Part VE+W General Provisions as to Members and Proceedings of Local Authorities

Qualifications and disqualificationsE+W

79 Qualifications for election and holding office as member of local authority.E+W

(1)A person shall, unless disqualified by virtue of this Act or any other enactment, be qualified to be elected and to be a member of a local authority F1... if he is a [F2qualifying Commonwealth citizen] or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland [F3or [F4a relevant citizen of the Union] [F4, in the case of a local authority in England, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights]] [F5or, in the case of a local authority in Wales, a qualifying foreign citizen] and on the relevant day he has attained the age of [F6eighteen] years and—

(a)on that day he is and thereafter he continues to be a local government elector for the area of the authority; or

(b)he has during the whole of the twelve months preceding that day occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in that area; or

(c)his principal or only place of work during that twelve months has been in that area; or

(d)he has during the whole of those twelve months resided in that area; or

(e)in the case of a member of a parish or community council he has during the whole of those twelve months resided either in the parish or community or within three miles of it.

(2)In this section “relevant day”, in relation to any candidate, means—

(a)except in the case of an election not preceded by the nomination of candidates, the day on which he is nominated as a candidate and also, if there is a poll, the day of election; and

(b)in the said excepted case, the day of election.

[F7[F8(2A)In this section the expression “citizen of the Union” shall be construed in accordance with [F9Article 20(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union], and “relevant citizen of the Union” means such a citizen who is not a [F10qualifying] Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.]]

[F7(2A)In this section “qualifying EU citizen” and “EU citizen with retained rights” have the same meaning as in the Representation of the People Act 1983 (see sections 203A and 203B of that Act).]

F11(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F12(2B)For the purposes of this section, a person is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen if he is a Commonwealth citizen who either—

(a)is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

(b)is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) indefinite leave to remain within the meaning of that Act.

(2C)But a person is not a qualifying Commonwealth citizen by virtue of subsection (2B)(a) if he does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue only of section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971 (exceptions to requirement for leave in special cases).]

[F13(2D)For the purposes of this section, a person is a qualifying foreign citizen if the person—

(a)is not a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a relevant citizen of the Union, and

(b)either—

(i)is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

(ii)is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) indefinite leave to remain within the meaning of that Act.

(2E)But a person is not a qualifying foreign citizen by virtue of subsection (2D)(b)(i) if the person does not require leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue only of section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971 (exceptions to requirement for leave in special cases).]