EU citizens will only be eligible to register to vote and stand for election if they are citizens of a qualifying EU state. Qualifying EU citizens will be eligible to vote and stand in local elections only.
Two groups of EU citizens will retain their rights:
- Qualifying EU citizens from countries with reciprocal voting agreements and who have, or do not require leave to remain in the U.K (Spain, Portugal, Poland, Luxembourg and Denmark)
- EU citizens with retained rights, who were resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 (i.e., before the UK left the EU)
These changes do not affect citizens of the Republic of Ireland or citizens of Commonwealth nations (including Malta and Cyprus, who are members of both the Commonwealth and the EU).
EU Citizens Review Process
Due to this legislative change, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is legally required to review all European citizens that are currently registered to vote in Lambeth.
The ERO will use historical electoral registration records to identify which EU citizens are eligible to remain on the electoral register, as well as those who are no longer eligible, based on their EU citizenship.
Once reviewed, all EU citizens who are registered to vote in Lambeth will be sent written correspondence, confirming whether or not they will remain on the electoral register.
Where we are unable to verify the eligibility of an existing EU citizen using historical electoral registration records, we will contact these electors via written and email correspondence to confirm whether they are eligible to remain on the electoral register in Lambeth.
If we do not receive a response to this correspondence, then a personal visit will be undertaken by electoral services in order to obtain a response.
If your nationality has changed
If you have obtained British citizenship or otherwise need to update your nationality on the electoral register, please contact the voting and elections team.
You can find more information on changes to EU voter and candidacy rights on The Electoral Commission website.