{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-elections-franchise-and-representation-act-2020/section-1",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-elections-franchise-and-representation-act-2020/section-1.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2020/6",
  "legislation_title": "Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act 2020",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-elections-franchise-and-representation-act-2020",
  "path": "section/1",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "1",
  "heading": "Voting by qualifying foreign nationals",
  "text": "(1) The Representation of the People Act 1983 is amended as follows.\n(2) In section 2(1) (local government electors), in paragraph (c)—\n(a) after “or” insert “—\n“(i) except in Scotland,”,\n(b) after “Union;” insert—\n“(ii) in Scotland, a qualifying foreign national,”.\n(3) In section 4(3) (entitlement to be registered as a local government elector), in paragraph (c)—\n(a) after “or” insert “—\n“(i) except in relation to a local government election in Scotland,”,\n(b) after “Union;” insert—\n“(ii) in relation to a local government election in Scotland, a qualifying foreign national,”.\n(4) In section 7B (notional residence: declarations of local connection)—\n(a) in subsection (3)(e)—\n(i) after “elections” insert “ other than in Scotland ”, and\n(ii) after “Union” insert “ or (if the declaration is made for the purposes only of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) a qualifying foreign national ”, and\n(b) in subsection (7B), after paragraph (aa) (inserted by section 8(2)(c) of this Act) insert—\n“(ab) a declaration of local connection made by a qualifying foreign national,”.\n(5) In section 15(5B) (service declaration), after paragraph (a) insert—\n“(aa) a service declaration made by a qualifying foreign national,”.\n(6) In section 16(1) (contents of service declaration), in paragraph (e)—\n(a) after “or” in the second place it occurs insert “ (except where the declaration is made for the purposes only of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) ”, and\n(b) after “Union” insert “ or (if the declaration is made for the purposes only of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) a qualifying foreign national ”.\n(7) In section 17(1) (effect of service declaration), in paragraph (c)—\n(a) after “or” in the second place it occurs insert “ (in relation to a declaration made other than for the purposes of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) ”, and\n(b) after “Union” insert “ or (in relation to a declaration made for the purposes of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) a qualifying foreign national ”.\n(8) In section 49(5)(b) (effect of registers), after sub-paragraph (iv) insert—\n“(v) in the case of a person registered as a local government elector in Scotland or entered in the list of proxies by virtue of being a qualifying foreign national, a qualifying foreign national,”.\n(9) In section 202 (general provisions as to interpretation), after the definition of “qualifying address” in subsection (1) insert—\n““qualifying foreign national” means a person of any nationality who—\n(a) is not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and\n(b) either—\n(i) is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or\n(ii) is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave,”.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 1 in force at 3.8.2020 by S.S.I. 2020/162, reg. 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2020/6/section/1",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:12:50.829472+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}