Should expats have the right to vote?

"The UK government has been under intense pressure from Conservative backbenchers and others to give a unilateral guarantee that the rights of EU migrants in the UK will not be damaged at the end of the Brexit talks.

Giving evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, Hammond again said he could not give such a commitment and blamed “Brussels bureaucrats” for declaring there could be no informal Brexit negotiations until the UK had triggered article 50, the formal process by which it notifies the EU of its intention to leave."

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/07/philip-hammond-to-hold-informal-talks-over-rights-of-eu-citizens-in-uk

Interesting, granjura. We'd have a problem if they all had to come back.

I had a guest house for ten years, a vegetarian one, and some of the guests did tell me I should cook bacon for them. I said that every other guest house had bacon.
Again, you have missed the point.

Durhamjen so if you had bed and breakfast guests would you be happy for them to tell you how to live your life and how to arrange your home? Maybe you would, however if you adopted a family then that would be a different matter as they had legally become family members and would be entitled to give a degree of input.

metrocosm.com/eu-diaspora-map/

in the meantime

Anyway, again, that's not the point.
If expats, who are really migrants, are not allowed to vote in the UK general elections and are not allowed to vote in the country they have moved to, they are disenfranchised.
EU migrants living in the UK were allowed to vote in EU elections and for councillors. If they voted in UK EU elections, they had to sign a paper to say they had not voted in their country of origin.
So they were allowed to vote at two levels, but not for their MP, even though they were on the electoral register.
Doesn't make sense to me. Either expats get the vote here or migrants get the vote here. Otherwise both groups are penalised for living in a different country to the one they were born in.
Don't we want people to take part in democracy?

You do not just get granted citizenship any more. You have to sit a test and answer silly questions that not all UK citizens would know the answers to. You also have to pay about £1000.
Saying getting granted citizenship sounds so easy.
As said earlier, some countries do not allow dual citizenship. It's wrong to expect someone to give up the citizenship of the country they were born in.

Yes that is right as long as you register with your Mairie or equivalent. By the same token people living in the EU are not allowed to vote in elections such as the Welsh Assembly and I would imagine the UK MEPs.
You cannot vote in National elections of your country of residence either.

By the way as far as I know any expat of any EU country who is a resident, can vote in that country's local municipal and European elections as part of the Maastrict treaty.

Durhamjen If a person is granted citizenship of the U.K., then they have entitlement to vote and this is a reasonably uncommon practice throughout the world. There are many places where you can only be granted a work visa and have to leave as soon as work ends no matter how long you stay there are no voting rights. There are other countries where you may reside long term but still get no entitlement to vote and others countries where only those born in the country can vote.
If someone is happy to apply and meets the criteria to be granted citizenship and intend to remain, then they gave every right to vote.

Trendygran people who are British but live in the EU are likely to be more affected than you by this referendum result. You may need to pay more taxes or tighten your belt if prices rise but you will still be living in your home. Not only may they need to return to UK but in the process lose a lot of money which would render them unable to house or keep themselves. This would in turn impact on UK tax payers.
This question is far more complex than just that they have moved away. They did that because it was allowed while we were full members of the EU. This referendum will do damage to many families if they are forced to return. Many have children part way through their education and in another system.
The fall in the value of the pound against the Euro has caused daily living to cost more immediately.

Not the point, joelsnan.
If you say that expats shouldn't have the right to vote because they no longer have any reason to vote here, then you should also say that anyone who lives here has the right to vote because they take part in everyday living here.

One of the concessions that Cameron brought back from the EU, which has been rescinded now, was that any EU migrant would not be able to claim benefits for four years after moving here. If four years is seen as a reasonable time for that, surely any migrant who has lived here for four years has shown that they want to be part of the community and should get a vote. Anyone who has a right to remain should have the same rights as any other citizen. Otherwise the pool of voters will always reduce as the pool of migrants gets larger.

Switzerland is a Federation of States (K/Cantons) and some parts allow foreign resident the vote at local level, others don't. My area has allowed resident foreigners to vote locally since the mid 19C.

Durhamjen do other nationalities other than EU members vote when they are granted residency?

The S.O. just spoke to some Belgian people who said they would like to leave the EU because of so much beaurocracy but then said they wanted to come and live here which they probably wouldn't be able to do post brexit.

"wouldn't be ironical if the UK does not invoke article 50- but Marine Lepen wins the next elections and takes FRance out of EU ??????"

I had exactly the same thoughts, granjura. Each country is a law unto themselves and does what suits them.

So what about the other way round, trendygran?
Those from other EU countries who have chosen to live here; should they be allowed to vote, or should they be completely disenfranchised?

Germany does not allow dual nationality, expect for other EU countries and Switzerland. They are however considering allow UK nationals to keep their British nationality and the GErman one, if the UK pulls out of EU.

No. They have chosen to leave this country so should not be able to vote about what happens here. Some friends in France are now terrified they may have to return for good and not just frequently to see family as they do now.

Denmark has only just agreed to allow dual nationality, last September, I think.
If you are British, you have to have lived in Denmark for nine years, but with three maximum off if you have lived with a Danish national for three of those years.

Got a young British French who lives in France with her 2 young daughters, just tragically widowed. She is so disgusted at the Brexit that she intends to take French nationality with the kids as soon as she can. However I do wonder- wouldn't be ironical if the UK does not invoke article 50- but Marine Lepen wins the next elections and takes FRance out of EU ??????

Ha ha, an interview with the gendarmes! You should have no trouble Mamie, they're the most corrupt of the lot.

We will probably go for French nationality, when I can face getting all the paperwork sorted. I have been told that having served as an elected member of the council will be very helpful. No language requirement over 65 though we both speak French pretty fluently anyway. There is a mountain of paperwork, a fee and an interview with the gendarmes, then it takes about two years.
Our son will take Spanish nationality, but Spain does not allow dual nationality so he will give up his British nationality.

We have dual nationality - my Swiss-British and DH British-Swiss- he however had to give up his South AFrican one.

Has anyone considered dual nationality? It can be achieved by residency but probably requires fluency in the language etc pretty much as it does here in the uk