Who Can Vote

You cannot vote until you are 18 and must be registered to vote in the UK.

You can register to vote if you are 16 years old or over and a British citizen or an Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or European Union citizen who is resident in the UK.

If you are 16 or 17, you can register only if you will be 18 within the lifetime of the electoral register. This runs from 1 December to 30 November annually .

Commonwealth, British Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories and EU countries (full list printed below). You are eligible to register to vote in UK elections if you're a Commonwealth citizen resident in the UK and either have leave to remain in the UK or do not require such leave. 'Commonwealth citizen' includes citizens of British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.

Citizens of the European Union who are not Commonwealth citizens can vote in European and local elections in the UK elections. You cannot vote in UK General Elections if you're a citizen of the European Union

   *Citizens of Commonwealth countries that have been suspended from the Commonwealth retain their voting rights. Their voting rights would only be affected if their country was also deleted from the list of Commonwealth countries in the British Nationality Act 1981 through an Act of the UK Parliament.

Hong Kong Only former residents of Hong Kong who hold a British Dependent Territories, British Nationals (Overseas) or British Overseas passport qualify for registration.

**Although also EU member states, citizens of Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.

***Citizens of the UK and the Republic of Ireland are eligible to be registered to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.

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