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BRITS IN EUROPE

Brits in Europe won right to vote for life in UK but questions remain

After years of campaigns and promises British citizens living abroad finally won the lifelong right to vote in UK general elections in April 2022. But campaigners say more needs to be done to allow all those Britons abroad to be able cast their votes easily.

Brits in Europe won right to vote for life in UK but questions remain
A photograph taken on October 20, 2022 shows the Palace of Westminster, house of Parliaments and Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big ben, in central London. (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP)

What’s in the law?

The Elections Act 2022 introduced several changes to the current legislation on electoral participation. Among these, it removed the rule by which British citizens lose their voting rights in the UK if they have lived abroad for more than 15 years

The new rules also abolished the requirement to have been previously registered in the UK electoral roll to become an overseas voter. In addition, the registration in the electoral roll will now last up to three years instead of only one year.

It is estimated that these changes could increase the number of overseas voter registrations by some 3 million. But the way new measures will be applied in practice is still to be defined.

READ ALSO: ‘Mixed feelings’ – British citizens in Europe finally get right to vote for life

Defining the practicalities

Under the new law, Britons living abroad will have to register to vote in the last place they were registered in the UK. This means that people who have never lived in the UK will be ineligible to vote, regardless of how long they have been overseas, while those who left when they were children will be able to use a parent or guardian’s address.

But given that the UK does not require residents to register with local councils, how to prove previous UK residence? “Typical documents accepted as a proof of residence are Council tax or utilities bills, but not everyone will have them or will have kept them in an international move,” says Fiona Godfrey, co-founder of the British in Europe coalition.

Ballot papers are pictured in stacks in a count centre as part of the 2019 UK general election. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)

Other questions concern how people will effectively cast their ballot. UK citizens overseas will be able to vote by post or by proxy or in person at their polling station if they are in the UK at the time of the election. However, few people are likely to travel to the UK for an election and in the past there have problems and delays with postal voting.

The Electoral Commission has recommended that overseas electors appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf. But who could that be for people who have been away from their constituency for a long time?

New secondary legislation will have to answer these questions, defining how to be included in the electoral roll and how to exercise the voting right in practice.

According to British in Europe, the government should present draft legislation in the first half of the year so that the parliament can adopt it before summer and registrations of overseas voters can start in the autumn.

British in Europe survey

British in Europe are currently running a survey to understand the difficulties UK citizens abroad may face in the registration and voting process, as well as their intention to participate in elections.

The survey asks for instance which documents people can access to prove their previous residence in the UK, what problems they had voting in the past, and if and how they plan to vote in the future.

“We need to get an up-to-date picture of British citizens living around the world and have information to make recommendations to the government, as it prepares secondary legislation,” Godfrey said. “If millions of people will exercise their voting rights, there will be consequences for council registration offices, post office and authorities that will manage the process, among other things” she argued.

The right to vote concerns only UK parliamentary elections and national referendums, not elections in the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, or at local level.

The survey is open to UK citizens living anywhere in the world and is available at this link.

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BREXIT

Brits in France: Could the UK-EU deal lead to a relaxation of the 90-day rule?

Could a calmer relationship between the EU and the UK lead to better deals for Brits in France, such as a relaxation of the 90-day rule for second-home owners? The Local asked former British ambassador to France Peter Ricketts for his opinion.

Brits in France: Could the UK-EU deal lead to a relaxation of the 90-day rule?

One of the most common questions asked by Brits who own second-homes in France is whether there is any likelihood of a relaxation on the 90-day rule.

The EU-wide rule – which has always existed for visitors from other non-EU countries such as the USA, Canada or Australia – began to apply to Brits in France when the Brexit transition period ended in 2021.

Since then, Brits who want to spend time in France without living here must either limit their visits to 90 days in every 180 or get a visa.

In recent weeks the relationship between the UK and EU has improved with the agreement of the Windsor Framework to deal with post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland, while the Franco-British relationship also entered calmer waters with a successful visit from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on March 10th.

OPINION Macron and Sunak show that UK and France can be good neighbours

So could this eventually lead to good news for Brits in France?

The Local asked Lord Ricketts, who served as British Ambassador in Paris between 2012 and 2016 and now sits in the House of Lords, for his views in an interview organised by the Anglo American Press Association.

He said: “At the summit between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron, one of the things announced was a project to make it easier for school trips to take place between France and the UK.

“It seems from the post-summit declaration that the countries will be working towards reinstating something like the collective travel document for school trips – so that you list all the kids’ names on one document.

“This would solve the problem of some French children in a class not having a passport, and if you get classes with non-EU nationals in them it would mean they wouldn’t need to get separate visas.

“I think the reason the two leaders announced this was simply because the school trip sector has been devastated by Brexit.”

New post-Brexit rules mean that each child in a French class needs a passport to visit the UK – since ID cards are accepted for travel around the EU and could previously be used to enter the UK, around one third of French people don’t have a passport.

Schools in France, especially those in northern France who used to do day-trips, have told media that taking groups to the UK is simply too complicated under the new rules.

But could this agreement but the first step towards relaxing other rules?

Lord Ricketts told us: “I think school trips was chosen because it is a sector that was hit particularly hard by Brexit, but also because it’s something that only really affects France and the UK.

“The market is not entirely, but very largely between the UK and France – coach parties going back and forth – so that’s an area in which France can do a deal without getting across other EU countries.

“I think the French are walking a bit of a tightrope because they are equally aware that in some areas what they do will set a precedent for other EU countries and they are being careful not to make concessions to the UK, effectively, in areas that could then involve other EU countries having to do the same thing.

“For example we know that there has been a lot of problems for British musicians who want to tour Europe and now find they need all sorts of extra paperwork – in that case a UK-France deal perhaps wouldn’t be particularly helpful because most people will want to tour other European countries as well.”

The 90-day rule is an EU-wide rule that affects Brits living in all EU countries, as well as many other EU nationals.

Therefore a deal for Brits in France could end up potentially setting a precedent for – for example – Americans in Sweden.

Lord Ricketts said: “I think the Macron-Sunak summit is the start, yes, the beginning of a bit of an easing up.

“But it’s the start of the UK and France trying to find limited areas where they can make improvements that will aid people’s lives, without setting a precedent for the rest of the EU.”

For the moment at least, the 90-day rule in France will continue to apply – you can find full details of how it works HERE, a calculator to help you plan your stays HERE and – for those who want to stay longer – a visa guide HERE.

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