter, you do not need to take any further action.

Changes to European candidacy rights

Changes to candidacy rights for EU citizens came into effect on 7 May 2024. EU citizens standing as candidates or elected after this date will need to ensure that they have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or not require such leave.