Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 4 March (HL Deb col 1269), whether Commonwealth citizens who do not also hold British nationality are subject to any qualifying period before they are entitled to vote in UK elections.

Qualifying Commonwealth citizens are entitled to register as Parliamentary and as local government electors provided that on the relevant date, they also fulfil the age and residence requirements for such registration and are not subject to any other legal incapacity. A ‘qualifying Commonwealth citizen’ is defined as one who has leave to remain in the UK or does not require it. To register in a particular area, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen must meet the same residency requirements as any other person seeking to register. There is no additional qualifying period in electoral law; if a Commonwealth citizen has been granted leave to remain, or does not require it, they are entitled to register to vote subject to the conditions above.