Electoral Register: British National (Overseas)

(asked on 23rd November 2021) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether BN(O) citizens who have arrived from Hong Kong are required to become British citizens before they can register to vote in a UK general election.


Answered by
Lord Greenhalgh Portrait
Lord Greenhalgh
This question was answered on 2nd December 2021

British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)s) who have arrived from Hong Kong are not required to become British Citizens in order to register to vote in UK general elections.

Although BN(O)s are not classed as British citizens, the British Nationality Act 1981 determines that they have the status of Commonwealth citizens. This means that Hong Kong BN(O)s, with leave to enter or remain in the UK, are entitled to register to vote as an elector in UK parliamentary elections, providing they fulfil the age and residence requirements for such registration and are not subject to any other legal incapacity.

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