EU citizens living in UK.

In Europe we can vote in UK GE for 15 years, in our last constituency before leaving the UK. Nothing to do with property ownership. In France we can vote in local (municipal) elections and European elections.
In order to vote in regional and presidential elections, we would need to take French citizenship.
As a member of the local council in France, I have regularly been an official at elections in which I have no vote.
The referendum will almost certainly be a postal vote.

I believe only those with British citizenship should be able to vote in an EU referendum, or any local or general election. It doesn't matter how long you have lived here, you must be a citizen.

To get British citizenship also requires a level of finance. £1600, I think it is now, something which many people do not have to spare.
The form to fill in is 127 pages long. They also have to pass a ridiculous test to which many of us would not know the answers.
Someone who has lived here for over 20 years is not suddenly going to up sticks and leave with or without family.

DH and I weren't allowed to vote in the 1975 EEC referendum, as we were living and working in Germany. I'd only been out there 2 months at the time. I felt disgruntled and disenfranchised, but it would have made no difference to the vote, since one of us then was a yes, one a no.

It seems only fair to me that all UK citizens should have a say.

I would have hoped we would have moved on from 1975, Maggie. So many more people travel around the EU. We are encouraged to do so, as it is easy. However, when it comes to voting, that's different.
There are people here who have the right to vote who have taken nondom status because of where their fathers were born, so do not pay tax.

I agree with Iam64

The cost of obtaining citizenship seems quite reasonable to me compared to some other countries.

Such as, roseq? Which other countries? What if you are on minimum wage after five years, and do not have enough money to feed your children, let alone pay to obtain citizenship?

Why shouldn't the right to residency give the right to vote?

How long does someone have to live here to get right to residency Jen?
Is that the same as indefinite leave to remain? there's a subtle difference between being allowed to stay and having the right to reside somewhere.
Where do you draw the line?
Do you think that someone who has migrated here from Bulgaria, for example, and been here a year, should have the right to vote in referenda or elections?

You seem to be saying that they should be allowed to vote because they pay tax and national insurance. The logical consequence of that is that anyone who doesn't pay tax and NI (many young people and older people and those on benefits) shouldn't be allowed to vote either

should have said some of those on benefits, I realise that many people on benefits still pay tax.

I think it's five years, janea. That seems reasonable to me. The example I gave is of someone who has lived here for twenty years and still does not have the right to vote in general elections, although s/he can in local. Surely if you are eligible to vote for your local councillor you should also be eligible to vote for your MP, and on whether you want the country to stay in the EU.
How many pensioners are there who do not have the right to vote?
How many people on benefits?
EU citizens living in the UK can pay NI and tax and help support those on benefits and pensions, but not have the right to vote on who they want to say where their tax and NI goes.

Australia? New Zealand?
I know young people who are going through the very expensive strenuous and stressful process in both those countries.
The result will not even be citizenship, just temporary visas with the hope they could be made permanent.

If you are from the EU and are able to live and work here why would you bother to pay for citizenship if you could not feed your children? Why would you want to stay here at all if you could not afford to feed your children?

Because it's better than living in the EU country from which you came?

British people living in another EU country can vote in UK elections - your vote is in the last constituency you lived/voted in when you lived in UK. The right to vote is for 15 years but there are thoughts that this may be extended indefinitely

Does that apply to UK referenda as well, Bez? (which is what we're actually talking about here)

jen all pensioners and people on benefits can vote, unless they are guests of HM the Queen.
The point I'm trying to make is that if you have universal suffrage, which was fought for in blood by our grandmothers' generation, you can't use payment of tax and NI as criteria for eligibility to vote. It's like harking back to the days when only landowners could vote.

There has to be something deeper than that, a commitment to the country, to take part in the decision-making process, if you don't have the right to vote by virtue of having been born here.

Yes it does - and since it has been known that there will be a referendum there has been a large increase in the number of Brits living in EU countries registering to vote - after all it will affect us more than most people I would think - as well as those of EU origin living in UK.

Quite, Bez, but they probably won't be voting with the interests of the UK as a whole will they? It's like asking turkeys to vote whether to keep Christmas or not!

voting 'for' not 'with'

That's not a given, Bez. According to the Telegraph, the government has not yet decided on the franchise for the plebiscite.

Just thought I'd throw that in to make me appear much more intelligent than what I am.

So living here for over 20 years, having children here, teaching other people's children here for over ten years is not enough. You have to pay for the privilege.
But someone who comes here and marries an Englishman within a couple of months has shown enough commitment, is that right?

I think that the two are inextricably linked - so far the vote to leave has had far more publicity but the negative side of leaving will have a huge impact on UK. Many people think companies are bluffing when they say they will pull out if UK if the leave Europe but they do actually mean it. The EU is a huge market for so many companies. Nissan said at the time that they only built the factory in Tyne and Wear because it opened the doors to the EU for them - UK welcomed them whereas other EU countries at the time did not. Now it is a different story and they do not need UK so much.
If UK leaves it would not be so easy to rejoin. People living in EU have friends and families remaining in UK and not everyone is small minded and selfish.
There was a huge argument before the referendum when we finally decided to join - it was seen how much better it would have been for us if we had joined initially and could have had more say in the original treaty. At the time we had great trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand etc which we no longer have and would need to look around again for replacements for the EU which is the largest importer of our goods.
I doubt people would relish going back to queuing in the non EU passport section when on holiday in Spain etc and having to abide by the duty free quota and quite possible needing Visas to go on holiday - UK is not part of the Shenghen agreement.
It is possible that Brits living, and many working, in EU have a more informed opinion of the benefits of being a member and save UK from making a dreadful error of judgement. Despite the downside for some people of living in the EU they see the benefits of the alliance.

Maggiemaybe
1.5m foreigners entitled to vote according to the Telegraph.

'...save UK from making a dreadful error of judgement.'

Hmm, rather a presumptious statement, Bez.

Doesn't get over the anomaly of allowing them to vote in local elections but not national. Doesn't the same reasoning apply?

I agree with you, Bez. It will depend on whether Cameron wants us to stay in or come out as to whether he allows all EU residents to vote. He is the one who decides, apparently.