Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Greater London Authority elections

To be able to stand as a Mayor of London candidate, a Constituency Assembly Member candidate or a London-wide Assembly Member candidate you must:1   

• be at least 18 years old
• be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights
• meet at least one of the following four qualifications:
  • you are, and will continue to be, registered as a local government elector in Greater London from the day of your nomination onwards. More information is set out in our guidance ‘Being a registered local government elector’. 
  • You have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in Greater London during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election. More information is set out in our guidance ‘Occupying as owner or tenant any land or other premises in Greater London’. 
  • Your main or only place of work during the 12 months prior to the day of your nomination and the day of election has been in Greater London. More information is set out in our guidance ‘Your main or only place of work is in Greater London'. 
  • You have lived in Greater London during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election. More information is set out in our guidance ‘Living in Greater London’.

When completing your home address form and consent to nomination form you will be asked to indicate which qualifications you meet. You should indicate on the form all those qualifications that apply to you.

Meaning of an eligible commonwealth citizen

An eligible Commonwealth citizen is a Commonwealth citizen who either:

• does not need leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or
• has indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom
   

Meaning of qualifying EU citizens 

A qualifying EU citizen is a citizen of a country:

• that has a bilateral Voting and Candidacy Rights (VCR) treaty with the UK
•  is  resident in the UK 
• with any form of leave to remain, or does not require such leave.  

Currently the UK holds bilateral treaties with the following countries: 

Meaning of EU citizens with retained rights 

An EU citizen has retained rights if:

•  they are a citizen of a country which does not have a bilateral Voting and Candidacy Rights (VCR) treaty with the UK
•  and  they have been legally resident in the UK since before the UK left the EU on 31/12/2020 (the Implementation Period Completion Date – IPCD) 

The member states of the European Union which do not currently have a bilateral VCR treaty with the UK and are not Commonwealth countries are: