Individual Electoral Registration in the UK

[Richard W]

Does anyone understand the new (June 2014) individual electoral registration in the UK? In particular, do Commonwealth and EU citizens have to declare all their nationalities, or is it sufficient just to record those relevant for the ostensible purposes of the register?

If they all have to be registered, one may take the cynical view that it is a revenue raising scheme - dual nationals who don't mention irrelevant nationalities, such as Thai, might be fined. The notification that I have been automatically registered does not say what nationalities I hold. If I held Thai citizenship I would not have declared it for electoral registration, and there would be no prompt that I was supposed to declare it now.

It is also a difficult requirement to fulfil - many people seem unaware of what nationalities they hold, and the courts don't find it easy to decide. Perhaps magistrates will let off those who don't mention a nationality for which they don't hold a passport.

Obviously, I suspect there is an even nastier reason for asking about dual nationality. For example, "You didn't record your Egyptian nationality. Tell us what your mates are up to, or you'll be fined £5,000." I think there are a lot of dual British-Pakistani citizens around who are keeping quiet about their unused Pakistani citizenship.

[Basil B]

Sorry, I got a letter from my local elections office to tell me that I had been automatically re-registered under the new system so no need to register.

 

But I suspect is all they need is for you to declare one nationality that would qualify you to vote.

I have dual nationality – am I entitled to register?

If one of your nationalities is British, you have full registration and voting rights.

If one of your nationalities is on the list of EU and Commonwealth countries (see Related Pages), you can also register.

If neither of your nationalities is on those lists, you cannot register.

 http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/frequently-asked-questions-about-voting-and-elections-registering

 

[bobrussell]

You fill in the form, declaring every adult living at the premises. State the nationality or nationalities in the box provided for that purpose. Anyone eligible to vote will get a letter confirming they are not able to vote and why! Almost everyone knows what nationality or nationalities they hold. 

 

Not complicated and I cannot see what the issue is. Nobody is going to be fined for stating the facts. 

[Basil B]

You fill in the form, declaring every adult living at the premises. State the nationality or nationalities in the box provided for that purpose. Anyone eligible to vote will get a letter confirming they are not able to vote and why! Almost everyone knows what nationality or nationalities they hold. 

 

Not complicated and I cannot see what the issue is. Nobody is going to be fined for stating the facts. 

 

It has changed, every voter has to register separately.

 

Biggest change to voter registration in a generation

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-change-to-voter-registration-in-a-generation

[Richard W]

Almost everyone knows what nationality or nationalities they hold.

Most single nationals living in their country of nationality know. However, if you look around the internet forums, you will find that a very common answer to 'How do I get nationality xxx?' is 'You already have it!'.
 

Not complicated and I cannot see what the issue is. Nobody is going to be fined for stating the facts.

I inquired of our local electoral registration team, and got some interesting information. Firstly, the list of nationalities held is not recorded in the full electoral register - so what do they need it for? Secondly, and related to this, people being automatically registered on the basis of the previous register do not need to proactively declare their nationalities. So, most dual nationals have no immediate worries.

The problem I see remains that "the Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good." Other clauses limit the application of this power to dual nationals. I see no good reason to solemnly declare that the Secretary of State is free to deprive one of citizenship if she sees fit.

Having read the regulation change to introduce individual electoral registration, I am wondering if a suitable approach is for most British citizens with no passport but a British passport to use the paper application and in the box for 'nationality' write:

I am a British citizen. I cannot be sure of what other nationalities I hold, for I am not an expert on foreign laws and do not subscribe to foreign gazettes.

[bobrussell]

Still not sure what the problem is!

 

One of the first questions asked on-line is what nationality the applicant is. If you enter a nationality that allows voting then it allows you to continue to register. If not it states you are not eligible to vote.

 

Why would anyone get a fine for not mentioning something irrelevant to your entitlement to vote?

[Richard W]

Still not sure what the problem is!
 
One of the first questions asked on-line is what nationality the applicant is. If you enter a nationality that allows voting then it allows you to continue to register. If not it states you are not eligible to vote.
 
Why would anyone get a fine for not mentioning something irrelevant to your entitlement to vote?

The URL is https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote .

Q2 is 'What is your nationality? Select all options that are relevant to you'. Note the word 'all'! Therefore, a British-Thai dual national must tick both 'British' and 'Citizen of a different country'. If one ticks both of these, one would naturally expect it to ask no more about the non-British nationality. However, it then pops up another box and asks for the country name. It has to be a country name; the interface will not accept 'Not sure' or 'England'. One cannot proceed beyond Q2 until one has entered the name of another country (or unticked 'Citizen of a different country'.)

After the last question, we then come to the instructions

By sending your application you confirm that the information you have provided is true.

Your information may be shared with other government departments to check your identity and that youre entitled to register to vote.

You could be fined up to £5,000 or go to prison for up to 6 months if you knowingly give false information in your application.

Now, if you are British, that is all they need to know, so why ask further questions about nationality? However, just ticking 'British' when one is a dual national means that one has declared that one has no other nationality, which is untrue.

I can get quite cynical about the fines. If it is detected that someone has clearly omitted another nationality (Iranian would be a good one to start with, as it is very difficult to renounce), someone is unlikely to risk contesting a fine when presented with an offer such as 'pay £100 or risk a massive fine plus court costs'. This could be a nice little money earner for the government, though not as lucrative as speed traps. More cynically, once word gets out about such fines, dual nationals may become less likely to register for voting. Which party do Pakistanis in Britain most often vote for? I suspect not the Conservatives.

Now, the paper form (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voter-registration-forms-paper-versions ) is perhaps more forgiving. It has a box 'Your nationality' and an instruction:

If you have more than one nationality, please include them all. You can only register to vote in the UK if you have leave to remain. We may check your immigration status with the Home Office before we include you on the electoral register.

I'm not sure if 'please' in the paper form allows one to choose which nationalities to declare.