The treaty signed by Lord Callanan and Secretary of State Ana Paula Zacarias, today (12 June 2019) means that UK nationals living in Portugal and Portuguese citizens in the UK can continue to participate in local elections in the future.
We welcome this significant treaty that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between the UK and Portugal, underlines our shared commitment to democracy, and most importantly enables these citizens to continue to determine who represents them in the country they reside in.
We continue to explore bilateral treaties to secure rights for UK nationals across the EU and we are approaching all EU Member States on this subject.
Brexit Minister Lord Callanan said: “The oldest diplomatic agreement was signed between the UK and Portugal in 1386, now, over 600 years later, we’ve signed a treaty to secure the rights of our citizens in each other’s countries after the UK leaves the EU.
This agreement gives further guarantees to UK nationals in Portugal, and Portuguese nationals in the UK, that our historic alliance is still strong and their democratic right to vote will be protected, in any Brexit scenario.
LINKS TO OTHER USEFUL INFO:
Types of election, referendums, and who can vote
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