Registering to vote

From May 2024 and following the UK’s departure from the European Union, voting rights for EU citizens have changed.

To be registered to vote, EU citizens living in England must meet new eligibility criteria, based on the country they are from and when they started living in the UK.

Two groups of EU citizens will retain their rights:

• Qualifying EU citizens from countries with reciprocal agreements, and who have leave, or do not require it, to remain in the UK – currently:
  • Denmark
  • Luxembourg
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Spain

The changes will not affect citizens of the Republic of Ireland or citizens of Commonwealth nations.

• Other EU citizens who were living in the UK before the end of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Implementation Period (up until 31 December 2020) will also still be able to vote and stand in elections.

Review process - we will contact you

If you’ve received a letter, email or telephone call about your eligibility to vote

Electoral Registration Officers are required to conduct a review of all European citizens who are registered to vote.

As part of this review, we are contacting all EU citizens to either:

• let them know they are still eligible to vote in some UK elections
• tell them they aren’t sure if they are eligible to vote in some UK elections, and ask them to provide information that will be used to confirm whether they are eligible

We will contact you via email, letter, or telephone call. The email will come from either Coventry Elections or Electoral Services. If you do not respond we will send a member of staff called a canvasser out to your property to speak to you.

Why has someone called at my house?

If you have not responded to our letter, email or telephone call we will visit your property to ask you to respond. We will be visiting from Thursday 29 August until Wednesday 4 September 2024. Our staff will wear a name badge and identify themselves as working for the electoral services team.

If you are told you are still eligible to vote

There is nothing you need to do. You will remain eligible and can vote in upcoming elections in your area (excluding UK Parliament elections).

If you are asked to provide information to confirm your eligibility

You will be asked if you meet the eligibility criteria. Your answer to this question will only be shared with the Electoral Registration Office.

You need to either:

• go to the gov.uk website (Opens in new window). Details on how to log in will be included in the letter or email from us
• complete the paper form, or request a paper form and return it us using the details on the letter.
• provide the information to the person who is calling you. They will announce that they are from the elections team at Coventry City Council.

More information can be found on the Electoral Commission website.