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BRITS IN FRANCE

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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HEALTH

Brits living in Italy under post-Brexit rules won’t pay healthcare fee

British nationals who moved to Italy before January 1st 2021 are exempt from paying Italian healthcare fees, according to an update on the UK government website for British nationals overseas.

Brits living in Italy under post-Brexit rules won't pay healthcare fee

Italian authorities have clarified that British residents covered by the post-Brexit withdrawal agreement (WA) should not be subject to fees for using the Italian national health service (servizio sanitario nazionale, or SSN), according to the update published on the British government’s Living in Italy website on Friday afternoon.

“The Italian government has recently decided that British nationals who entered and have been living in Italy prior to January 1st 2021 and are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can register for free with the Italian national health system and are therefore not required to make voluntary contributions,” it read.

READ ALSO: Trouble proving residency rights leaves Brits in Italy paying €2k health charge

The unexpected announcement came as a relief to many of The Local’s British readers, who have been battling local authorities’ varying interpretations of the rules for those who are covered by the WA.

However there were no further details available immediately about how the rules would work or how this would be communicated to local healthcare offices around Italy.

The British government’s update stated: “We continue to engage to fully understand guidelines and requirements,” and added that any updates would be published on the website.

Clarissa Killwick, citizens’ rights campaigner with Beyond Brexit, told The Local the update on Friday had come as “a big surprise”.

“Obviously very good news, but we need to wait and see the detail as to how this is going to work.”

READ ALSO: Why Brits in Italy say they’ve been ‘hung out to dry’ over €2K healthcare fee

“There has been a very positive reaction from our members,” she said. “I can feel a great weight lifting from those who have gone through a lot of anxiety since the new minimum of €2,000 for SSN voluntary contributions was first mooted last October.”

Italy’s government confirmed the new minimum €2,000 charge applies from the start of 2024, though there has been a persistent lack of clarity over exactly who it applies to.

In the absence of clear national guidelines, local health authorities have reportedly applied differing interpretations of the rules for WA beneficiaries, with several British nationals reporting being wrongly charged the fee in January.

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