Britons living in the EU are not allowed to vote in local elections

Since February 2020, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg said that since February 2020, they have become third-country nationals and are no longer EU citizens. This is an automatic consequence of the United Kingdom’s sovereign decision to leave the European Union. (Az. C-673/20)

It was about a British woman who had lived in France for nearly 40 years but only held British citizenship. In the transitional phase of Brexit, she was removed from the electoral register of her place of residence. Previously, it was allowed to vote in local elections there, because EU citizens have this right if their main place of residence is in another member state.

The British went to court in France. She argued that she no longer had the right to vote anywhere: under British law, she was no longer allowed to vote in the UK because she left more than 15 years ago. The French court asked the European Court of Justice to clarify the matter.

He now replied that Britons in the European Union had lost the right to vote and stand in local elections with Great Britain leaving. This also applies if they moved to the EU before Brexit and if they are no longer allowed to vote in their home country.