Tier 4 and EU Referendum

[AntonioS]

Does anyone know whether a commonwealth citizen studying in the UK on a tier 4 visa is eligible to vote? I'm hoping to eventually immigrate to the UK and I'd love to be able to vote. The criteria listed on the government website are:

1. Be registered to vote;
2. Be 18 or over on the day of the referendum (‘polling day’);
3. Be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen;
4. Be resident at an address in the UK or Gibraltar (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years);
5. Not be legally excluded from voting

So if I satisfy conditions 2-5, then I should be able to register to vote right? I technically have a UK address until the 1st of July.

[Casa]

Yes you have the right as a Commonwealth citizen, but are you registered on the Electoral Register? You won't be able to vote without pre-registration.

[AntonioS]

Thanks for the reply.

I haven't pre-registered yet, I did try to register previously however it seemed like more trouble than it was worth at the time as I didn't have a National Insurance number and they weren't able to verify my identity at the time (??).

I will have to try again, as this is something I am quite keen to participate in.

[secret.simon]

Given that the outcome either way of the forthcoming EU referendum would disproporianately affect the people who use these forums, I intended to write up a short guide on registering to vote anyway. This thread gives me a convenient peg to hang the post on. I strongly urge all people who are eligible to vote to get registered and exercise their right to vote during the referendum.

Who can register to vote in the EU Referendum
The OP has done an excellent job of summarising who all are eligible to vote.

As has been highlighted, all Commonwealth citizens in the UK on a non-visit visa are eligible to vote, including students and dependents on any valid leave to remain or family members of EEA citizens.

Irish citizens living overseas, who was born in Northern Ireland and who has been registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years, are also eligible to vote, as are British citizens resident overseas, but who have been registered to vote in the UK any time in the past 15 years.

How to register
In England, Scotland or Wales, register to vote online at http://gov.uk/register-to-vote.

A National Insurance Number (NINO) is required to register to vote in Great Britain. If you do not have one, apply for one asap. Be aware that it can take a few days.

If you are a British citizen living abroad, you can register to vote online in the same way.

Visit the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website to download a registration form as a Northern Ireland resident or as a Northern Ireland overseas voter.

When to register
In order to vote in the referendum, you must register by 7th June 2016.

More information regarding registering to vote in the EU referendum.

I want to discuss what the referendum means for me/my family/myfuture
Please discuss them here.

I am not interested in/enthused by the debates/issues raised by the referendum
If you are inclined not to vote and/or can not decide which way to vote, you may wish to consider sharing your vote with somebody who is not eligible, on the lines of this social experiment in the US.

Request to the mods
Can the mods make this thread a sticky in the EEA-Route Applications forum till 7th June? It can be unstickied from 8th June onwards.
Could they also retitle the thread to something on the lines of "Registering to vote for the EU Referendum - who, how and by when"?